'It's made me have an identity crisis': Londoners speak out about racist abuse

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, BBC London reporter records racist abuse By Bhavani Vadde London Published 16 July 2026 A man said something to me and I assumed he needed directions so I took my earbuds out to listen to him. What I heard shocked me. I completely froze. He was shouting, swearing and hurling vile racist abuse, telling me: "You need police protection, call the police." He walked away, I filmed him then he came back - repeating those words once again. I am a British Asian. This is in London, in my neighbourhood. In the city I deliberately chose to make my home because of its diversity - the first place where I felt a sense of belonging after growing up in a less multicultural part of the country. That sense of belonging and safety has now been badly shaken, and I'm not alone in this. After I shared what happened on social media, messages started coming in from people who have had similar experiences. Image caption, Uzma Hussain was harassed by a woman outside her restaurant in Walthamstow Village One of them is Uzma Hussain, who had opened the Axe and Ember Smokehouse with her husband in Walthamstow Village just before Christmas. A few days later, a woman stood outside the window – gesturing a thumbs down. Uzma thought she didn't like meat or was perhaps a vegetarian, so went out to speak to her. "She just started saying some really, really horrible things. She was like, 'You don't belong here.' "And then she called me, the P-word. I've never been called that before. "I went from surprised, shocked, not believing what had happened to really angry at one point." 'It's not fair' Uzma, who was born and bred in Walthamstow, says the abuse went on for at least 30 minutes. Uzma, who works as a lawyer, became tearful as she described the emotional toll it's taken. "I think it's affected me far more than I thought it would because ultimately it's just words. "You know why do I care what someone... who doesn't know me thinks about me?" Uzma says the abuse left her questioning where she belongs after being told she wasn't welcome in the place she calls home. "It's kind of made me almost have an identity crisis, you could say. It's not fair how I have gone away feeling and that's going to be with me forever." She says the support she has had from the local community has been "absolutely phenomenal" and some had their own stories of racism. "I've had hundreds of people come in and share their experience and some of them have got evidently very emotional about it and I'm glad that I have been someone who has been able to almost support them." Image caption, Jimmy Bapu stepped in to try to help but was then racially abused himself Jimmy Bapu, who is a food influencer, was inside the restaurant that night where he was filming a video. When he realised something was wrong, he stepped out to help – but was also racially abused. "Look at the state of you," the woman sai