Police investigate hate crime after passenger called 'woman from Taliban' on Cardiff to Bristol train

Wales Online

2 days ago

Police investigate hate crime after passenger called 'woman from Taliban' on Cardiff to Bristol train
The woman was travelling with her family on a service south Wales from Wales to London and asked another passenger not to sit on the table. What happened next left them shocked
Cardiff Central train station
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
A train passenger says she was called a "woman from Taliban" after a disagreement about seating on a train service from Cardiff to Bristol. The woman was travelling with her two daughters when the incident took place, and reported the matter to British Transport Police (BTP). The woman who allegedly hurled the abuse had sat on the table the family were sitting around. When requested to move to another seat, they allegedly refused to budge.
The woman's daughter, who works for the NHS and wishes to remain anonymous, said: 'We were traveling from Wales to London. Whilst the train had stopped at Cardiff, quite a few people got on. My mum and I were sat on one side of the table, with my mum on the aisle seat. So quite a few people got on the train and it was a bit busy. My mum had her iPad with her and she was reading and I had a drink as well.'
‌
The woman explained how another passenger then proceeded to abruptly sit on the table between the family. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
‌
The NHS worker said: 'A woman came and she saw that my mum was on the iPad and she just turned her back to my mum and sat on the table. You how train tables are, they're quite weak, and she knocked my mum's iPad.
'My mum was just a little bit taken aback… and the woman kept sitting down with her back to my mum on my mum's table. So my mum said, 'Excuse me, do you mind not sitting on the table, please?'
'The woman just looked at my mum and looked away, and people could hear. Then my mum quietly asked again, saying, 'Please, can you not sit on this table?' And the woman just looked at my mum in a disgusting manner and said, 'Why?'
Article continues below
'My mum was so shocked and she said, 'I'm just trying to read and my daughter's drink is here.' The woman just looked at my mom really angrily and just laughed, before eventually getting up.'
However, the woman said the woman continued to stare at her mother 'the whole time' that she was standing. Eventually, as the train got a little quieter, the woman sat two seats behind the family.
The NHS worker explained: 'I heard this woman loudly talk about something, laughing, and then she said, 'Oh, some woman from the Taliban just told me I can't sit on her table.'"
‌
They immediately confronted the passenger. 'Something just came over me automatically, and without thinking I just got up and said 'What did you just say?' The woman was talking to a man and they just laughed. I said, 'No, what did you say? Don't you dare say that. Who do you think you are?''
The NHS worker said that even though the woman was confronted, she kept on laughing. She said: 'The woman just looked at me and said, 'I'm not talking to you', and then the guy next to her said 'you shouldn't be eavesdropping', even though that woman deliberately said it so loudly. She was just laughing the whole time.'
The NHS worker added: 'If I was on my own maybe I wouldn't have said anything and stood up for myself but the reason I did was because it was my mum.
‌
'I wanted to do it for my mum because she wears a head scarf and I didn't want her to lose her confidence and I didn't want her to think I'd be upset about it because deep down I was, I wanted to just cry.
'One other woman, a young girl who was sat next to us, she said to the woman, 'No, I saw that, what you did, that was wrong.' And then the woman who said the comment was laughing and looking away and ignoring us.'
The woman's daughter said she reported the incident to BTP at Bristol but was left disappointed with their response. "I informed the officer and he said, 'Oh, sorry, but what do you want to do about it?'" she said.
‌
'I was shocked because obviously we didn't know what to do about it. He said you can just do a statement so we have it on record for next time. I was shocked that this policeman didn't want to go and find out where she had gone because all you had to do is look around the area or ask people.
"They could have found her you know from looking at CCTV footage but it was obviously not his priority. He apologised that this had happened, and then my mum was like, 'well, I guess that's it.'
The incident, which happened on the 6.20pm Cardiff to Bristol service on April 21, has left a long-term impact on the woman, as her daughter explained: 'That event in itself lasted a few minutes, but long term my mum doesn't want to use the public transport system."
‌
BTP confirmed to Wales Online: 'We received a report of a hate crime on board a train from Cardiff to Bristol Parkway just before 6.30pm on 21 April. Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 2500064117.
"Everybody deserves to feel safe when they travel , and we are continuing to work with our community partners and partners in the rail industry to ensure those on the rail network feel secure as they travel. Abuse, intimidation, and violence – especially that which is motivated by hate – will never be tolerated."
Great Western Railway has said: 'We did receive a complaint from the customer following her journey, and we responded the following day letting her know to contact the British Transport Police who have the power to investigate further. We have not received any further correspondence from the customer or the BTP. We are really sorry to hear of the customer's experience and expect that all of our customers can feel safe when they travel with us."
‌
The NHS worker added: 'It makes you feel really, really pathetic because we at the NHS treat patients without any judgment. Our priority is not someone's skin colour, not where they are from, not their social circumstances - it's just whether they are sick, whether they need treatment and we prioritise according to that.
'There are long hours that we work, and the least you expect from a public service is that you get the same respect in return. When that's not acknowledged, you feel as though you're just a nobody, that nobody really cares for you, that you're not supported, and it makes you compare the services.
'I hope that woman gains insight and some education, and learns not to say this to anyone. Because what she said was just a fleeting comment and she might not make much of it, but it has had a lasting impact on us and I hope that one day someone stops her and tells her that she was wrong.'
Article continues below