"You think, because you're a male, who comes from a third-world country that is used to dominating women, that you'll do it here. No you won't, sunshine."
Webby's rant continues for several pages in the tribunal decision where she suggests to Elhassan that he can't get a job because he's lazy, that Kiwis hate immigrants and that they're afraid of Muslims "bombing the s*** out of them".
"I said to some friends last night, here I've got a guy in a room here, who comes from a war-torn country where half the population are starving [sic], trying to eke out something out of a dust bowl, and the other lazy bastard is in here, lying on his backside all day, waiting for someone to come and give him a job."
Elhassan is a qualified and experienced telecommunication engineer who taught at a university in Sudan.
He arrived in March 2017 on a work visa and his goal was to set up his life in New Zealand and then bring over his wife and children.
He found a room in Auckland on Trade Me advertised by Webby and moved in while he started his job hunt.
Webby, who goes by a range of surnames including Castle, Kelly, Lane and Webbe, insinuated that she was the owner of the house when in fact she was just another tenant.
She had strict rules about which rooms in the house were for her exclusive use and which could be used by Elhassan and the other flatmates.
Webby had exclusive use of the kitchen, dining room, living room and office in the house.
Elhassan and the other flatmates had to use kitchen facilities in the garage and also had to use the garage as their dining and living area.
After two months of job hunting, Webby texted Elhassan and told him he had two weeks to leave the house because he hadn't found a job yet and that he was to be out of the house from 9am until 5pm each day so she could conduct viewings of his room.
The next day Elhassan was at home because he had a job interview by Skype at 2pm and did not want to be out of the house as he was fasting for Ramadan.
When Webby found out that he was still at home she told him to leave by text before forcibly opening his bedroom door and shouting, swearing and calling him names.
Elhassan was so worried about his belongings and his safety that he called the Citizens Advice Bureau for help who told him to take videos of the room so he could prove there was no damage and to record any conversations with her.
Webby left and when she returned she forced open the door again and shouted at Elhassan some more.
It's this recording taken on May 30, 2017, that served as the bulk of Elhassan's evidence against Webby and concludes with her threatening Elhassan by saying her police officer brother would be coming around later and be "more than happy to have a little chat … off-duty".
After his job interview, Elhassan needed to use the bathroom and asked Webby for permission to do so, which she declined telling him: "You have no rights."
Following this, he decided to move out of the house immediately and forgo his bond and on June 5 made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission but Webby refused to be involved and the matter was not resolved.
Elhassan considered the threat of Webby involving her police officer brother so serious that he also made a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Authority who could not investigate but referred the matter to the police who spoke to her about their concerns about her using police intimidation.
A year later Elhassan filed a claim to the Human Rights Review Tribunal seeking $45,000 in compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings.
He told the tribunal he was depressed, scared and anxious and Webby's comments had completely humiliated him.
"I thought I might have been wrong to come to New Zealand as an immigrant to find a job, after all those years of trying.
"I wondered if I had made the right decision to try and make a better life for my family here," he said.
He described having the worst year of his life after the racial harassment and being so afraid he would see Webby again and suffer more abuse.
He said that one of the reasons he moved cities was to get away from her.
Webby refused to participate in the tribunal investigation and it found that she had been expressly hostile and racially abusive toward Elhassan.
The tribunal ordered Webby to pay Elhassan $28,000 in compensation.
"In our view, $28,000 is an appropriate response to adequately compensate Mr Elhassan for the humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings he suffered from the racial harassment," the tribunal said.
"The racial harassment was in a private setting over a brief period, but it was significantly hostile, and it had a significant effect on Mr Elhassan."
