After two Indian men were recently assaulted in Dublin, another disturbing incident of racial violence has surfaced in Ireland. A six-year-old girl has been attacked in Waterford City while playing outside her home. A group of men reportedly punched her in the face and neck and hurled racist slurs at her. According to the Irish Mirror, one boy even pressed a bicycle wheel against her private parts.
‘Go back to India’
Anupa Achuthan, the mother of the girl, Nia Naveen, further told the outlet that the group of kids directed the “F” word at her before telling her to “go back to India”. Achuthan, who recently became an Irish citizen after living and working in the country for eight years, said this was the first time her family had experienced such an attack. As per the report by the Irish Mirror, the gang included several boys aged between 12 and 14, along with a girl around eight years old.
“I feel so sad for her. I could not protect her. I never expected that such an incident would happen. I thought she would be safe here,” Achuthan told the outlet.
At the time of the incident, Achuthan was at home with her two children. Her husband was off to work. She had been watching her daughter play just outside the house, but stepped inside briefly to feed her infant son. She told her that she would be back soon. But before she could return, her daughter came running back inside, visibly shaken. When asked what had happened, she was so traumatised that she struggled to speak.
‘Five of them punched her in the face’
“I had never seen my daughter like that… One of her friends told me that a gang of boys older than them hit her… five of them punched her in the face. One of the boys pushed the bicycle wheel onto her private parts, and it was really sore. They said the F word and ‘Dirty Indian, go back to India’. She told me today they punched her neck and twisted her hair,” Achuthan recounted, per the Irish Mirror.
She further said that she feels sad about the incident and that she couldn’t protect her daughter. She now fears for her daughter’s safety, even around their own home.
The devastated mother further shared that she later saw the very same group of children who attacked her daughter in the neighbourhood and claimed that they stared down at her, the outlet further reported.
“I saw the gang after. They were staring at me. They know I am her parent. They were roaming around here. The boys were maybe 12 or 14. They were staring at me and laughing,” the outlet further mentioned Achuthan as saying.
Despite the horrific incident, she said she doesn’t want the children punished harshly but hopes they receive counselling. “If the kids are doing this, we have to stop them, we have to educate them on how to behave.”
‘Avoid deserted areas’: Indian Embassy in Ireland
On August 1, the Indian Embassy in Ireland issued an advisory asking Indians to be careful and avoid “deserted areas” in odd hours.
“There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently. The Embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours,” read the advisory.
It further mentioned emergency contact details – phone: 0899423734 and email: cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.