"For me, it was a pinch-me moment. I just saw the glitter in my Mum's eyes, and my Dad turns around and said to me, 'Son, I'm extremely proud of you.' The two of them said it was the happiest day of their life."
"It was someone basically saying, 'What is the image of a brown person doing on Heathrow Airport?' and what followed was vile racial abuse - we're talking in the thousands of comments."
"Nauseating. Welcome to a [expletive] 3rd world country. It's almost a crime to be white!!"
Syed Usman Shah, a 35-year-old entrepreneur and owner of The Date Sultan at Borough Market, was selected by Heathrow Airport to feature in their Welcome campaign alongside 37 other successful Londoners. His poster showed him waving while holding dates, representing his fair-trade business. Shah's parents were deeply proud, calling it the happiest day of their lives. However, when the poster went viral online, it triggered an overwhelming wave of racial abuse from thousands of commenters who objected to his presence as a brown person in the campaign. The racist messages included xenophobic statements and hateful remarks, transforming what Shah describes as a pinnacle moment into an upsetting and overwhelming experience.
#racial-abuse #social-media-harassment #diversity-and-inclusion #online-racism #heathrow-airport-campaign
Read at www.bbc.com
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