"I just could not believe what was going on."
A mother of two children, Sophia, underwent a horrific ordeal involving racism while travelling on the Elizabeth Line.
Sophia detailed her experience to Metro UK, which saw a group of teenagers hurl racist language at her.
However, arguably, what was more disturbing was the fact that no other passengers supported Sophia, and some even defended the racist school kids.
Sophia’s parents emigrated to the UK from Pakistan over two decades ago, with the former spending her entire life in the UK.
She admitted that the incident had made her scared to use the train.
In the interview, Sophia explained: “I have not heard that word in 25 years. I could not believe it.
“I was shocked, devastated and heartbroken.
“How has this happened in London – the city of diversity?
“It feels like people have got a license to be racist without consequences.”
During her experience of racism, Sophia was travelling from Paddington to Maidenhead on September 7, 2025.
She heard the four kids shout “p**i” at her.
Sophia continued: “I thought I heard that word and I thought, ‘That can’t be right’.
“But they were – they were shouting that word.
“Nobody batted an eyelid. This was going on for a while.
“The kids were laughing at me. They did not care.”
Sophia filmed the four teenagers on her phone and told them that she would report their racism to the police.
The school kids attempted to disembark the train but the doors closed before they could do so.
Sophia pressed the Emergency Stop button to stop the train before the teenagers could escape at the next station, Hayes and Harlington.
However, Sophia’s ordeal was far from over, when white passengers started to defend the racist children.
Sophia said: “They were groaning because I pressed the button.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry guys but I can’t let them get away with this’.
“One man said, ‘What did they do?’
“And I said, ‘Oh, they were being racist’.
“And then he said, ‘Well, so what?’
“Another man then said to me, ‘They’re just kids – why are you doing this?’
“I just could not believe what was going on.
“I remember thinking, ‘Is anybody gonna back me up? Is anybody gonna say anything?'”
Sophia ultimately ignored the passengers and reported the incident to the police.
The teenagers and Sophia then disembarked the train at Hayes and Harlington Station.
Shortly afterwards, Sophia got back on the Elizabeth Line and proceeded to Slough, where her husband picked her up.
Sophia went on: “I felt very triggered. At school I was the only brown girl and as a child I really suffered from racism.
“It was that little girl in me who had that little bit of strength, which she didn’t have previously, to get up and do something.
‘I understand if people don’t want to get involved. I understand.
“But what brought me to tears was when they turned on me.”
Sophia shared the incident on TikTok, which went viral. Many viewers thanked her for sharing her traumatic experience.
Warning: This clip contains racist language:
@meribillimenumeow
Sophia, who runs a roti-making business, is a mother to a 16-year-old-daughter and a 13-year-old son.
She said: “This really threw me. I was very paranoid for the whole week after.
“I did not want to walk past groups of schoolchildren.
“Tuesday was the first time I went on the London Underground since the incident and I timed it so it was outside of school hours.
“Those passengers heard what happened and they instantly thought I was the villain – they blamed me.
“Racism is rife at the moment. Those men just didn’t care.
“They just instantly knew that they didn’t want to help or support me.
“Race crimes are so high at the moment. I am terrified for my children.”
Meanwhile, the British Transport Police said:
“Officers received a report around 8pm on Sunday, September 7, that a woman had been racially abused by a group of children on an Elizabeth Line train.
‘They were reported to have left the train at Hayes and Harlington Station and officers have launched a full investigation with enquiries continuing.
“We take a zero tolerance approach to hate crime and anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to text BTP on 61016, or call 0800 40 50 40, using the reference 567 of September 7.”
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