A series of violent attacks against immigrants, particularly those from South Asia, has left communities in Ireland in shock and fear. Recent incidents have targeted individuals of Indian descent, raising concerns about safety and integration in a country that has welcomed many immigrants over the years.
In a particularly horrifying incident in County Waterford, a six year old Indian girl was the target of a merciless assault. Boys punched her in the face and hit her in the genital area with a bicycle. During this terrifying attack, they instructed her to “Go back to India,” exposing the domestic terror attack and racial hatred that went into the violent assault.
This attack was not an isolated event. An Indian man in the Clondalkin suburb of Dublin was beaten unconscious by a gang. He broke several ribs and suffered other serious injuries, including a skull fracture, deep lacerations and extensive bruising. Here’s more on the attack that’s become a grim example of escalating violence faced by immigrants.
In a second incident an Indian man was harassed and then beaten had by a gang of young people in Tallaght. Then he was accosted, beaten, partially stripped and humiliated with that same assault filmed and circulated on social media. Anti-Indian acts of violence surged over the last couple of years, increasing fears among Indian community members. They’re calling out impactful, untested fears for safety than ever before.
On March 13, Dublin-based taxi driver Amarjit Singh from Punjab was the target of a horrifying assault. Two male passengers then bashed him across the face with a glass bottle and screamed, “Go home!” The recent incident in Ballymun is the starkest example of a growing phenomenon. Immigrants from all corners of Dublin, and indeed Ireland, are experiencing hostility at a rising rate.
Just recently, on June 30, an employee of Amal Women Ireland was brutally attacked at a bus stop in Dublin. Witnesses have discussed how brutal and racial the attack was. The Indian embassy has reportedly since advised its nationals residing in Ireland to improve security measures and stay away from vacant places.
The avalanche and violence of these attacks – for just the past two years – is gut-wrenching. Just last week, the Irish-Indian community staged a silent protest outside the justice department and the Indian embassy in Dublin. They called for a response to the rise in hate crimes targeting their community. The protests reflect growing frustration and fear among immigrants who have made Ireland their home.
Fahmeda Naheed, a local immigrant rights activist, reported on the increasing pattern of violent attacks. “We are seeing more physical assaults. And it’s gotten meaner, angrier, and more muscular than in the years past. It has coincided with the housing shortage and antisocial behaviour of the youth,” she stated, indicating a possible link between societal issues and rising violence.
One – an anonymous Indian nurse – expressed her disillusionment in an eerie open letter posted on Reddit. Her artistic response to the events is nothing short of stunning and moving. “What kind of place is this becoming? We came to Ireland to save lives and now we’re scared to walk home after a shift,” she wrote, encapsulating the fears of many immigrants who once viewed Ireland as a safe haven.
Jennifer Whitmore, the community’s then-mayor, publicly expressed her worry over the disturbing trend that has spread across the nation. “I’m seeing a side of us that I don’t like,” she remarked. She further added, “I think that some people’s fear of being left behind is being hijacked by a small minority of toxic individuals whose only objective is chaos, hatred and a divided society.”
Besides being anti-Asian, the attacks are anti-immigrant and particularly anti-Indian. Refugees from Africa and the Middle East endure similar violence – dozens of incidents filmed in advance by their killers. This trend raises deeper implications around social inclusion and tolerance in Irish society.