23 Jul Two Contra Costa Women Doused With Liquid and Told to ‘Leave’ in Martinez
By Joe Porrello
Two South Asian American women say they were physically and verbally assaulted July 7 in Martinez after getting coffee.
The best friends, both born and raised in the Bay Area, were walking on Alhambra Avenue when they say they were doused with a mystery liquid. One of them couldn’t help but think of the acid attacks on women in her parents’ native Bangladesh. The liquid had come from a passing car, and so did one word:
“Leave.”
To protect the women’s privacy and safety, The Pulse has agreed to refer to them by aliases.
“I was just doing something anybody would want to do,” said Jenny.
They do things a lot of people like to do: Jenny, 25, likes seeing live music and spending time with friends in Oakland and San Francisco; Zena, 27, enjoys dancing, hiking and creating online content.
But now, they are afraid that even normal activities may not be safe.
It was around 9 p.m. when they went to get coffee because Jenny had a headache. They were walking back to Zena’s car when it happened.
“I was completely drenched,” said Zena. “Jenny and I were frozen for like a full 30 seconds.”
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Being the daughter of immigrants from Bangladesh — where she knows acid attacks on women who refuse sexual advances and marriage proposals have been commonplace — Zena feared the worst.
“My face felt like it was on fire; if it was just water, my skin wouldn’t have reacted,” said Zena, who has a skin condition and said she had a visible reaction to the liquid almost immediately.
At first, Jenny’s parents — Indian immigrants — didn’t want her to report the incident.
“(Immigrants) have more of a need and want to assimilate and keep the waters calm, even if something really isn’t going well for them,” she said.
Zena said, “In general, immigrant parents just want you to lay low, keep your head down, and blend in.”
To keep things in perspective, she reminds herself that both her and Jenny’s parents survived genocide. “We can be as pissed as we want to be, but we can never be hopeless.”
>>>Read: Holocaust Survivor’s Life Is an Open Book Come Alive<<<
Jenny said the incident reinforced the belief many parents of young women — particularly immigrant parents — have that their daughters should stay inside and “not do normal things because it’s dark out or whatever the reason is.”
They each made a statement to Martinez police. But because the incident happened so quickly and at night, neither could recall details that could help identify the vehicle or the people inside.
With so little to go on, Zena said, the police didn’t open a formal investigation or file a report.
“Considering there’s a lot of missing pieces to the story, (police) were able to help us as much as they could,” said Jenny.
She pushed officers to look for surveillance footage that might supply the information they couldn’t.
Days later, the police secured video they said showed water guns shooting liquid out the open windows — but not the license plate.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get a lead with this, but we’ve been trying to prioritize getting our story out,” Jenny said.
Zena said the pair considers what happened a hate crime, “but who knows if that will ever be institutionally validated.”
Hate crimes are difficult to prosecute because they require proving both that the suspect committed the crime and that prejudice against a protected group was the motivation; even if someone does something hateful while doing something illegal, it may not technically qualify as a hate crime. That can make officials reluctant to charge something as a hate crime.
>>>Read: What Is the Difference Between a Hate Crime and a Hate Incident?<<<
As time has passed, Jenny and Zena’s feelings surrounding the incident have shifted.
For Zena, shock and panic turned into anger. Jenny tried to rationalize what she did wrong or why this happened. But now, she says she’s just trying to feel safe again.
“Growing up and living here, I think I had this conception that this is home — this is safe. Now I have to think twice,” she said. “Living in this bubble of the Bay Area, I think it was kind of just a rude reminder to make sure that you’re aware of your surroundings because you never know when your safety could be compromised.“
Jenny added that incidents like theirs could happen randomly, when you least expect it, so people can’t let their guard down — even in familiar surroundings.
“It’s true that the Bay is generally pretty liberal and a safe place to be a minority person compared to other parts of the country,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and be comfortable, because we’re not immune to things like racism and all of the other phobias that exist.”
Both said this was the first physical act of hate they’ve been subjected to, but Zena said she has been stalked and verbally abused. And growing up in a Muslim family, she says she experienced Islamophobia throughout her life.
Jenny says talking with family and mental health professionals has helped her deal with what happened.
“As time went on and I told my loved ones, I realized how bad it was and how much worse it could have been. I had to break it down with someone because it kind of started to eat at me,” she said. “The whole experience was out of my control, but my emotions and my outlook are within my control.”
Telling people what happened has been freeing, Jenny said, and makes her feel less alone because other people have similar stories and are there to support her.
“It could have happened to anyone,” she said.
Any victim of or witness to a hate incident or crime in California can report it and receive support any time at CAvsHate.org. You can also call 833-8-NO-HATE; (833) 866-4283 Monday – Friday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. If outside of those hours, you can leave a voicemail, or you can call 211 to report hate and seek support. You can currently submit reports online in 15 languages and, when calling the hotline, you can get access to support in over 200 languages. If you want to report a hate crime to law enforcement immediately or you are in present danger, please call 911.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
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