GoFundMeA Chinese man had to undergo surgery after being assaulted on the street by a ‘racist’ man who demanded he ‘speak English’.
Constantine, a student, was speaking Mandarin as he walked in Adelaide, Australia, last week when he was approached by the attacker, who allegedly started ‘spewing racist trash’ towards the Chinese man.
Mark Holgate, Constantine’s fencing teacher, detailed the ordeal on Facebook, explaining the man told Constantine to speak English before ‘smash[ing] a huge section of his cheek bone’.
Holgate described his student as ‘one of the nicest people’ he’s ever met, and said the attack made him ‘angry and ashamed to be Australian’.
Today I'm angry and ashamed to be Australian. Three days ago a Chinese student of mine was cowardly assaulted for…
Posted by Mark Holgate on Monday, February 24, 2020
The assault left Constantine in need of ‘serious and expensive facial reconstruction surgery to keep from losing [his] eye’, so Holgate set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the procedure.
Constantine underwent his surgery yesterday, February 26, and thankfully the operation was a success.
In a post shared online afterwards, Holgate wrote:
[Constantine] is still quite uncomfortable, but he’s being looked after well and is appreciating the messages of encouragement and compassion.
Your compassion helps, and goes a long way to showing him that so many Australians care for him and find his treatment abhorrent.
Constantine travelled from China to Australia to learn historical fencing, though Holgate believes the student ‘won’t be fencing for a long time’ as a result of his injuries.
Police managed to arrest the alleged attacker after he made the ‘stupid’ decision to return to the scene of the crime.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, police said:
Police attended the scene and located the offender where he was arrested and charged with assault and property damage.
A 24-year-old man from Noarlunga Downs was granted police bail and he will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on March 30.
PixabayHolgate is still raising money for Constantine, with funds going ‘towards his medical expenses and recovery, and a gift from the historical fencing community for him.’
The fencing teacher accused Australia of having an ‘ugly history of racism’, writing:
Constantine travelled from China to Australia to learn historical fencing and this is what Australia has given him. I’m just gutted for him. Well done Australia, way to encourage tourism.
Our country has an ugly history of racism. Challenge it and call it out. And look after your Asian friends, the coronavirus is just another excuse that’s stirring up racist violence.
Hopefully Constantine will make a full and fast recovery. You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.