Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Violent Hate Crime in Los Angeles: The Survivor Speaks!

Sri Lankan victim of a hate crime speaks to Left Voice about his experience and how he sees America after Trump’s victory.

Left Voice

November 27, 2016
Facebook Twitter Share

Trump supporters, image from Buzzfeed

Karan**, who is Tamil from Sri Lanka, was the victim of a hate crime as he waited at the bus stop in the city of Torrance in Los Angeles County. Trump’s election brought an onslaught of hate crimes, most of which go unreported. The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported more than 700 cases of hate based harassement or intimidation in the week after the election. From hateful writing scrawled on walls and cars, to hateful comments hurled at people of color on the street, to harassment and violence, Trump’s victory has without a doubt emboldened racists and struck fear in many immigrants and people of color. Left Voice has documented the way these fears manifest themselves in the classroom.

That fear is not unwarranted. Like Karan, many have suffered physical violence since the election. Karan spoke with Left Voice about the attack he experienced.

**Karan requested that his name be changed for this article.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I came to the US on the “Diversity Visa Program” in September 2007. I had been here for over 9 years and then became a citizen 4 years ago. I wanted to come to the US because I believed in “freedom of speech.” I felt it was very safe. But now because of this incident I am wondering where I could live that will be safer. I wanted my sister to come to the US , but now I am not sure because of this attack and the racism brought out by Trump.

Describe what happened when you were attacked.

I was waiting at the bus stop to go to work on the corner of Vermont and Carson. It was around 9:30am. There was one other young guy here and workers at a fast food restaurant. I was on my phone, when from behind someone punches me in the side of my face, knocking my glasses to the side. I could see he was a young white guy in gym clothes. He knocked me to the ground. He started punching at me over and over. I kept asking him, “Why?Why?” but he never answered. He just kept hitting me. The bus came and he took off running. I am lucky that I didn’t fall towards the street and that he didn’t pull a knife or gun on me.

Why do you think the attacker did this?

The guy didn’t try to rob me or take anything from me. He came up and punched me and then kept punching. He came there to attack. I am from Sri Lanka and I am not Muslim, but to racist people we are all the same. I had a beard that day but afterwards I decided to shave it off.

What does your attack have to do with the Trump election?

Trump won on a racist platform. I watched as he kept saying,” Muslims must be banned,” “Mexicans are rapists,” and “Build the wall!” over and over. That is the way his supporters talk! I am no fan of Clinton either though. Within Trumps’ lies there is a kernel of truth; he talks about jobs disappearing and they really are, but it is not immigrants taking those jobs! I couldn’t believe he got elected and my friends couldn’t either. It shows that racism is strong and it still exists. I didn’t think it would happen here.

Has this changed your daily life?

I am more careful and alert. I try not to have my back exposed. I also don’t look at my phone as closely. But I won’t stop going to work or living my life. I have told members of the Sri Lankan community and we will hold a press conference regarding what happened. I afraid that my family in Sri Lanka will worry about me but I also think this story needs to be heard. People need to know that if it can happen in Los Angeles and it can happen anywhere.

Left Voice wholly condemns racist and xenophobic attacks. We stand in solidarity and defend immigrants and all oppressed people from bigotry and violence.

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

United States

Train Derailment in Metro Detroit Illustrates That Capitalist Control of the Railroads Is Fundamentally Unsafe

With the capitalists in control of the railroads, they will destroy the environment and poison and kill workers. The catastrophe in East Palestine will not be the last if we don’t nationalize our railroads and put the safety of people and the environment over profit.

Emma Boyhtari

February 28, 2023
East Palestine, Ohio in the distance at night, smoke and fire springing up due to the train derailment.

The Ohio Train Disaster Is on Biden’s Hands

Just months after President Biden and Congress blocked railway workers from striking over dangerous working conditions, the exact type of disaster that workers predicted has come to pass. The fate of East Palestine must be a wake-up call for the labor and climate movements to fight for the nationalization of the railroads under workers’ control.

B.C. Daurelle

February 15, 2023
US President Joe Biden speaks during a State of the Union address with US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, right, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Biden is speaking against the backdrop of renewed tensions with China and a brewing showdown with House Republicans over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Biden’s Populist Speech Can’t Cover Up Capitalist Crisis

Biden tried to paint a picture of a United States that has come back stronger after the pandemic. But despite his populist rhetoric and laundry list of policies, none of these measures can address the real needs of the vast majority of the working class and poor who have been exploited and oppressed for much longer than the last two years.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

February 8, 2023
A horizontal testing scantron with almost all of the bubbles filled in

The Changes to AP African American Studies Are “Absolutely Political”: A Former College Board Worker Speaks Out

A former College Board worker explains how the company's "apolitical" pedagogical approaches privilege right wing ideas, even as the right wing accuses them of spreading "wokeism."

Jess DuBois

February 4, 2023

MOST RECENT

“We are your economy”: Trans Youth Walkout and Speak Out

The following is a speech by a young trans person as part of an action called for by NYC Youth for Trans Rights.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

March 20, 2023
Three tables full of food, with signs hung above them. One says "The People's Pantry: FREE FOOD." Banners hung from the tables say "Free CUNY" and "Cop Free School Zone"

CUNY Administration Cracks Down on Student and Worker-Run Food Pantry

Students and workers opened "The People's Pantry" seven weeks ago as part of a broader anti-austerity campaign at CUNY, leading to several direct confrontations with the administration.

Olivia Wood

March 19, 2023

Neither NATO Nor Putin: An Anti-war Program for an Anti-war Protest

The following is a flier that Left Voice distributed at the March 18 rally in DC with the anti-war program we believe we must all take up.

Left Voice

March 19, 2023

France: Macron Bets On His Presidency as Millions Rise Up

A historic two weeks of mobilizations against Macron’s pension reform, with several sectors going into open-ended strikes, and including a spectacular show of solidarity on International Women’s Day. Yet despite the massive turnout, the government pushed through the reform Thursday night, using an antidemocratic maneuver to bypass the National Assembly. Which direction will the movement take? Will it fizzle out in a failed top-down union strategy, or will it generalize the struggle to all sectors from the bottom up?

Antoine Ramboz

March 17, 2023