A man who allegedly told an 11-year-old boy on a playground in New Jersey to move his “a** out of this country” has denied the accusations in a police interview, reports Courier News.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) is welcoming an investigation into the alleged attack.
The boy’s mom, Racha Zeini, posted to Facebook, sharing that the man told her son to “move your a** out of this country, you are an (expletive) Indian come to our country to steal our jobs and money,” according to a CAIR-NJ press release.
Zeini said her son responded, “This is my country, sir” and then left on his bike.
“I was really shocked when (my son) came home and told me,” Zeini told Patch. “This is South Brunswick, a very diverse community. My kids have gone to all the public schools here for years and never had any issue. This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening here.
“Of course this is not acceptable. But I wanted to give this man the benefit of the doubt. I asked my son if he had any interaction with him beforehand or had said anything to provoke this. He said no. I know my son. He doesn’t lie.”
Zeini and her husband are from Syria, and their four children are US-born. The family has been living in South Brunswick for ten years.
A press release from the South Brunswick Police Department stated that the man “denied making any statements to the juvenile. The wife indicated that she is also an immigrant and would never allow someone to speak to a child that way.”
“Community members, and especially young children, in this state have a right to safety and security while on school premises, and it is the duty of faculty, administrators and law enforcement to ensure that right.” stated Jim Sues, CAIR-NJ’s executive director. “Hateful, and bigoted speech such as was witnessed in this case should never be tolerated, and the laws that protect our citizens from these offenses should be strictly enforced. We welcome the South Brunswick Police Departments efforts to identify the perpetrator of this apparent hate crime.”
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story
