“I’m lucky to be alive,” Rohit Singh said after a morning walk in Melbourne’s west.A group of about 12 seniors who regularly meet at the Sanctuary Lakes shopping center in Point Cook for walks, coffee and conversation were subjected to several days of racial abuse before the situation escalated. According to Rohit Singh, whose father is part of the group, the harassment had been going on for several days.She told The Australia Today that one woman repeatedly approached elderly people on foot and faced insults such as “go back to your country” and telling them “they don’t belong here”. The group initially tried to ignore the abuse.However, Singh said the woman returned again and continued abusing. When he came forward to protect his father and others, the confrontation turned physical.The woman threw a bag of trash at the group before getting into her car and driving toward them. Singh claims that he deliberately hit her and her father with the vehicle.“I’m lucky to be alive,” Singh said, adding that this was the result of repeated abuse targeting vulnerable elderly Indian Australians.He was seriously injured and taken to hospital by ambulance. A video of the incident shows the car hitting both Rohit Singh and his father.Victoria Police reached the spot and a report has been registered. An off-duty police officer witnessed the incident but no arrests have been made yet.Another member of the group, identified only as Mr Parmar, said these morning walks are more than just exercise. “It is for us a place of interaction, language, friendship and a sense of belonging. This is what makes the repeated racist harassment so disturbing.”
