NZ holiday: Filipino family abused by racist tirade in Wellington store

Krizia Egipto, 18, and her family, who are originally from the Philippines, flew to the capital city from their home in Invercargill last week and had their impression of a “beautiful place” ruined when they were belittled by a customer at a convenience store, the New Zealand Herald reports.

In a Facebook post, Ms Egipto wrote that as the family were buying coffee and Lotto tickets, a woman approached them and said they “weren’t welcome here”.

“While we were heading out of the shop this lady was giving us a look, a bad look, so I was just looking at her as well. But suddenly while we were just about to go out of the shop she said something to us,” Ms Egipto said.

“The lady said, ‘Don’t come back here any more. You’re not welcome here. This is only for white people. This country is for white people only.’”

Ms Egipto said the comments made her feel annoyed, angry and hurt.

“I told the lady, ‘Is this yours? Is this your shop?’ And she didn’t answer my questions. Then I told her, ‘You’re a racist.’”

Ms Egipto said the group were then approached by staff at the store and the “racist” woman was asked to leave.

However this wasn’t the end of the tirade, because the family bumped into the woman outside and the abuse continued.

“After that we went outside all ready to walk around the city. Then my mum saw the lady again and she’s being racist to us again,” she wrote.

Ms Egipto then began to video the woman, and question her as to why she felt they weren’t welcome.

The footage shows the woman saying, “It’s simple, no big deal. Go home. You have a country.

“You’re displacing white people, like that man on the street,” she said.

Ms Egipto can be heard trying to explain that the family have visas and the legal right to be in New Zealand.

Speaking with the Herald, Ms Egipto said she had never experienced this level of racism before.

Ms Egipto has lived in New Zealand for four years, and her father has been in the country for 14 years.

“There are other people who are not nice to us, but nothing as bad as that,” she said.

“If it was just me, I would have probably shrugged it off, but I was with my family so it was not OK.”

However, a silver lining for Ms Egipto was the support she received from people who witnessed the event, and others who have shared her Facebook post.

“There are still nice people who approached me and gave me a hug,” she said.

“Another lady also approached me, gave me a hug and also bought me an ice cream. Their reaction was very good and they made us feel welcome.

“I have also been overwhelmed with support on Facebook.”

Ms Egipto encouraged others to stick up for themselves.

“We all have the right to stay in whatever country that we want to because we have our own visas and we did a legal process for us to have this,” she wrote on Facebook.

“So whatever country you are from, please don’t let other people discriminate against you.

“Stand up for yourselves and don’t be scared. Whatever country that you came from and whatever colour you have, racism is not OK.”

This article originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as ‘White people only’: Stunning rant against tourists