A man living in Bristol said he was “stunned” after experiencing racial abuse for the first time.
Roshan Gurung, who was born in Nepal to Nepalese parents, was walking down Gloucester Road on Saturday afternoon (March 14) when a car pulled up beside him at the traffic lights by the Applegreen petrol station.
The passenger in the car wound the window down and shouted, “Oi how much are your bats going for? Cheers for the coronavirus,” claimed the 23-year-old.
While unfazed by the comment, which references fake news about how coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, he is worried vulnerable people might suffer similar abuse which could “tip them over the edge”.
The music promoter’s parents live in Wales but he moved to Bristol to study at the University of the West of England five years ago, and has remained in the city since graduating.
What happened?
“I was walking down Gloucester Road on Saturday afternoon listening to music when a car pulled up next to me at the traffic lights outside the Applegreen petrol station,” said Roshan, who runs promotions and events brand Dazed, which he launched while at uni with friends.
“I heard someone shouting ‘Oi!’ and then after a while realised they were addressing it to me.
“I took out one of the earbuds and that’s when the guy in the passenger seat said, ‘How much are your bats going for? Cheers for the coronavirus.’
“I know I shouldn’t have responded but I said, ‘Not as much as your mum, mate’ with a smile on my face.
“This angered him and he started threatening me, but then the traffic lights turned green and they had to drive on as there were cars behind.”
Roshan said he did not report the incident to police as he is short-sighted and therefore was not able to get a proper look at the people in the car or the car’s registration number.
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Concern for others
Roshan, whose family moved to Wales from Nepal when he was young, before moving around from barrack to barrack while his dad was serving in the Gurkhas, said he is worried an increasing number of Asian people will suffer this kind of abuse due to the virus.
“Bristol is such an amazing city and I love how multicultural it is here,” he added.
“But I know that not everyone is a good person, and I just hope there aren’t too many more incidents like this.
“If a comment like the one I received was aimed at a young or vulnerable person, it could ruin their week or month, or even tip them over the edge.
“Plus there’s the worry it could escalate and become physical. It needs to stop.”
