"My turban really saved me", says a 50-year-old Sikh man who was ambushed, beaten up multiple times by two white men who yelled racial slurs at him in the US.
Surjit Singh Malhi said he was putting out political signs for US Representative Jeff Denham, a Republican running for re-election, near his home in California when he was attacked by the two men who yelled racial slurs that "You're not welcome here!, Go back to your country!".
"My turban really saved me," Malhi was quoted as saying by the New York Times yesterday. He said his turban acted "like a helmet, but stronger."
"The only reason (he was attacked), as far as we can tell, is because he was wearing a turban and he was Middle Eastern," Deputy Royjindar Singh said. "That was the only reason they attacked him."
He said they spray painted the side of his truck with a white nationalist symbol and wrote, "Go back to your country."
"I never feel that way," he said. "I've never been mistreated like that."
"I have a lot of friends," Malhi said. "I have no problem. I do not feel any racism against me ever. I have friends who are standing for me. They love me and I love them."
"It's a despicable hate crime," the sheriff said. "There is no room for this in Stanislaus County or anywhere else in the United States of America."
"Inciting violence because of race, religion or political beliefs should never be tolerated," Denham said. "This is the third incident in less than two weeks where a member of my team has been a target and it must come to an end."
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