One man is demanding accountability after a tourist who claimed to be from Canada allegedly made several racist remarks against Indians.
A sunny vacation in Cuba took a disturbing turn for one Canadian man who claimed to be verbally harassed by another Canadian tourist.
In a video that has now amassed over 500,000 views and a series of posts on X, Toronto resident Nitish Sharma explained what happened during a heated exchange at the Playa Cayo Santa Maria resort on Christmas Day.
“Anti-Indian racism is on the rise in the West, especially in the US and Canada,” he wrote. “We see it now on Insta comments, Twitter/X comments pretty much regularly.”
Sharma added although those comments are easy to ignore online, racist sentiments are now happening in person, as he experienced while on vacation with his wife.
“This incident happened [to] me and my wife on our vacation in Cuba last December, and funnily, on the night of the 25th, what an auspicious day to be racist,” he wrote.
But it’s not just limited to online interactions anymore 😔, it has come on ground to in person interactions. This incident happened with me and my wife on our vacation in Cuba 🇨🇺 last December and funnily on the night of 25th, what an auspicious day to be racist 2/n
— Nitish Sharma (@Nitish_KSharma) January 20, 2025
According to Sharma, he and his wife were enjoying their drinks when a man allegedly started hurling “full-on racial slurs at us like ‘Indian cockroaches,’ ‘you f**king Indians,’ etc. etc.”
“We first didn’t understand what was going on but quickly realized it was some crazy guy losing his sh*t at us for being Indians,” he wrote. He said they called security but claimed that he was disappointed that they “didn’t do sh*t.”
In the minute-long video, a man sitting at a bar can be seen talking to several people outside of the frame. However, it’s unclear who he’s talking to.
“I’m Canada. I have no problems,” he said. “This is Indian people from India. They have some complex they’re better than me. Better than you. From India. You have Indian passport?”
Someone asks, “What does it matter?”
The man continues, “Are you immigration deportation? Are you here on visa? No, no, wait, how are you here in Cuba? How are they here in Cuba from India? Immigration. Deportation. Visa. You have visa? I want their names because I think they’re illegal. Illegal. They shouldn’t be here. From India.”
Another person demanded, “How are they not allowed here because they’re from India?”
Sharma said that some people tried to calm them down while others tried to talk to the other man. He said the incident went on for over an hour and almost turned into a physical altercation until they were pulled apart.
@playacayosantamaria_oficial/Instagram
“Shaken by this incident, we pretty much went away for the night,” he said, adding that they complained to the resort, even following up, but the resort “didn’t do anything.”
On their return flight to Canada via Air Transat, Sharma said they saw the man on the same flight. He said he also reached out to Air Transat.
Daily Hive contacted the airline to ask about their policy should someone feel unsafe due to another customer.
An Air Transat representative stated that they have been following up on this incident with Sharma and the hotel.
“We have also connected with our hotel partner to obtain their version of the story so we can fully understand what transpired,” they wrote. “In situations where travellers may feel unsafe because of another person, we encourage them to immediately inform our in-flight crew or staff. Our teams are trained to address such matters and will take appropriate measures to ensure the well-being of all passengers.”
Daily Hive contacted the resort about the incident but has yet to hear back.
“Engage with a law firm in Canada to identify this human filth and punish him,” one commenter advised.
Sharma noted that during this incident, it was ultimately other Canadian tourists who stood up for them and not resort security.
“Moral of the story: Indians, both in India and outside, be very vigilant these days,” wrote Sharma. “I have travelled the world a bit, but imagine this being someone’s first vacation or a family with kids. The kind of impact it could leave on them.”
Daily Hive has also contacted Sharma for more information.