Jemima commends Pakistani-British cab driver for calmly tackling racist attack

Jemima Goldsmith has commended a British-Pakistani cab driver for calmly tackling a racist attack from a drunk passenger who hurled strings of abuses in a minute long social media clip that made rounds on internet recently.

"Shabash [Kudos] and respect to this Pakistani-British cab driver keeping his cool in the face of unspeakable racist abuse from a grotesque thug," Jemima said on Friday.

In the viral social media video, Abid Mustafa is seen composedly handling the native passenger as the man ranted "this is England", and "we'll blow you out the f** water".

The drunk passenger then yelled at Mustafa: “You are from Pakistan. You think you are [f…..g] special. No wonder the Indian[s] are bombing you. You're never going to win that battle, are you?"

He mocked the Pakistani cab driver that he was “lucky” to be in England.

The video began with a man sitting in the front passenger seat asking Mustafa: "Who do you think you are?

"You think you're something special - Pakistan?"

To which the driver humbly replied: "Thank you very much sir."

Pointing to a camera facing both men, Mustafa said: "I will put this on Facebook now buddy, and more people will see you and what you're saying [especially now] when people can see your face as well."

When the passenger refused to get off the taxi, the driver warned him that he will charge extra for waiting time. To which, the enraged passenger replied : "I'll tell you what, do you think Pakistan are going to beat the English?"

The driver, while once again maintaining his cool, responded: "We're not here for a competition, sir."

With no intention of defusing the tensed situation, the passenger went on to deride the Pakistani cab driver: "Well I'll tell you what about wars, wars?"

Also read: Pakistani taxi driver loses his life after contracting coronavirus from passenger in London

Father-of-four, Mustafa, who is being made the first honourary ambassador of the West Midlands Taxi Drivers' Association (WMTDA) for the way he handled the incident, said that he had been "hurt" by what had happened.

The drivers’s union said that in the last few weeks Mustafa had shuttled vital COVID-19 samples for the University Hospitals Birmingham National Health System (NHS) Foundation Trust during the tough times of pandemic, before being subject to the passenger's abuse.

The 39-year-old cab driver said that the passenger started his tirade as soon as he was picked up in Erdington, in Birmingham, and that he had constantly warned him to stop.

Believing that every (Black, Asian, Migrant and Ethnic) BAME driver in the West Midlands has been subjected to racist abuse from passengers at one point or another, the victim said: "I have a heart and emotions and it does hurt. The words do hurt us. But I chose the profession and I have to face these challenges."

West Midland Police are investigating the incident.