A Minnesota woman had to get 17 stitches after she was attacked for speaking her native language in a restaurant.

On Oct. 30, Asma Mohamed Jama was out to dinner with her family at a local Applebee’s when Jodie Marie Burchard-Risch became angered that the family was speaking in Swahili, Jama’s native language.

The attack started off as verbal threats, but soon after became physical. According to Cosmopolitan, Jama’s friend heard Burchard-Risch yell at Jama for not speaking “American.”

“I live in America. I can speak English, but we prefer to speak our own language, if it bothers you, I’m sorry,” Jama said before things got violent, according to CBS Minnesota.

Applebee’s employees then attempted to remove Burchard-Risch from the restaurant, but she resisted and threw a beer mug at Jama. The beer mug, still full of beer, struck Jama in the face. Afterward, Burchard-Risch ran away, but an employee followed her until the police arrived and could take her into custody.

All of this happened because Jama was speaking Swahili with her family and friends. As a country, we constantly tell ourselves that we are getting better about accepting other cultures into what we like to call the “normal” way to act.

In Jama’s case, she has lived in Minnesota for 15 years, according to CBS Minnesota. Jama said this is the first time she has been attacked and that she has never even received strange looks. The whole attack came as a surprise.

What would have happened if this would not have happened in a public place? What if Burchard-Risch would have followed Jama and her family home and then proceeded to act as she wanted?

This horrible hate crime is only one example of how out of control and ignorant some citizens of the U.S. can be. Things like this happen every day and we should not let it continue to happen. We cannot act violently toward someone because they act differently than ourselves. This is something that most people learn in kindergarten.

As an American, this disgusts me. Burchard-Risch deserves to be punished for this act.

CBS Minnesota also reported that this is not Burchard-Risch’s first offense. In 2011, she faced assault charges.

Those who live in America, no matter what cultural background they carry around with them, deserve to be treated as human beings. Something as simple as speaking in another language should not be something that sparks rage in another American. I cannot believe that someone would actually throw a beer mug at someone’s face. Purposely.

Burchard-Risch is facing a charge with one count of third degree assault, according to Fox KMSP.

“We kind of feel like we’ve come a long way with racism and intolerance in our country,” said Paul Sommer, of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, “but every so often something like this happens and reminds us we haven’t quite come far enough.”

He is right. We have not come far enough. Something needs to change.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Jama, in hopes that she will be able to pay her medical bills. As of Monday afternoon, almost $11,000 has been raised for Jama. 

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. They are not directly the opinions of The Slate, its staff or Shippensburg University as a whole. Concerns or letters to the editor can be sent to shipspeaks@gmail.com.

Share