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A woman who subjected a passenger to racial insults on an Avanti West Coast train faced immediate consequences as she was escorted away by authorities upon reaching the next stop.
The altercation occurred on the 11:13 AM service traveling from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, where a confrontation ensued between dentist Merouane Ait-Hocin and a female passenger seated across from him.
In the video, shared on TikTok, Ait-Hocin replied, ‘Why would you say that? It’s profoundly disrespectful; I was born here. Were you born here?’
The woman declined to respond to his inquiries but instead queried Ait-Hocin about his place of birth in the UK. When he affirmed, ‘Yes, I was born here,’ she retorted, ‘Doesn’t seem like it to me.’
In response to her comment, an increasingly frustrated Ait-Hocin stated, ‘Show some respect, I pay my taxes, never disrespect me in that way.’
She responded with, ‘Serves you right,’ prompting him to counter, ‘Serves me right? Never disrespect me like that.’
When he once again posed the question ‘Are you British?’ she replied, ‘I don’t wish to converse with you.’
However, Ait-Hocin persisted, reiterating his question regarding her birthplace in the UK. She instructed him not to raise his voice, to which he asserted, ‘Don’t disrespect me; that remark was racist.’
“Return to where you hail from.” I was born here, alright? Never show me that level of disrespect. Do you understand? You likely weren’t even born here yourself.
She then stated, ‘Well, you’re not addressing me with respect.’ To which he retorted, ‘That’s due to your comment – never speak to anyone in that manner. Who do you think you are?’ The woman then added, ‘You’re yelling at me.’
Ait-Hocin declared, ‘Never talk to anyone in that way.’ Yet she refused to apologize, instead saying, ‘Fine, I’m going to speak to one of the staff members.’
He encouraged her to proceed, stating, ‘Talk to the staff. I’ve got evidence of you saying ‘go back to your country.’ Who do you think you are? You don’t address anyone… you can’t tell anyone ‘go back to your country.’ Who are you?
The woman replied, ‘Look at how you’re speaking to me now.’
“`and cautioned him not to raise his voice at her (Picture: TikTok / @therealdrmero)
However, the dentist responded: ‘Indeed, I will address you like this because you are patronizing, you exhibit racism, and you show a lack of respect. You shouldn’t interact with anyone in such a manner. Your parents or yourself may have been immigrants at one point. Show some decorum.’
As she attempted to assert that she would ‘not tolerate being spoken to in that manner,’ Alt-Hacim persisted: ‘I will engage with you – if you disrespect me, I will reciprocate the same energy.’
‘You do not show me disrespect, nor condescend to me and expect that I will communicate with you respectfully. Respect is earned, and you just forfeited it.’
‘Do not ever address me like this, nor anyone else – do not instruct anyone to ‘return to their own country.’ That is utterly disrespectful.’ The woman then retorted: ‘Well, you should because you’re so impolite; you have no place here.’
Nevertheless, the man maintained: ‘This is my nation; I am not going anywhere. Never tell anyone ‘go back to your own country.’ Are you alright?’
As she continued to belittle him, he accused her of ‘gaslighting’ him. A second female passenger then intervened, stating that she had heard the discussion and found the woman’s comments ‘abhorrent.’
The woman then stubbornly asserted that she had ‘no regrets,’ and when the man mentioned he had ‘captured it on tape,’ she responded: ‘Excellent, excellent, take it to the police – go ahead.’
The altercation persisted for a few more moments. In a subsequent clip recorded shortly after, the woman was seen walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent, accompanied by a police officer.
A representative from British Transport Police stated: ‘Officers received a text report to 61016 at approximately 11:45 AM on February 3 regarding racial abuse on a train traveling from Euston to Manchester.’
‘Officers met the train at Stoke railway station and identified individuals associated with the incident. Investigations into this matter are ongoing.
Contact our news team via email at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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