When the Singh family came from India to settle in Melbourne with their two children, they thought they had found a country where they could feel safe.
But that changed last week, on February 23, when their 13-year-old son Harjeet said he was assaulted.
He and his friends had been talking with one another on a bus when three strangers boarded at Eltham station in Melbourne.
"They came up to us and started swearing and said the 'F bomb' a few times and the girl said I had a 'worthless towel' on my head," Harjeet said.
The girl was referring to his turban, an article he described as a crown of pride for his Sikh faith.