The father-of-three, whose family was harassed by a deranged woman on a United Airlines ferry, revealed her hateful comments began mid-flight.
Renowned photographer Pervez Taufiq told DailyMail.com he was traveling with his wife and three children from Mexico to Los Angeles when the horrific altercation began.
The family got a free business upgrade for their flight and decided to give it to their 11-year-old son.
At one point, Taufiq, sitting three rows behind his son, walked over to check on him and that’s when he first interacted with the woman.
“I was there for about three seconds, and a lady came up behind me coming from the bathroom and said, ‘Can I sit down?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and I stepped aside,” he said.
‘He sits in his seat and mutters under his breath. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.
After the plane landed and they were led to the ferry, Taufiq’s son revealed that the woman asked him uncomfortable questions during the flight.
“When we got off the plane, my son started telling me, ‘Hey, that lady was asking me if you’re Indian and I said yes, and then she asked me if I’m from New Delhi and I said no, I’m from Bombay,'” Taufiq said.
Pervez Taufiq told DailyMail.com that he was traveling with his wife and three children when they were attacked by the deranged woman.
Taufiq said he began asking his son uncomfortable questions during the flight and the situation escalated when he told his children to “shut up” on the ferry.
‘I wondered why he would ask you if you are Indian, what a strange thing for someone who doesn’t even know you to ask. It was strange.’
Once they were on the ferry, the father said the woman continued to harass his children and launch vile attacks.
‘We get on the bus and literally my son, the youngest, says, “Oh my God! That’s a plane!” and my middle son says, “Yeah, is that your favorite plane?” “They are both obsessed with airplanes,” Taufiq said.
‘Maybe a second after that, this lady says “shut up, shut up.” That’s when I lost it.
The woman wearing a green striped shirt showed both middle fingers at Taufiq as he began filming the altercation.
‘Your family is from India, you don’t respect the rules, you think you can pressure everyone… that’s what you think you are. “They’re fucking crazy,” he said.
Taufiq asked him: ‘Are Indians crazy? You told me to eat more curry, right?
‘I’m going to record your fucking tandoori ass… your stinking tandoori ass,’ the woman said.
Taufiq said the most disturbing part of the experience was that other people on the ferry stood still while she attacked them.
A United employee boarded the bus and began talking to the woman as other passengers yelled for him to get her off the bus.
Taufiq told DailyMail.com: “What a strange thing for her to film me while racially attacking me.”
She said the most disturbing part of the experience was that other people on the ferry stood still while she attacked them.
“The real travesty is that no one really helped us except one man,” Taufiq said.
“Everyone was super quiet. No one said anything until they asked about his departure, and then a guy behind us said something. He was the only boy. To be honest, that’s what really bothered me: we felt very alone. My wife, I and our three children were beaten by this lady and all this nonsense.
“We travel all over the world, we visit about 34 countries a year and no one ever gives us that much importance, so it was very unusual.” It was kind of an out-of-body experience.’
Eventually, a United employee boarded the bus and began talking to the woman while other passengers yelled for him to get her off the bus.
Taufiq said they don’t know what happened to him and United won’t tell them, but the airline suggested they check with the FBI.
“I had gone to the bathroom for a second and they were talking to my wife and they were like, ‘Oh, they were going to arrest her and there were five cops there and they were going to put her on the street.’
Taufiq said they don’t know what happened to him and United won’t tell them, but the airline suggested they talk to the FBI.
He said that when they were at the baggage claim area, his wife was talking to authorities and it seemed like there were police looking for her.
‘But then I tried to call them just to see what had happened, but we don’t know. They can’t tell us.
‘We’re going to present something to the FBI, because it actually started on the air and technically that’s their space. That’s what the United People basically told us.”
DailyMail.com has contacted United Airlines and LAX Airport Police for comment.