I was helping a friend film her interview for her TV assignment and I was in for a shock.

The weather that morning was harsh and I thought to myself that the day could not get any worse.

Let me quickly digress; Oh yeah did I forget to mention that the transport system in Medway is ridiculous.

 You wake up and check the bus times like any reasonable human being before stepping out into the cold and you hope that you will only wait for a couple of minutes but then it decides to just NOT COME.

Yes, the day did get worse but when we finally got into the lady’s home it felt nice, warm and cosy.

We began the interview with a little technical setback but it all seemed okay. She was talking about her son who was an addict and it was really moving. I almost shed a tear.

Then, she was talking about how it was really difficult for her son to get proper care and I wished I had the means to help but I couldn’t.  It was a bit heart breaking.

Now for the juicy bit:

I am still quite young but as a person of colour / child of immigrant/ everything the BNP hates, I am really happy to say that I haven’t really come across prejudicial comments until today.

Just a quick reminder, I was only the cameraman nothing else just a polite cameraman.

She then turned to me with spiteful eyes and said, “not to be prejudiced but people like YOU who come here reduce the chances of my son getting the care that he needs.”

I was stunned, I did not know what to say and I’m usually very vocal but at that particular point I was mute. All I could do was sigh.

Did I deserve that comment?

Am I to blame for her son’s situation?

What do I do or say?

I just sighed again, after all I was in her house and I didn’t want to disrespect her presence or loose sight of what we came to do as my friend still had to finish her interview. 

“Well I’m here now and I can’t go back on my stereotypical boat to some village to make you feel better.” I said in my mind.

I am just a bit disappointed I guess and maybe it is illiteracy that made her look me in the eye and blame me. But am I angry? Yeah just a bit.