A woman has been filmed verbally abusing a family of Guatemalan tourists during a meal at a Virginia restaurant after hearing them speaking Spanish.
The unidentified white woman was caught on camera unleashing a racially charged and profanity-laden verbal attack at the family at Andy’s Restaurant in Lovettsville.
The victim, who asked to remain anonymous, said the woman approached the family and asked to see their passports. According to the victim, the woman said “she knew everybody in Loudon County to get us out of here.” The woman demanded the family speak English.
“How do you want them to speak English when they’re here just visiting,” the victim asked the woman in the video.
“You don’t freeload in this f****** country,” the woman shouted. “You get the f*** out, back to your f****** country.”
The police were called, but no charges were filed. In a Facebook post, Andy’s Restaurant said the woman is no longer allowed back to the establishment.
The entire confrontation lasted about 10 minutes. The victim said she is sharing this hateful experience since her 7-year-old daughter was present throughout the entire ordeal, NBC Washington reported. The victim hopes those who have experienced bias-motivated attacks and crimes also speak out about their experience.
The victim’s family said the racist attack no longer made them want to visit the United States again.
The US has a history of meddling in Guatemalan affairs. In 1954 the CIA helped direct a coup to overthrow Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz, who was democratically elected. The coup replaced Mr Árbenz with a military junta.
Six years later, the military dictatorship prompted a civil war that lasted nearly 40 yearws and killed hundreds of thousands of people. The regime change and the civil war led to devastating long-term impacts on the Latin American country that includes gang violence, drug crime and extreme economic consequences.
