African American student studying in Russia thru AFS stabbed in possible hate crime

Parent Cafe
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<p>"MOSCOW - An African-American exchange student has been stabbed by unknown assailants in a southern Russian city in an attack officials say may have been racially motivated.</p>

<p>Stanley Robinson, 18, of Providence, R.I., was in grave but stable condition Friday, said the head doctor of Volgograd’s Hospital No. 12. Investigators were trying to determine if the Dec. 5 assault on Robinson was a hate crime, said Svetlana Smolyaninova, a spokeswoman for the city police.</p>

<p>Robinson’s mother, who has spoken twice with her son by telephone since the attack, has no doubts…</p>

<p>Tina Robinson said her son had just finished working out at a gym and was headed for a bus stop when a single stranger approached and punched him. Robinson punched back, his mother said. The attacker then pulled a knife and stabbed Robinson in the chest and side, she said.</p>

<p>Relatives said Robinson, a graduate of East Providence High School in Rhode Island, was three months into a year’s stay in Russia. He was studying Russian on a program arranged by the American Field Service, or AFS."</p>

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<p>I wonder why his mother ‘has no doubts’ that this was a hate crime? Are racially attacks against blacks common in Russia? It doesn’t seem like it would be but I have no idea. This could easily have just been a robbery gone awry. Could it be that Russians might assume that any blacks there would be rich foreigners and therefore good robbery targets?</p>

<p>I hope Robinson pulls through on this.</p>

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<p>A dozen years ago, I traveled to Poland with a group from Rotary International. Only one member of our party was African-American. Poles would “bark” at him on the street, as if he was a dog. They did not seem to think their behavior was shameful. So, given that my experience is more than a decade old, I looked this up:</p>

<p>[Racism</a> in Russia during the 2000s - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Russia]Racism”>Racism in Russia - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Disclaimer: Keep in mind it’s Wikipedia and may not be 100 percent true.</p>