"Facebook, Friends, and Hello: What to do  if you are witnessing ISlamophobIC  A bystander's guide to help  the persor  harassment  n who's being targeted  Engage conversation.  Go to them, sit beside them and say hello.  Try to appear calm, collected and welcoming  IGNORE THE ATTACKER  Pick a random subject and  start discussing it.  It can be anything: a movie you liked,  the weather, saying you like something  they wear and asking where they got it..  THE WEATHER  LATELYIS S0  İGNO  RED  Hl  HOW ARE YOU?  MY SISTER TOLD  ME ABOUT THIS MOVIE  Keep building the safe space.  Keep eye contact with them and don't  acknowledge the attacker's presence : the  absence of response from you two wil  push them to leave the area shortly  Continue the conversation until the  attacker leaves & escort them  to a safe place if necessary.  Bring them to a neutral area where they can  recollect themselves; respect their wishes if  they tell you they're ok and just want to go  2  This guide was written & illustrated by Maeril | @itsmaeril Translated in English for The Middle Eastern Feminist maeril: Hi everyone! This is an illustrated guide I made as part of my co-admining work at The Middle Eastern Feminist on Facebook! It will be published there shortly. The technique that is displayed here is a genuine one used in psychology - I forgot the name and couldn't find it again so if you know about it, feel free to tell me!Some could say: ""Yes but you can use that technique for instances of harassment other than Islamophobic attacks!"", and my reply is: Sure! Please do so, it also works for other ""types"" of harassment of a lone person in a public space!! However I'm focusing on protecting Muslims here, as they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes - that way one cannot say they ""didn't know what to do""! I'd like to insist on two things: 1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked! 2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you're helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If you're in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over - call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel! For my fellow French-speakers: I will translate it in French and post it on my page as soon as I can :)Please don't hesitate to share this guide as it could push a lot of people to overcome bystander syndrome!!Lots of love and stay safe! PS: I you repost this cartoon of mine on twitter or instagram, please add me in the post so I can see it, with @itsmaeril :)"
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