Searching for ship-wrecked brother, Kevin faces racial abuse

Mumbai: Kevin, brother of Russel Rebello who went missing after the ill-fated ship Costa Concordia keeled over near the Tuscan coast on January 13, has been very delicately poised since the disaster. Looking at the remains of the ship in a foreign land, patiently biding time in the brave hope of his brother's return takes its toll emotionally. But an incident on Sunday laid an additional strain that tipped the equilibrium he has been trying hard to maintain thus far.

Kevin was racially abused by two tourists, who were dabbling in some disaster tourism on the island, clicking photos on the land next to the tilted liner. As search operations continue to recover bodies from the luxury liner, Kevin is in the Italian island of Giglio -- off the coast of which the ship capsized -- to find the whereabouts of Russel. But Sunday's incident has left him shaken.

Profane encounter
According to Kevin, around noon on Sunday, hundreds of tourists flocked to see the wrecked ship. Among them were two English-speaking men who walked near him. One of them told his friend to pose "like captain Francesco Schettino" -- who had allegedly abandoned his crew while the ship was sinking -- as he prepared to click a snap with the half-sunken boat.

Kevin was apparently in the frame. So the man with the camera irately told his friend to get him out of the frame. The friend angrily yelled at Kevin, "Move, you Indian #$%@. Taken aback, Kevin replied, "Excuse me, do we know each other? Who are you to yell at me this way, do you know me?"

Kevin said to MiD DAY, "The man in brown jacket said mockingly, 'Yes, you are the President of the United States of America.' They rattled off more racist comments. I told them that I have a brother who was on that ship, who is still missing, and the man in the black jacket said, 'Who #!@*$%7 cares?'. They threatened me that they would get me arrested since they had my picture to identify me with. This picture was taken while they were threatening me."

"I called the emergency phone numbers of the Italian Civil Protection and complained to them about the racial slurs. However, the two men disappeared in the crowd before the Italian officers arrived," he added.

'They weren't Italians'
Ilaria Alvi, the Italian Civil Protection Press Officer, confirmed Kevin's complaint. She said, "Soon after we received a call, I, with Marco Agnoloni, chief of the Italian Civil Protection at the Gigilo Island, rushed to Kevin. He complained to us of the racist and vulgar remarks made by the two tourists. We told him the best thing to do was not to react as they were just tourists, and had already left. We asked Kevin to call us if they created a problem again."

She added, "We found out that they were not local Italian tourists. They were on a one-day trip to the island, and had come on the cruise with hundreds of other tourists."

Insensitive
Asked if he would lodge a complaint with the Indian High Commission in Italy, Kevin replied in the negative. "I am here for the last 45 days to look for my missing brother. Getting into this would only distract me from the purpose of my visit.

The situation has left me dejected. Why do people behave in an inhuman manner, not respecting the feelings of others? This is the true end of the world - there is no regard for humanity." He continued, "Racism exists even today, irrespective of whether you are in the country of the racists or somewhere else in the world. In this case, we were on an alien land and still they made racist comments. They did not even know me. Looking at my colour, they figured that I am an Indian, and started using abusive words. Shockingly, both were above 60 years of age. I was upset about the incident for two hours, when something happened. I met a couple who made me feel better."

A heart-to-heart
Two hours later, Kevin ended up having an intimate conversation over lunch with others like him, and a couple that once owned Costa Cruises. And it lifted his spirits. He said, "After the incident, I was upset. But 10 minutes later, a middle-aged woman, who had been looking at me very sadly, approached me with a man about her age.

They introduced themselves as Ina and Nicola Costa (who was president and owner of Costa Cruises from 1948 to 1997) and shared their feelings with me, and how sad they were with what had happened -- so many lives lost over 'a silly mistake' as they called it. Since it was cold outside, I invited them to join me for lunch in a restaurant nearby. At the table, I was joined by Mr and Mrs Blemand from France. Their son Michael (25) and his girlfriend Mylene Litzer (23), passengers aboard the sunken ship, are also among the missing victims."

"For me, it was a great honour to have at my table gentle, kind, soft-spoken persons who chose their words carefully before speaking. They wished me the best, and went towards port side to see the ship's remains and say a short prayer. They were very kind, and told me that their housekeepers are a Christian Indian couple from Goa and how much they respect us. I was delighted; it was a very moving encounter," Kevin said.