Asma Jama, an African woman who migrated from war-torn Somalia to the United States to seek protection has been attacked by a white woman because she spoke her native language.
This incident happened at a restaurant called Applebee’s in the city of Coon Rapids, north of Minneapolis.
Asma Jama said that she was in the restaurant chatting with her family in Swahili, one of three languages she speaks, and without any provocation or whatsoever, a white woman in a nearby booth smashed a beer mug in her face.
Swahili is a Bantu language. It is widely spoken in the African Great Lakes region and other parts of Southeastern Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and the Comoro Islands.
The attacker has been identified as Jodie Burchard-Risch. Police arrested her shortly after the incident. She was later charged with third-degree assault.
A criminal complaint alleged that Burchard-Risch was upset that the victim was speaking a foreign language, and yelled at her.
It is said the restaurant managers intervened and begged Burchard-Risch to leave the premises but she refused to leave. She continued to yell at the victim, throwing a cup of beer directly on her face. She also smashed another beer glass at her face before fleeing the scene.
Burchard-Risch and her husband reportedly told Jama to go home and that when she in America, she should only speak English.
Sympathizers have created an account on a fundraising website, GoFundMe to raise money for Jama’s medical expenses. They have been able to get over $10, 000.
Culled from www.anonhq.com
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