Muslim sisters distraught after being verbally abused at Mt Albert train station
While the rest of New Zealand is comforting the Muslim community, two women at an Auckland railway station were subjected to vile abuse today for wearing hijab. The two sisters were told to "go back to your f***ing country" in an ugly incident at Mt Albert train station. The women - who had assured their families it was safe to leave their home - found themselves trembling with fear from the abuse. Iqra, 21, and her sister say their family are now considering not wearing their headscarves in public. "For us, that is a deeply disturbing discussion to have," Iqra told the Herald, her voice shaking while she spoke. She wanted to speak out about the incident at 1pm today that had her fearing for her safety to warn her Muslim brothers and sisters to take extra precautions and always travel in groups. "The most shocking thing was there was no security in sight," Iqra said. She was with her younger sister Asma when they were approached by an "obviously drunk" man carrying a bottle of liquor. He started yelling "what are you looking at? I hate girls. Go back to your f***ing country" and edged closer towards them before walking away. She described him as middle-aged, short and wearing a grey T-shirt and black pants. Iqra said there was a European girl sitting next to them who started crying during the abuse. "She was really distressed so we moved closer to her. I looked over to him and he said: 'what are you looking at' and repeated that I should go back to my country," Iqra said. She said she couldn't believe that someone could be that inhumane after Friday's terrorist attacks in Christchurch. "I know this is only one man and most people have been supportive of Muslims but it was so distressing," Iqra said. She hadn't encountered abuse like that before. "It was terrifying." At one point Iqra said she got her phone out to ring the police when the man came back screaming "I'm going to film you, you f***ing ugly Muslims" before repeating for the third time to "go back to your country". In her head, Iqra said she wanted to yell back, "I belong here just as much as you". "But I didn't want to say anything back because I was scared I would trigger him especially given what's happened in Christchurch," Iqra said. Iqra said she had filed a police complaint and was told the man was known to the police. Police confirmed a complaint was received.
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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49.5% Yes
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48.6% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
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Why make picking up reserved library books harder? What do you think? Challenge: Write the last stanza for the first poem attached below.
Once books are reserved in Auckland Libraries books, when they are available no longer go alphabetically by customer but instead go into a Holds pickup shelf number based presumably somehow on when each book needs to be picked up by.
I had two books reserved that arrived on two different days in the Blockhouse Bay Library and hence each book has a different shelf number. Hard to find unless you knew the shelf number in the notification email. Even if you knew the shelf number I found myself three books by the same author on the two shelf numbers.
More recently yesterday a book I reserved was on a different shelf number than was specified in my notification email (see image below).
Sadly it is clear from library staff that a numerical system for reserves is here to stay.
I suggest that so that all books for each person has the same shelf number, the shelf number becomes the last digit of a person's library card (0-9).
Within each shelf number a book is found under the day the reserve arrives in the library (01 to 31, hopefully the same date the email is sent).
Since a customer appears to have 10 days to pick up a book, ten days of the month would appear to be required at any time (for each digit 0-9).
Once there are 10 days used the next day's reserves could go back at the beginning of the shelf number after any remaining books not collected (hopefully none) are removed (along with the old day number and the new day number (01 to 31) inserted) after the last day available and future days' books remaining moved forward to make room.
Each day number (01-31) would appear once for each shelf number (0-9) before the first book on that day- perhaps cover an old withdrawn book with paper with each day number on the spine?
When a reserved book arrives in the library the last digit of the library card could be placed on a piece of paper in the book to be removed when it is put on the shelf, to be recycled the next day.
What do you think?
See the image below and page 3 below for a letter appearing in the Western Leader on 9 September:
www.neighbourly.co.nz...
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