Nikki Strong spoke up when she heard the woman on the train abusing Natalie Soto. Photo / Facebook
Nikki Strong spoke up when she heard the woman on the train abusing Natalie Soto. Photo / Facebook
The woman who was the target of racial abuse on a Sydney train has spoken out, saying it was "pretty shocking" to be at the receiving end of the tirade.
The video of Natalie Soto, a multilingual Australian-born woman, being told to speak only English in public has gone viral, bringing the issue of racial intolerance in Australia to the forefront again.
Ms Soto, aged 20, was the subject of the brutal tirade from another Sydney train passenger on Thursday.
Soto was speaking to her mother in Spanish during a phone conversation when the other passenger objected.
Ms Soto started videoing the exchange after claiming the woman said, "Get that dirty wog off the train, she's giving me a headache."
The video recording then shows the passenger telling Ms Soto: "Why should we have to listen to f***ing rambling? We speak English in this country. If you can't speak it, don't speak it at all."
Ms Soto told the infuriated passenger she spoke several languages.
The woman replied: "Speak it in your own home, don't speak it in public."
She added it made her feel uncomfortable to hear other languages than English being spoken in public.
Ms Soto said it was "actually pretty shocking" to be at the receiving end of the tirade.
Natalie Soto was the target of abuse. Photo / Facebook
Another passenger offered Ms Soto support, challenging the abuser: "So her speaking another language is not okay but you saying the c-word in front of children is okay?"
In the video she can be heard telling the woman: "We are a multicultural country. Look at the carriage. Unless you're Aboriginal, you have come from another country to be here."