A video uploaded to Facebook of an Icelander yelling racial abuse at a group of Asian youths has prompted a police investigation.
The incident in question, Vísir reports, took place at the suburban mall Smáralind. The man in question confronted a group of Asian youths, first asking them if they spoke Icelandic. When they answered that they did, the man then accused them of having brought swine flu to Iceland. He also called them Chinese, said that all Asians were the same, threatened them with physical violence and, inexplicably, called them racists.
The police have told the public that they are taking the incident very seriously, telling reporters that they are looking for the man on the video, and intend to “make him answer for this,” not least of all because of the “degrading language” the suspect used.
One of the youths involved, Hajar Anbari – who recorded the video seen in the first link – told reporters that she has received a lot of support from the general public in the wake of the incident.
“There are a lot of people who stand with us,” she said in part. “This shows the prejudice we experience, even though many of us have Icelandic citizenship. I was born here and [her friend] Cassandra was born here. There is no difference between us, we both speak Icelandic.”
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