"I had thought my Dulwich days were well behind me and that I'd never again have to think about the antisemitic taunts I suffered from Nigel Farage at school. Then at some point in the late 2000s, a friend sent me a YouTube video of the then Ukip leader haranguing EU commissioners. The instant I saw Farage, my blood froze. All I could think of was his 13-year-old self sidling up to me, growling the words Hitler was right and other odious remarks."
"The verb trigger is perhaps overused, but it's the only word I can think of to describe the stomach-churning emotions I felt in that moment I laid eyes on him again on YouTube. As Farage became an increasingly ubiquitous figure on the public stage, I would tell friends and strangers alike of my experience of him at school. It was alarming to me that all people seemed to see was Farage the entertainer, the nonconformist political figure, overflowing with bonhomie"
A survivor recounts antisemitic taunts from Nigel Farage at ages 13–14, including comments like “Hitler was right” and references to gas chambers. Years later, seeing Farage on video triggered intense emotional distress and resurfaced memories of that abuse. The survivor described ambivalence about speaking publicly, reluctant to expose the events on national television, but felt anger at Farage's later denials which characterized those remarks as banter or “ridiculous things, not necessarily racist things.” The survivor followed reporting on the allegations, regretted earlier silence, and felt frustrated by Farage's public persona overshadowing the harm caused.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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