'It is not acceptable' Alleged victim of Manchester tram 'racism' speaks out
THE man who was victim of alleged racist abuse on a tram in Manchester has spoken out for the first time since the incident.
Juan Jasso spoke to channel 4 about his abuse on a tram in Manchester
Juan Jasso, a US Army veteran, was allegedly told to "get back to Africa" while travelling on a tram through Manchester’s city centre in the early morning.
The incident gained national attention after a video was posted online. As a result, two men aged 18 and 20 were arrested in connection with the incident and have since been bailed, while a 16-year-old remains in custody.
Mr Jasso is a sports lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and his lived in the UK for the past 18 years.
Juan Jasso claims there was a Brexit undertone to alleged racial attack
I think there was an undertone there before this Brexit and the voting within the referendum, but I think the result maybe has pushed people to somehow justify that they think it’s ok now to act out in this way
Speaking to Channel 4 News, he said: "It was a bit of a surreal moment because initially, it was just me asking those individuals just to watch their language.
"Obviously, it was really early in the morning, there were children about and I could tell from other people’s faces on the tram they didn’t really appreciate the language which they were using.
"So I thought I would step up and say something."
The former signals intelligence analyst said he didn’t feel threatened by the men.
He continued: "Obviously you don’t know what can happen from a situation whenever you challenge anyone because you don’t know who they are, their background or anything and how they are going to react.
"I think there was an undertone there before this Brexit and the voting within the referendum, but I think the result maybe has pushed people to somehow justify that they think it’s ok now to act out in this way, obviously it’s not.
"It’s not acceptable in any terms, in any way, shape or form, because obviously people feel threatened by it and you know, people are coming here to contribute.
"And no matter what anybody says they have that right to come here and choose to live here and they should not be discriminated for that."
Political leaders from all parties, including David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage have all issued strong condemnations of all racist and xenophobic incidents in the wake of the EU referendum.