ABC reporter Nabil Al-Nashar fumes after bloke walking past delivers a racist blast while he was reporting on a hit-and-run

An ABC reporter has shared a clip of the “casual racism” he receives while trying to do his job.

Nabil Al-Nashar was reporting on an alleged collision in Sydney’s southwest on Wednesday morning when a passerby made an allegedly racist comment just as he was about to record a segment.

The clip started with Mr Al-Nashar walking the man past his shot.

“Because of increased immigration – thank you very much,” the man said to the camera as he walked by.

Mr. Al-Nashar shook his head in disbelief.

‘Awesome. Immigrants are always the problem, even when it comes to a collision – you heard it first,” he said to the camera with sarcasm.

The ABC journalist shared a clip of the encounter, describing it as “just a small example of the casual racism I sometimes encounter as an Arab-Australian journalist.”

“Notice how polite I was to him before he declared that immigrants are the cause of all problems. By the way, I reported on a collision… but I think the perpetrators are always ‘immigrants’,” Mr Al-Nashar wrote.

Dozens of people on X were shocked by Mr Al-Nashar’s experience.

“I’m so sorry you had to endure this horrible racism,” one wrote.

‘This is not the Australia I know or want. I love multiculturalism and it contributes to Australia’s heritage.’

It is not the first time that Mr Al-Nashar, who is an Australian citizen after emigrating from Qatar with his Egyptian family, has been on the receiving end of racist insults.

In December 2022, he reported outside court in Parramatta when he and his cameraman were asked to step onto the sidewalk by a police officer.

After the officer, who was reportedly giggling at the time, looked Mr Al-Nashar up and down, he asked if he worked for the Middle Eastern broadcaster Al Jazeera and not the ABC.

Mr Al-Nashar reported the incident to NSW Police and received a response two months later informing him that they had determined ‘misconduct had occurred’.

Mr Al-Nashar only asked for an apology from the officer and not to fire him.

It is not the first time that Mr Al-Nashar, who is an Australian citizen after emigrating from Qatar with his Egyptian family, has been on the receiving end of racist insults. In December 2022, he was asked by a police officer if he worked for Al Jazeera, and not the ABC

“When you first file a complaint, they ask you what outcome you would like?” Mr Al-Nashar wrote on Twitter in May last year.

“I said, I’d like an apology. That’s all. I don’t want the officer fired. I didn’t (still didn’t) want anything bad to happen to him.

“Just polite behavior that our mothers taught us.

“If you’re wrong, you apologize and the police acknowledged he was wrong.”

However, Mr Al-Nashar never received an apology, only a report of the officer’s misconduct and ‘proportionate action was taken’.

The statement to Mr Al-Nashar also said NSW Police “considers this matter closed”.