A racist caller told a radio presenter to "do us a favour and shut up" about the provision of free school meals in the UK because she was born abroad. BBC journalist Sangita Myska, who hosts shows every weekend on phone-in and talk radio station LBC, was subjected to the xenophobic rant live on air on Sunday, August 28.
Myska, who was born in Tazania in east Africa and is of Indian heritage, moved to the UK as a child. She is an advocate for free school meals, but the caller insisted she and, bizarrely, footballer Marcus Rashford - who was born in Manchester and has campaigned to eradicate food poverty - had no right to speak about such issues in the UK.
Known only as "Anna" from Widnes, the caller started off her tirade by saying she wasn't going to agree with the presenter. She continued: "I come from a family of ten kids, and my mother worked 12-hour nights at the power station in the canteen. My dad died when we were younger.
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"We never had free school meals. I firmly believe that it's not the government's job to feed kids - I believe it's down to their parents. I don't believe all this, what you're saying: 'Let's all sit together and have a meal' and all that kind of stuff."
But the caller's rant then took a sour turn, after she brought up the situation in Africa, seemingly out of the blue. She said: "The reason why I'm saying that is because you're on UK radio - how are the kids doing in Africa? Do they get free school meals?"
After Myska revealed she was born in Africa and could speak about the situation there, Anna interrupted by saying: "I know you were, yeah. Exactly, you were. What are the likes of you and Marcus Rashford coming on UK TV and radio telling us all what the government should do, and your own country doesn't provide anything - not even a national health service? So do us a favour and shut up."
Myska, who was visibly shocked, told the caller not to be rude to her, but by this point Anna had hung up the call. The presenter, who said she would have liked to speak to Anna in more depth, calmly took the opportunity to defend herself on air and educate the caller for her bigoted views.
"This is my country," she said. "Yes I was born abroad, yes I'm of Indian heritage, but I grew up here, and I have been educated here in state schools. I'm very passionate about the future of this country. I have always paid my taxes."
She continued: "I think it's absolutely right for me to use my platform here on national radio to advocate for things that I think are for the social good." She added that she and her family had "made a contribution to this country" and said it was "wrong" and "short-sighted" for the caller to suggest she shouldn't have an opinion on deprivation in Britain.
After sharing a clip of the exchange on Twitter, Myska was widely praised for her level-headed response to the caller, who was branded a "disgrace" and a "racist". One user wrote: "Your dignified & calm response speaks volumes about who you are. This vile caller is thankfully in the minority."
Myska, who admitted she was "shaken but not stirred" after the incident, said Anna had sent "vile texts" later on. She also revealed such callers were not a "rare event". She tweeted: "Racists do call but my brilliant producers protect me from it. Anna got through to me on air because she played us - making her depressingly soulless AND manipulative." In her radio show on Monday, the presenter tearfully reflected on the incident, calling it "a shocking and ugly experience of xenophobia live on air".
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