11-year-old boy's heartwarming act after seeing bus driver racially abused
A young Lake Macquarie boy is being praised for taking a stand against racial abuse, after coming to the aid of a distraught bus driver.
Brock Keena, who's 11 years old, was sitting on the front seat of a bus driven by Sanjay Patel when he witnessed the incident on a trip from Swansea to Newcastle.
Sanjay says it all started when a woman who got on the bus with a small child started screaming and yelling about how she thought somebody was smoking on the bus.
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Brock Keena, who's 11 years old, was sitting on the front seat of a bus when driver Sanjay Patel was racially abused. Nine
"She got to her stop, got off and as she got off she said... 'Why don't you go back to where you came from, Africa?'," he said.
Transport for New South Wales has shared CCTV of the incident, showing Brock speaking to Sanjay and offering a handshake.
"A couple of stops later, young Brock comes up and says 'You shouldn't be treated like that, I hope you're OK'," Sanjay said.
"Nobody's said that to me before when I've been racially abused in Australia."
The driver says he came to Australia as a refugee when he was around Brock's age, and spent most of his life in Western Sydney.
Brock says the interaction has sparked a special friendship.
"I just went up and asked him how he was feeling, because I felt bad about the way he was being treated," he said.
"He didn't deserve anything like that."
Local bus drivers, Brock's school, and his parents hope his simple act of kindness will encourage others to do the same.
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Brock Keena,11, was sitting on the front seat of a bus driven by Sanjay Patel when he witnessed the incident. Nine
The boy's mother, Melissa, and father, Adam, say they couldn't be prouder.
"It's just really beautiful to hear that he would take that initiative and be that person to stand up and check in with Sanjay," Melissa said.
Transport for New South Wales says incidents like these aren't isolated, with more than 500 cases of drivers copping abuse reported across the state's bus network over the last 12 months.
Acting COO Mark Hutchings says the government department is looking to take more matters to the police.
"It shouldn't happen once, no one should be racially vilified for simply just trying to do their job, so we'll take action where we can," he said.
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