Racial outburst in London store has Muslim family concerned and hurt

A London woman has taken to social media after she says another shopper used a racial slur toward her and her mother in the aisle of a big box store in the city's south end Saturday. 

Sara Kishawi says she and her mother were in the pillow aisle of HomeSense on Wonderland Road South when a woman came too close to them while shopping.

Considering the importance of physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kishawi says her mother asked the woman to stay two metres away. The woman allegedly responded that if anything, it was Kishawi and her mother who needed to back away, despite Kishawi being in the aisle first. 

Kishawi's mother, who was wearing a hijab, asked her again, but this time the woman's response was different. 

"She started yelling at us that it's a free country and that we need to go back to Saudi Arabia," she told CBC News. 

"Racism and Islamophobia are still well and thriving in our own city," she added. Her family is Canadian and has no roots in Saudi Arabia. 

The hurtful words Kishawi said she witnessed come as racial tensions run high across the border, where the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing, has triggered days of unrest as U.S. residents demand racial justice and condemn the police's mistreatment of black citizens. 

Kishawi said she confronted the woman and recorded it on her phone. She said shoppers and store employees watched but at first did not intervene. 

Kishawi said a HomeSense employee did eventually get involved and asked her to consider the mental well-being of the woman. 

In the end, Kishawi said employees did ask the woman to leave the store, but Kishawi says the woman never left. She said she did call the manager later who allegedly said that the store didn't see the need to either call the police or escort the woman out of the store. 

In a statement, HomeSense said, "We welcome all customers and are committed to fostering an environment in our stores in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We care deeply about people being treated equitably and without bias." 

The statement goes on to  say, "We take this situation very seriously and are looking into it with our store."

No response from bystanders

One of the things that struck Kishawi was how bystanders acted as the incident unfolded. 

While she understands people need to keep their distance because of the risks of contracting the coronavirus, she explains people either backed away from the scene or they wheeled their carts closer to listen to the argument. 

"Nobody was trying to actively aid us. Nobody was actively trying to stop it. They were just watching us," she recalled.

"Maybe they were too scared to step in. Maybe they thought it wasn't any of their business, but regardless, this lady is clearly being racist toward us and yelling at us to go back and leave the country and everyone is just watching."

"It's like they were listening to a regular conversation," she said. "Maybe they're desensitized to it?"

Kishawi says she wishes someone had stood up to support her and her mother in the moment. She says she has received strong support from people on social media. The family does not intend to pursue any further.