‘It’s that kind of world now’

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

June 28, 2016 at 07:52

A TONGUE-in-cheek video of a man walking down the street waving his British passport has received nearly 10,000 shares online amid a surge in reports of racist attacks.

Nalin Dissanayake shared the video on Facebook of himself holding a camera and walking down the road with his passport on display.

“Have to take safety precautions when leaving the house now,” he wrote in the post called “It’s that kind of world now.”

The video has been seen more than 620,000 times and received plenty of comments from those saying it struck a chord after a reported surge in racism in the UK following the EU referendum in which the country voted to leave Europe by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

In the aftermath, social media users have posted their experiences online of being told to “get out” while police are investigating the distribution of cards outside a school telling “Polish vermin” to leave the country.

There has been a 57 per cent surge in reporting of hate crime since the referendum took place when compared to the same time last month.

BBC presenter Sima Kotcheta said she was verbally abused in Basingstoke while reporting for the broadcaster. She said she was shocked after being called a “P**i” in her home town.

In utter shock: just been called p**i in my home town! Haven't heard that word here since the 80s..!
— Sima Kotecha (@sima_kotecha) June 27, 2016

On Monday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leaders said there would be no tolerance for hate crime in the UK.
“We have a fundamental responsibility to bring our country together,” he said, citing the “despicable graffiti” seen at a Polish centre in London.

“These people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. We will not stand for hate crime,” he said.
The country is still reeling from the shock result that has left Vote Leave campaigners scrambling to find a plan for what a post-Brexit UK will look like.
Boris Johnson has suggested the UK will retain access to the single market and suggested immigration was not what motivated people to vote.
However that's at odds with UKIP leader Nigel Farage who wants strict border controls and said he was “beginning to detect there may be some backsliding” in terms of the promises made during the campaign.