A spate of reports of racist attacks, carried out against Indian and South Asian migrants in Ireland over the last few months, has prompted protests from the Indian community, warnings from the Indian embassy to its citizens in Ireland, and the postponement of planned 'India Day' celebrations on August 15.
Ireland’s India Council, which promotes ties between India and Ireland, announced on Monday (August 11) that it would be postponing celebrations planned to mark India’s celebration of independence from Britain’s colonial rule on August 15.
The council cited a series of "violent attacks" on the community in recent months as the reason for the postponement.
"We feel that the situation at the moment for holding India Day is not conducive," the co-chairperson of the cultural and trade association, Prashant Shukla, told reporters, after meeting Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris, reported the French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP).
Shukla said that the decision to postpone had been "very difficult" but was taken with the safety of the community in mind.
Silent protests
The latest protest about the attacks took place outside the Prime Minister's office in Dublin on August 13. At the end of July, around 200 people from the Indian community gathered in front of Ireland’s Department of Justice to hold a silent protest.
On Monday (August 11), Harris posted on the social media platform X, explaining that after meeting representatives of Ireland’s Indian community, he wanted to underline that he completely "condemn[s] the despicable acts of violence and racism that we have seen against some members of the community in recent weeks."
Harris added that he wanted to "thank the Indian community for their very positive contribution to Ireland."
Many, but not all, of the attacks appear to have taken place in and around the Irish capital Dublin. According to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, in one attack, an Indian man was accosted and beaten by a group of teenagers. The group then partially stripped the man and filmed him staggering and bleeding.
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'A fracture, gashes and multiple bruises'
Days after this incident, another Indian man was attacked, according to the Guardian, he was hit in the face, chest, back and legs "leaving him with a fracture, gashes and multiple bruises."
In another incident, two male passengers turned on an Indian taxi driver, striking him across the face with a bottle and reportedly shouting: "Go back to your country."
Even children have been the targets of aggression. On a housing estate in County Waterford, in southern Ireland, a group of boys are alleged to have punched a six-year-old girl in the face, hit her in the genital area with a bicycle and told her: "Go back to India."
Police have been investigating those cases, but charges have not yet been brought, reports the Guardian.
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'We are seeing more physical assaults'
Fahmeda Naheed, a poet and human rights activist from Pakistan, who has lived in Cork for 18 years, told the Guardian: "We are accustomed to micro-aggressions, but we are seeing more physical assaults. It is more forceful and aggressive than in the past. It has coincided with the housing shortage and antisocial behavior of the youth."
Migration to Ireland has changed the demographics of society since the 1990s. Now migrants make up about a fifth of the population. Irish people themselves were for a long time those who migrated, and to some extent might have had some understanding of what it is to be a long way from home, but economic problems in the country and a housing crisis have fanned the flames of resentment for some parts of Irish society, particularly when they feel that they are managing without and migrants and asylum seekers are somehow being provided with accommodation that they can’t access.
Four days ago, Ireland’s Minister of State for Migration called for a stronger policing response in the wake of the attacks, reported Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE.
The Indian Embassy in Ireland has also issued a warning to its community to avoid going into quiet or deserted areas.
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Migration Minister calls for 'clamp down'
Colm Brophy, from the conservative Fine Gael party and Minister for Migration, told RTE he hoped the incoming Garda (Irish police) Commissioner would prioritize the matter. "We actually have seen a drop in serious crime, but in this particular area, we have seen a rise in the type of attacks."
In a press conference, Brophy was asked why no action had appeared to have been taken against social media companies, many of whom have a European headquarters in Ireland, that had allowed films and images of some of these attacks to remain on their platforms.
Brophy replied that he would be working with the companies to clamp down on this. "There is a combined need…to look again and see how we can work with social media companies to clamp down on this."
Brophy added that he felt some of the companies were using "ridiculous guises of free speech, etc," to justify leaving some posts up.
The minister also told journalists that he didn’t believe that a governmental crackdown on immigration was emboldening some members of society to feel they could attack immigrants in general.
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Subjected to racial slurs, verbal and physical abuse
An open letter that was posted to the platform Reddit, and purported to be from an Indian nurse, said that they and dozens of colleagues are thinking of quitting because of abuse and fear. The Guardian said that because the letter was anonymous, they couldn’t verify the authenticity of the testimony, but many of the experiences described chime with what has been said by other South Asian migrants on the record.
One Indian artist, Pradeep Mahadeshwar, who has been living in Dublin for the last 15 years, told RTE that he is both a member of the Indian and the LGBT+ community in the city. He said he had noticed a "significant rise in this hate crime against people of color and queer people of color."
Mahadeshwar said he had been subjected to racial slurs, verbal and physical abuse, and on one occasion was attacked at knifepoint, reported RTE.
"It is not safe to go into the city center, especially at night. It’s frightening really," Mahadeshwar told RTE. "The abuse has intensified in the last half year." He added that people had spat in his direction and on his backpack.
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'Nobody comes to help...that is disheartening'
When Mahadeshwar arrived in Ireland, he said he had thought it was a welcoming place for both queer people and minorities. He said recent experience had suggested there was "deep rooted racism."
Another Indian student, Lee Isac told RTE that he was in a state of "hyper-vigilance," after also having been threatened at knifepoint. "I’ve been pushed around many times in the city center, but on one occasion a man pushed us around and threatened he would stab us both if we didn’t get away," Isac told RTE.
"I was terrified. Survival instinct kicks in, and all you want is to get away from the situation. Afterwards, when you have time to think about it, you ask yourself why didn’t I stand up for myself?"
Isac said that part of the problem was, he felt no one would be willing to help. "You look around for help, but nobody comes to help and that is disheartening."
Data from the Garda show a 3.8 percent increase in hate crimes such as verbal abuse, obscene/offensive communication, or assault, in 2024 compared to the previous year, reports RTE.