A mother of two was devastated after facing racial abuse from a group of four children on London’s Elizabeth line, who persistently used the racial slur, the P-word.
Sophia Choudry, 47, was making her way home alone from Paddington to Maidenhead when the youngsters began shouting the insults and laughing among themselves.
The business owner contacted British Transport Police (BTP) for assistance and claimed they advised her to disembark at Hayes and Harlington, assuring her that officers would be there to meet her.
She also activated the passenger alarm in hopes of preventing the children from escaping, but reported that the train halted and then continued without anyone offering her any assistance.
Ms. Choudry noted that other passengers criticized her for involving the police and recording the children, who concealed their identities after noticing they were being filmed.
When Ms. Choudry alighted at Hayes and Harlington, she stated that police were not present – prompting her to continue her journey to Slough, where her husband picked her up.
Detectives believe the children also got off at Hayes and Harlington, but said Ms Choudry did not want to make a formal statement. No arrests have been made.
Transport for London (TfL) has since said it was ‘deeply sorry’ for the incident on September 7 and was working with BTP to ‘urgently investigate the circumstances’.
Sophia Choudry, 47, was travelling home on the Elizabeth line when she was racially abused
Ms Choudry filmed the group of children shouting racial slurs and laughing with each other
Ms Choudry said: ‘It was awful and I felt so alone. I’d had such a lovely evening and was attacked for just being me. I just wanted to get the Tube and get home.
‘I wasn’t harming anyone. I was listening to music with my headphones on. At first, I thought I’d imagined it but it got louder and louder. When I took my headphones off, I could hear them shouting the P word over and over again.
‘The laughter, the brazenness and the complete lack of respect. I looked around and nobody reacted so I knew I was on my own. I couldn’t believe it was really happening. When I warned them I’d call the police, they tried to get off but the doors had already closed.
Ms Choudry said she pressed the emergency button and the train came to a brief stop, but set off again before anyone had been to check on her.
She also claimed other passengers turned on her over the delay, leaving her feeling ‘utterly alone’.
Ms Choudry continued: ‘One man asked why I was calling the police and I said it was because they were being racist. He said ‘so what?’. Another said that ‘they’re just kids’.
‘The kids weren’t bothered at all. I thought filming them would deter them but they couldn’t care less. They were all saying ‘it wasn’t me’.
The children covered their faces after realising Ms Choudry was videoing them on the train
‘I couldn’t believe the conversation I was having. It’s not right. Why didn’t anyone help me? Instead they said I was in the wrong. That hurt me the most. If I was in their shoes, I wouldn’t hesitate to help.
‘It’s one thing if people don’t want to get involved but to excuse racism and turn the blame onto me is another. I felt utterly alone. The train started moving and nobody came to check on me.’
Ms Choudry claimed police asked her to get off at Hayes and Harlington where she would be met by officers, but claims police never arrived.
She added that the incident ‘triggered memories of my childhood’ in Sunderland where she was the ‘only brown girl in school’ aged six to 16.
Ms Choudry said: ‘As a child, I was devastated and I’ve spent 25 years trying to move past that pain. To hear that word in London, a city that prides itself on diversity, was heartbreaking. Nobody deserves this. I’m just trying to live my life.
‘All I want is to raise awareness. They aren’t just words. They carry pain, history and trauma. If racism is excused, it doesn’t disappear, it’s passed on to the next generation.
‘We can’t keep dismissing it as kids being kids because every time we do, we give it permission to grow.’
Police believe the children left the train at Hayes and Harlington station in West London
A BTP spokesperson said: ‘Officers received a report around 8pm that a woman had been racially abused by a group of children on an Elizabeth Line train. They are reported to have left the train at Hayes and Harlington station.
‘Officers made a number of attempts to contact the victim and they do not currently want to make a formal statement to police regarding the matter at this time.
‘Officers take all reports of hate crime seriously and would encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences this sort of behaviour to report it to us by texting 61016’.
The latest TfL figures show reported incidents of hate crimes on the Elizabeth line increased by nearly 50 per cent last year, and by 28 per cent across the wider London transport network.
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘We are deeply sorry that this passenger has experienced this on our network.
‘No one should ever have to fear or experience abuse and harassment when using our network and TfL takes a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse and hate crime.
‘We are urgently investigating the circumstances of this incident and continuing to work closely with British Transport Police.’
