A RIVERINA woman has offered to accompany vilified Muslims on shopping trips and dog walks in wake of the recent AFP terrorism arrest in Young.
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Emma Levett was horrifed by the racial vitriol and abuse being slung at locals since the raid, so she took to Facebook to show her compassion and support.
“I hated that all the Muslims of Young were being tarred with the same brush because of one man’s actions,” Ms Levett said.
“They were being abused at the mosque and abused on social media, so I wanted to use social media to do something positive.
“If you feel like you cannot go about your daily business because of this, I will gladly come and do your groceries with you or walk your dog with you.”
Ms Levett said the reason behind her post was the #illridewithyou movement that occurred after the Lindt siege in Sydney.
“After the Sydney Siege there was the hashtag #illridewithyou to support Muslims who didn’t feel comfortable travelling on public transport.
“I wanted to show the Muslims of Young that they were supported too,” she said.
Ms Levett originally expected there to be a backlash towards her for putting her opinion and support for her community forward but instead, she was pleasantly surprised by the amount of support she received.
“To be honest I thought I was going to cop some flak for it, but instead the feedback that my post got was incredible,” she said. “So many people agreed with what I said and offered their support as well.
“I had complete strangers messaging me to thank me for having the courage to post it as well as Muslims thanking me for the support,” Ms Levett said.
The Facebook post received 174 likes and reactions and over 38 comments the majority of which were locals, who like Ms Levett wanted to show their support for the Muslim community and offering help to anyone who wanted it.
No one has taken Ms Levett up on her offer however she said she wants everyone to know she is behind the community all the way and hopes that her message encourages those who need it.
“My offer will always be out there to anyone that needs it and hopefully it was enough to just give them the courage to go about their daily business without having to deal with this,” Ms Levett said.
