Earlier this summer, a Muslim Bangladeshi-Canadian teacher was subjected to a terrifying racist attack while on a family vacation in Manitoba, Canada, CBC News reported.
The incident took place on July 2, but the victim, Kaniz Fatima, only decided to go public with her story earlier this week, when she posted a video of the encounter on social media.
Speaking to CBC News, Fatima explained that she was driving with relatives near Pinawa, about 95 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg when the group stopped to ask a man for directions.
"The man quickly became abusive and told her he was a Nazi, then ordered her to take off her hijab and go back to her country," she explained.
In the video that captured part of the incident, the man can be heard yelling:
"I'm a Nazi. Do you know what a Nazi is? Take your head towel off in this country."
The teacher is then heard responding to him, calling him a racist. This, however, didn't deter the attacker, who then responded with:
"It (the hijab) supports Muslims... go back to your country."
Fatima, who is still traumatized by the incident, explained why she decided to go public with her story in an interview with CBC News:
"I felt a responsibility to talk against racism, to stand up against Islamophobia. I felt like I need to uphold my Canadian values and stand up for inclusion and justice because this is our country and we belong to this country."
Fatima and her husband have since filed a report with the Calgary Police Service, who told them the report will be referred to police in Manitoba.
"This is my hijab. Why should I take it off?"
The racist attacker has since denied being a Nazi
After Fatima went public with her story, local Canadian publication, Global News, said it spoke to the attacker, Nick Wadien, who confirmed he was the man in the video.
In a phone interview with the newspaper, Wadien denied being a Nazi.
"The turbaners wouldn't leave me alone so I got mad. I didn't want to talk to them. That's it," he explained.
"They wanted to know where they were. I told them, and I told them to use Google... they kept f---ing talking, like I don't want to talk to you," he added.
Alysha Goertzen, a passerby who witnessed the incident and stood up for Fatima, also spoke to Global News and explained her shock at what the teacher had to endure.
Not an isolated event but rather part of a trend
In an interview with CBC News last week, Helmut-Harry Loewen, a retired University of Winnipeg sociology professor who monitors hate groups, said, "white supremacist groups are very much present in Manitoba."
He also added that "attempts at recruiting within these groups are on the rise."
"Posters went up downtown from various organizations. Some of them were posted on campus at the University of Manitoba promoting a kind of white students' union. All of this happened in the wake of Trump."
While the 'Trump effect' seems to be playing a part in the rise of racist incidents even outside the U.S., Canada has had its >own problems with racism and Islamophobia long before he came into office.
According to Statistics Canada, the number of police-reported hate crimes against Muslims jumped by 60 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year.