Racist attacks in Ireland: 6-year-old Indian origin girl punched in face, told to 'go back to India'
The girl was playing outside her home when a gang of children punched her, hit her private parts with a bicycle...first time a minor has been targeted in Ireland
Amid a string of racist attacks in Ireland, a six-year-old girl from Kerala was attacked, by a gang of children between the age group of 12 years to 14 years, who called her ‘dirty’ and asked her to ‘go back to India’.
This is the first time a minor has been the subject of a racist attack in Ireland. However, increasingly, there has been a worrying trend of racist attacks on Indians.
Ireland is still reeling from recent attacks in Dublin's Tallaght and Clondalkin areas, which led the Indian Embassy in Dublin to issue a statement warning Indian citizens to be careful in the country.
The attack
Nia Naveen, whose family hails from Kottayam in Kerala, was playing outside her house in Waterford City in southeast Ireland, when a gang of children “punched her face, hit her private parts with a bicycle, punched her on the neck and twisted her hair”.
The mother of the child, Anupa Achuthan, a nurse, who has lived in Ireland for eight years with her husband, spoke to Irish Mirror about the attack. The family had just moved into the house in January, and everything was going well until this recent disturbing incident.
Achuthan told the newspaper that around 7.30 pm, her daughter went outside to cycle and play with her friends. According to the mother, she was alone in the house with her 10-month-old and Nia, since her husband was on night duty. Her daughter decided to go outside to play but soon her little girl returned and appeared “upset”.
The mother said her daughter started to cry and was so scared she could not express what she had gone through. Finally, her friend told the mother that a gang of boys older than them hit Nia on the private parts with a cycle, and five of them punched her on her face.
Also read: ‘Eating with hands?’ Republicans attack Zohran Mamdani, spark racism row
"She told me 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 pulled her hair," she told the newspaper.
Achuthan went out and saw the gang of children involved in the incident but they just stared her down and laughed at her.
Though she reported the incident to the Irish police, the distraught mother does not want the children to be punished, but given counselling instead. "I accept that they are kids, but they have to know how to treat other kids well," she said.
Not safe anymore
She also pointed out that she does not feel safe since this attack happened in front of our their own house.
Also read: 'Normalize Indian Hate': Elon Musk rehires DOGE key staff despite racist tweets
Achuthan is upset and said that her daughter cannot play safely outside her own house and she feels so sad that she could not protect her. "I never expected that such an incident would happen. I thought she would be safe here," she added.
Achuthan who said she's a proud Indian, and happy to be an Irish citizen, however, does not feels she belongs here anymore.
A complete professional, she takes care of people in the country as a nurse. Moreover, she changed her citizenship but are still called "dirty people" and even her kids are not safe".
"I don't know how the government will be addressing this". We came here to fill a labour gap. We are professionals - we have all the certificates...I believe this is my country, also. I belong here," she added, urging the government to protect her.