South Brunswick: Man Denies Bias Remark To Boy; Mom Stands By Son

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — South Brunswick police say they have identified and spoken with the man accused of making a biased comment to a local 11-year-old boy, and that the man denies the allegation.

The mother of the boy, however, stands by her son and told Patch Monday morning that her son is not a liar who would make something like this up.

"I stand by my son. Why would he make something so hurtful like this up and put himself out there?" mom Racha Zeini, 37, said. "It makes sense this man would deny saying it. What he said was wrong. It makes sense he would not want to admit to it."

She originally posted in a South Brunswick Facebook page about the incident, and she said it appears the page's moderators took her post down. She did not delete it. She also said she was somewhat disappointed they did that.

"I have been disappointed by the people who do not believe my son and are choosing to believe an adult man over him," she said.

As Patch reported, the alleged incident took place last Tuesday October 1 at 3:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Elementary School playground in South Brunswick. The 11-year-old boy told his mother that he was playing alone on the playground when he was approached by a father (who was there with his wife and two elementary-aged children) and the man allegedly told him: "Move your (expletive) a** out of this country, you are a (expletive) Indian coming to our country to steal our jobs and money."

She said her son replied, 'This is my country, too, sir," and pedaled his bike back home.

The boy's parent are originally from Syria; he and his three siblings were all born in the United States and his family has lived in South Brunswick for the past ten years, a community they say they love in part for its diversity.

Cambridge elementary was closed that day for the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday.

The boy and his father filed a police report about the incident Wednesday at 5 p.m.

South Brunswick police said they pulled video surveillance, which captured the events on the playground. Based on the surveillance, detectives were able to identify and locate the family that was playing at the park. The husband explained to detectives that he was there with his wife and three children. He denied making any statements to the juvenile, said police.

The man's wife even indicated that she is also an immigrant and would never allow someone to speak to a child that way, said police.

"Based on all the information there are no facts that can further confirm the juvenile’s statements," said South Brunswick police in a statement Monday morning.

Zeini said the police came to her home Friday evening and told her husband they had located the man, interviewed him, and that he denied making the statement.

She said she and her husband are standing by their son.

"My son has no reason to lie. This man has many reasons to," she said. "When my son came home that day, he was so upset. He ran right into his room and wouldn't even speak to me about what was wrong. I heard my (teenage) daughter in there asking him what was wrong and all I heard her saying was 'What?!, What?! He said what?' over and over again. She was shocked. Then they came out and told me."

Zeini said her husband asked if the family could learn the name of the accused, or see the video. She said police declined both requests.

"I understand that," she said Monday morning. "I don't know if we even want to know who this man is. I don't know what good it would do for anyone."

She did not speak to the police directly, but she said the officers said you could not clearly see the boy or man talking to each other on the videotape.

"But you could see both of them on the playground at the same time," she said. "He said this to my son from some distance away."

After the story broke, the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations put out a press release late Friday, saying they welcomed the police investigation into what they called a hate crime. The area's congresswoman Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-NJ12) posted about the story on Facebook, saying that "America's strength is in its diversity ... We should call out hate wherever we see it."

Zeini said many other media outlets called her over the weekend, but the mom said she referred them all to the original Patch story. She also said friends were pushing her to tell a larger media outlet such as The New York Times. Zeini declined.

"Right now, we want to move past this and let it rest. My son told his story, and we were very happy with how it was reported. Thank you for telling it. The story is out there now," she said.

South Brunswick school superintendent Scott Feder released a long statement on Facebook about the incident and this is part of it:

"While the school will never be able to tell the full story in a public setting, I am quite comfortable, having all of the information, saying that this situation has been thoroughly, carefully and sincerely addressed," he said. "While posters can look for blame and look at who to point a finger, I am hopeful this post will begin a shift in thought; one that allows us to come together for what is good about each of us and not who we can blame for what is difficult."

“We take all cases involving potential bias seriously. In under 48 hours a team of officers and detectives pieced together video surveillance, interviewed a half dozen people, and identified the people in the park," said South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka. "I want to thank the South Brunswick School District for their assistance in the matter.”

Zeini told Patch last week she was struck by the outpouring of support the family has also received, with neighbors showing up at their door to say they are welcome here. Zeini said her children have attended South Brunswick public schools for years without any issue before this happened.

Original Patch report: South Brunswick Mom: Son Told To 'Move Your A** Out' Of Country