It was only Gizem Sirmali’s third day in New York City, “living the dream”, as she told herself, on a two-month scholarship program with a top marketing company. But as the 27-year-old content creator from Munich was walking around the trendy SoHo neighbourhood of Manhattan near her office and taking photos for a project, the dream ended abruptly. Instead, she became a statistic in a deeply disturbing criminal trend in the Big Apple.
Out of the blue, a complete stranger walked up to her and hit her in the face as he passed. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. The blow, which she describes as a “very hard slap” near her eye, that she believes would have broken her nose had she not been wearing sunglasses, made her freeze in shock and terror.
Gizem told the Mail she had been so focused on looking at her mobile phone that she never saw her attacker’s face and, scared that she might be hit again, she didn’t turn around to look at him but just kept walking. Turkish-born Gizem said she knew of the stories about New York’s notorious subway — for instance, that you didn’t stand too close to the tracks in case someone pushed you from behind — but she had no idea she wouldn’t be safe on a busy street just after lunch on a weekday February afternoon. “I got so scared.
I just kept walking really fast to my office like nothing had happened,” she said. “I didn’t know whether this person wanted to come and hit.
