A gay couple have opened up about their horrific experience of being spat on during a homophobic incident in Amsterdam while the world is in coronavirus lockdown.
The couple, called Daniel and Fabio, were walking to a supermarket on Molukkenstraat in Amsterdam yesterday (April 12) when the incident occurred.
They were approached by a group of teenage boys and called “kankerhomos”, which translates as “cancer gays”, NLTimes reports.
The group have faced anti-gay discrimination before, but they were horrified that they were targeted by the teenage boys in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
The youths blatantly ignored coronavirus guidelines and circled back to spit on one of the gay men.
“At some point you’ve just had enough,” Daniel told Amsterdam broadcaster AT5. He said “the whole group seemed to support it” and added that they all seemed “so worked up”.
The incident began with the teenagers hurling insults their way, but when bystanders intervened and called the police, the youths fled the scene.
This makes me so angry. That this is happening here in 2020 without us provoking anything.
When police arrived there was no sign of the teenage boys, but as soon as they left, two of the teenage boys pulled up on a scooter and spat on Fabio.
“I hopes it helps to share this story,” Fabio said.
He continued: “This makes me so angry. That this is happening here in 2020 without us provoking anything.”
More than 100,000 people have died from COVID-19 across the world.
The couple said they managed to film part of the attack and they are planning to press charges against the teenage boys.
Being spat on in a homophobic attack is a horrific incident to endure at the best of times, but in the middle of a deadly pandemic, it is even more concerning.
Much of the world is currently in lockdown in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, and people are being advised to engage with social distancing measures. They are also being asked to be careful about coughing and sneezing in public.
Needless to say, spitting on strangers is a harmful activity that could accelerate the spread of the coronavirus.
More than 1.8 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the world and more than 100,000 people have died.