A day after Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins condemned the hate attacks against Indians, another attack on an Indian in Dublin came to light.
“I was attacked by 3 teenagers in Fairview Park D3. I was heading home from the park when one of them while riding his electric scooter kicked me in the stomach. I tried to walk away when tow more joined him and circled around me. Without any provocation or anything they started hitting me. I fell to the ground while they were kicking and punching me.” He told the Irish media The Journal
“When I tried to get up one of them whose face was covered with mask grabbed my metal water bottle and hit me above the eye causing deep cut. I started bleeding heavily and they just ran off,” said the Indian who didn’t wish to be identified. He was later helped by two teenagers who also called the local police. The victim was rushed to the hospital where he got eight stitches on his injury.
This is the fourth such incident that has been reported in Ireland in the past few days.
It may be recalled that only on Tuesday Irish President Michael Higgins had condemned such attacks. “The recent despicable attacks on members of the Indian community stand in stark contradiction to the values that we as a people hold dear. That any person in Ireland, particularly any young person, should be drawn into such behaviour through manipulation or provocation is to be unequivocally condemned,” President Higgins had said.
Ireland hosts approximately 80,000 Indian residents, making them the third-largest non-Irish community after Polish and British nationals, according to the Indian Embassy and Central Statistics Office. Indians are well-integrated, contributing to sectors like healthcare, IT, and engineering. Underlining the immense contribution of the Indian community in Ireland the President said, “We are all mindful of the immense contribution this community has made, and continues to make, to so many aspects of Irish life, in medicine, nursing, the caring professions, in cultural life, in business and enterprise, to cite just some. Their presence, their work, their culture, have been a source of enrichment and generosity to our shared life.”
Meanwhile, In the wake of series of attacks on Indian community, the Indian Ambassador in Dublin Akhilesh Mishra is maintaining close contact with the Director General of Asia Pacific Unit of DFAT and the Irish Ambassador in Delhi to monitor the developments and local responses. The Indian Ambassador also had a meeting with seniors Police officials in Dublin.
The Indian Embassy is in touch with the victims and is extending all the possible support.
Embassy is also in direct communication with the Indian diaspora in Ireland. An institutionalised mechanism is in place for real-time contact and sharing of regular updates between the Embassy and the Indian diaspora across Ireland.
In the wake of these attacks the India Day celebrations scheduled for August 17 at Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, have been postponed, for the first time since it began ten years back in 2015.
Prashant Shukla, the council co-chair, described the decision as “very difficult” but necessary, citing an unconducive environment fueled by social media propaganda. The event, held since 2015, celebrates Indian Independence Day with cultural performances. Despite the cancellation, a smaller event by the Federation of Indian Communities will proceed in Merrion Square. The Indian Embassy has issued safety advisories amid rising violence.