Reports of racist attacks rise after Donald Trump’s win
Victims take to social media to recount physical and verbal abuse as rights groups call on president-elect to act.
Americans have taken to social media to recount racist attacks that have taken place following the election of Donald Trump as the next US president.
Trump’s campaign had heavily focused on minorities and foreigners, including Muslims and Mexicans, as he painted the two groups as threats to peace and the economy respectively.
Famously, Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the US during his campaign. He also promised to build a wall to block Mexicans from entering the country.
Rights groups have said that they are concerned about the future. Many believe the election of Trump, a former reality TV star who was endorsed by far-right groups and politicians, might legitimise outward racism and physical violence.
Among Trump’s main supporters, and some of the first to wish him well in his new role, are the far-right European leaders such as France’s Marine Le Pen, who heads the National Front; Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister; and Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who believes Muslim immigration should be halted.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, on Thursday called on Trump to “repudiate alleged attacks on Muslim students at universities in Louisiana and California reportedly by some of his supporters”.
For its part, Human Rights Watch said Trump should “abandon campaign rhetoric that seemed to reject many of the United States’ core human rights obligations”.
“He found a path to the White House through a campaign marked by misogyny, racism, and xenophobia, but that’s not a route to successful governance. President-elect Trump should commit to leading the US in a manner that fully respects and promotes human rights for everyone,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Here are some of the social media posts detailing racist attacks that have taken place since Tuesday, when tens of millions turned out to vote for the 70-year-old:
https://twitter.com/nancyleong/status/796761192098332672
My letter to @USPS about what I witnessed today in Cambridge, Massachusetts. #Trump pic.twitter.com/MyeAQvP28l
— Yarden Katz (@yardenkatz) November 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/akothawalaa/status/796536200265748480
Not even 24 hours yet. My friend's sister, who is Muslim, had a knife pulled on her by a Trump supporter while on the bus by UIUC campus.
— not sarah harvard (@amyharvard_) November 9, 2016
San Jose State University sent an email that a woman had her hijab ripped off by a white male with such force it choked her as she fell
— Pam Pho 🧜🏻♀️ (@NerdyPam) November 10, 2016
Guys, a trump supporter tried pulling off my hijab… This is not a joke anymore, all non-whites have become targets. Stay safe 💕
— Leens (@Palestixian) November 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/796754379370102784
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/796787715450793985
https://twitter.com/mehreenkasana/status/796349158638686209