International student injured during racial attack

Filming by CHESTER NGAN

BY KATE TAN

An international university student was assaulted and told to leave Australia during a racist attack, as she walked through Melbourne's CBD with a friend. 

The 25 year-old Chinese national was walking near the Melbourne Town Hall at around 11pm when she was set upon by a group of five teenaged girls earlier this month.

The RMIT student, who wished to be known only as "Amy", said the incident had left her feeling unsafe and she still did not know why she and her friend were targeted. 

“A white teenage girl punched me in the nose and hit me so hard that I fell to the ground,” Amy said.

“The girl who punched me said ‘go back to your country, and don’t come back to Australia again’."

Amy is now too scared to go out at night.

“I am not sure whether Melbourne is safe anymore. I never thought such a thing could have happened to me,” she said. 

The teenager who attacked her was wearing a ring on her hand, which narrowly missed Amy's eye and cut her face. 

The victim’s friend, "Sophie", said she too felt traumatised by the violence.

“I just stood there like a fool because I could not protect my friend,” Sophie said

During the fight, a group of males stopped to help Amy, restraining the attacker and taking her to police.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said the main aggressor, a 15 year-old Boronia girl, is expected to be charged with recklessly causing injury.

On the same weekend Amy was attacked, an Indian girl was assaulted on a Cranbourne bound train. The Monash University student was also kicked and punched by a group of teenage girls.

The 23-year-old Indian woman also believed the attack was racially motivated.

The Council of International Students Australia (CISA) public relations officer Manfred Mlestin said racially-motivated violence was not acceptable.

“Two incidents happening in a week is a high rate,” Mr Mletsin said.

“It should not happen at all."

Australian Human Rights Commission spokesman Chin Tan said Australia had zero tolerance for such incidents.

“Racial abuse and racially motivated violence has no place in our society,” Mr Tan said.