Indians in Ireland face harrowing wave of racist violence

A wave of racist violence against Indians in Ireland has prompted a safety advisory from the Indian Embassy and left community members fearing for their safety.

Notable incidents: A 6-year-old girl in Waterford City fell victim Monday evening when older children beat her while yelling racial slurs. “They said the F word and ‘Dirty Indian, go back to India,’” her mother, nurse Anupa Achuthan, told the Irish Mirror, noting that her Irish-born daughter was just playing outside their Kilbarry home. Multiple other cases have been reported by both local and Indian news outlets.

Last week, taxi driver Lakhvir Singh, 46, was hospitalized after two passengers attacked him with a broken bottle, hitting his forehead twice while shouting “go back to your country.” One of them had initially refused to ride with a “black” driver.

On July 27, Santosh Yadav suffered a broken cheekbone when five to six teenagers surrounded and beat him near Clondalkin train station. “I was bleeding and after hitting me, they immediately left,” he told The Journal. “My friend was screaming and she was trying to save me.”

The recent wave of violence appears to have begun around July 19, when a man who had arrived in Ireland just three weeks prior was beaten in Tallaght, prompting local politicians to condemn the assault.

Unprecedented violence: Sudeep Sanyal, director of the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre Ireland, described the current situation as unlike anything he has seen before. “I’m here 21 years. I’ve never seen it like this,” he told RTE, explaining that families back in India are now questioning the safety of sending their children to study there.

Needless to say, the attacks have traumatized victims and their families, with Singh’s teenage children asking him to promise he will never drive a taxi again. Yadav said the Indian community no longer feels safe in Ireland.

Despite obtaining Irish citizenship after living in Ireland for eight years, Achuthan said the attack on her daughter has left her feeling unwelcome. “I am a nurse, I am doing my best to take care of people. I do my work and I am 100% professional. I changed my citizenship, but still we are called dirty people and even my kids are not safe,” she told the Mirror.

The psychological impact extends across the healthcare workforce, with a popular social media post claiming that some 30 to 35 nurses in their circle are considering quitting their jobs and leaving Ireland for Australia or returning to India.

The big picture: Racism and violence against Indians and other Asians is not new in Ireland. At present, Indian workers make up the country’s third-largest immigrant population and account for 21% of its nearly 90,000 registered nurses and midwives.

The Ireland India Council, which receives daily reports of attacks against community members, has called for government action including hate crime legislation and coordinated responses. In response to the escalating violence, the Indian Embassy in Dublin took the unusual step on Aug. 1 of warning its citizens to “take reasonable precautions for their personal safety and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours.”