Three Italian universities have issued statements in response to a viral video showing a group of Italian students insulting and laughing at an Asian American family on vacation.
On April 16, TikTok user Mahnoor Euceph recorded the trio as they rode a train from Lake Como to Milan. Euceph, a Pakistani film director, arrived with her half-Chinese partner, his Chinese mother, and his white father.
The video was posted to TikTok on Monday and has had over 17.4 million views since then. The three women are seen in the footage staring in the direction of Euceph and repeatedly laughing as they try to mimic the Chinese language. “They were the most calm during the video but you can still hear them saying ni hao and get a vibe of their general attitude,” she wrote in the video’s description. “Never in my life have I experienced such blatant racism. My boyfriend said the same thing.”
“I expected better from the younger generation. After I shared this on IG, many of my Asian friends shared their stories of experiencing racism in Italy and Europe. America may have its race issues, but Europe is 20 years behind.” @mahnooreu I was on the train from Lake Como to Milan on April 16th with my half-Chinese boyfriend, his Chinese mom, and his white dad. I am Pakistani.
We are all American. I noticed these girls sitting across from us staring me down and laughing and speaking Italian. At first, I ignored it. Then I stared back at them. They didn’t stop so I made my bf aware, then took a nap. I woke up from the nap to them doing the same thing but more aggressively. I asked them, “Is there a problem?” They said, “No there isn’t a problem.
” At that point they started saying “Ni hao!” in an obnoxious, racist, loud voice, along with other things in Italian I couldn’t understand. They continued getting more and more aggressive, laughing at and mocking us. Eventually, I started filming them. They were the most calm during the video but you can still hear them saying ni hao and get a vibe of their general attitude.
Never in my life have I experienced such blatant racism. My boyfriend said the same thing. I expected better from the younger generation. After I shared this on IG, many of my Asian friends shared their stories of experiencing racism in Italy and Europe. America may have its race issues, but Europe is 20 years behind. I hope you Italians can find these girls and shame them.
It was truly disgusting behavior and I hope they learn a lesson from this. It is so dehumanizing to experience this. #racism #stopaapihate #Italy #Milan #LakeComo #racistItalians #racistcheck #racistoftheday #racistshit #milandesignweek2023 #milandesignweek #Chinese #hapa #wasian #racismawareness #racismneedstostop #racismsucks ♬ original sound – Mahnoor Euceph
“I’m glad these mean girls are getting called out. It happens so much more often than we think,” one viewer commented. “The way it literally costs 0$ to be kind and these people couldn’t even afford that,” another person said. Social media users soon recognized the trio’s Instagram accounts and the school they go to.
According to users, these women are Elisa Tortora of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Margherita Gentile of IULM University, and Lucrezia De Vecchis of The University of Milano-Bicocca. Euceph released screenshots of the girls’ social media profiles in a separate TikTok on Tuesday, which had approximately 6 million views as of this writing.
“People still don’t realize how powerful the internet can be,” one user wrote. “I just love how social media these days will literally expose everyone,” another user shared. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, IULM University, and The University of Milano-Bicocca all reaffirmed their institutions’ values of inclusion and denounced all kinds of prejudice and racial discrimination.
IULM University, on the other hand, took a step further and stated that it will not “punish” but rather “educate” its students. Our student involved in the video that went viral has spontaneously and publicly apologized for the gesture she made, taking full responsibility for her actions.
To those who have called for her expulsion from the university, IULM replies that, just as our university condemns all forms of racism, we cannot tolerate such fury, which hides within itself the equally serious germ of totalitarianism.
IULM always leaves the door of dialogue and communication open, because the ultimate goal of a university is not to punish, but to educate its students, accompanying them on a path of personal growth so that they become better women and men every day.
The two other universities are conducting investigations into the event and have not stated what steps they would take or what consequences the students may face. On Wednesday, Euceph updated followers that Gentile had personally reached out to her on Instagram to apologize, claiming that she had “no intention of making fun of [her], let alone [her] ethnicity or nationality.”
I assure you that we repudiate racism just as much as you do and I think that all the tags and the comments we’re receiving are just carrying it forward rather than opposing it. You are free to keep sharing our videos on the internet if you feel this is the right way to spread your message but believe me when I say that this has been having the exact opposite effect: the hate and the bullying we’re receiving are just giving real racist people the chance to pour their hate on us without hearing explanations.
However, Euceph accused Gentile of “trying to manipulate and gaslight” her, saying that the apology was insincere.
“You and I both know that the worst of your behavior is not even on the video,” Euceph replied. Next time I hope you’ll think twice before you scream “NI HAO” at Chinese people or call a brown person a monkey or try to intimidate and mock foreigners.
You ruined your personal reputation and as a representative of your country, you ruined your country’s reputation. You also ruined our trip. My boyfriend’s Chinese mom is in her 60s. She has seen a lot of hate towards Asians in her life, and at her age, she does not deserve this. You ARE the real racists, and you have a lot of work to do on yourself.
I hope you will learn from this and take responsibility for how you acted. Viewers agreed with Euceph, saying that the woman was “only sorry for getting caught.”
“That’s not even an apology. They’re pointing out ‘how you feel’ instead of acknowledging what THEYMADE you feel. The gaslighting is incredible,” one user commented. “Hilarious that every time one of these people are called out, all of a sudden it’s ‘all love’ and ‘don’t spread hate,’” another user wrote.
