Urgent measures needed to tackle rise in racism

India Day in Ireland has been postponed following a spate of violent attacks on Indians in recent months, including on two men in Dublin and a young girl in Waterford.

Indians in Cork are concerned and they say that their family and friends in India, who have been reading about the hate attacks in Ireland, are worried for them.

Dr Lekha Menon Margassery, president of the University College Cork (UCC) Indian Alumni Community, works as technical officer at the school of microbiology. “A small section of the population has shaken the soul and integrity of the beautiful Emerald Isle,” she said.

“As a Corkonian since 2008, I have always felt the warmth of multiculturalism here. Over the years, Cork has grown in to a truly welcoming city, with many initiatives celebrating the contributions of diverse communities.”

Ms Menon Margassery, who is also director of the Aatma Indian Dance Troupe in Cork and vice-president and EDI rep of the Labour Party in Cork’s South Central Ward, said: “I am Indian by heart and Irish at soul.

“I became an Irish citizen through naturalisation, proud to be a legal migrant and the first Indian technical officer in the history of the school of microbiology at UCC.

“As president of the UCC Indian Alumni Community, I regularly engage with students from all backgrounds. When I wear my Indian clothing, my UCC colleagues often ask about the occasion, and I take joy in explaining our traditions.

“As the director of the Aatma Indian Dance Troupe, I have invited Irish dance schools to perform at our events, because I deeply admire their art forms. Yet, since last year, I have been more cautious."

Shook

“During the local elections, when I contested for the South Central Ward as a Labour Party candidate, someone told me I was “not Irish by blood” and therefore should not run. That moment shook me.

“I still remember how my Labour Party friends rallied around me, giving me the moral support to keep going. Even so, for weeks afterwards, I hesitated to walk alone through Cork.”

She said that she was “shaken again” by an incident in Tallaght this summer when an Indian man was beaten, robbed, and partially stripped in an unprovoked attack, saying: “The incidents escalated, with Indians increasingly becoming targets.

“The attack in Waterford was not just racist; it was inhumane. Why was a child singled out? Was it because she was brown? Is skin pigment now a reason to decide who becomes a target? Until people truly understand that we are all human, regardless of colour or race, the world will remain more divided than it should be.

“A small group of individuals has disturbed the peace of this country, but we cannot allow Cork — such a multicultural city — to become a target,” Ms Menon Margassery said. 

Concerns

“In speaking with friends from the Indian and wider communities, the same concerns kept arising: Weak juvenile laws, lack of accountability for parents, inadequate public awareness, and insufficient self-defence measures. Many of these incidents involve teenagers or even younger children.

“Cork Indian Nurses, one of the largest Indian organisations in the city, known for their tireless service, were among the first to contact me. They asked, ‘What can we do? How do we send a positive message to the community?’ From these conversations, the Call for Action group was born.”

Ms Menon Margassery said: “Our aim is not to protest, because we work alongside colleagues from every background who respect and accept each other. Instead, we want to show unity and to stand in solidarity. We are planning an awareness and inspiration campaign in Cork, both in person and online, under the message: ‘Many Voices, One Heart’.

Through Labour senator Laura Harmon, they initiated the first multicultural meeting, bringing together councillors Ciara O’Connor, Honore Kamegni, and representatives from multiple communities.

“We discussed the need for a multicultural forum, a safe space for communities to gather and address issues together,” Ms Harmon said. 

Policy Measures

“We also explored policy measures, like stronger juvenile laws, increased police patrols, more CCTV coverage, and integrating multicultural education at the grass roots level in schools.

“Many parallel initiatives are now under way in Cork. Our shared goal is simple, yet profound: To live in peace, without fear, and with dignity and respect for all.”

A spokesperson for Cork Indian Nurses said that some nurses are planning to move away from Ireland.

“Cork has long been known as a pleasant and welcoming city and county. The people of Cork generally value and respect healthcare workers and other professionals, with many recognising the significant contribution of Indian nurses and doctors in CUH, CUMH, and other hospitals and nursing homes,” the spokesperson said.

“Racism and discrimination have traditionally not been tolerated by the people of Cork. However, recent incidents in Waterford and the anti-immigrant protests and attacks in Dublin have caused concern among the Indian community in Cork regarding their safety.

“Many community members have expressed that their entire families are working, and that they are among the highest taxpayers. They point out that during the covid-19 pandemic, these same workers left their families behind and stood by Ireland, at a time when racist ideologies were nowhere to be seen.

“Some nurses have already begun making plans to move to countries such as those in the Middle East or Australia. There are also deep concerns about how children of Indian origin will cope with racist attitudes or behaviours from peers when schools reopen. Many workers have said they now feel unsafe returning home from late shifts.

“In response, local groups have initiated cultural integration programmes to strengthen bonds between the Indian and Irish communities. Despite their worries, many still believe that the majority of Irish people will not support such divisive views. They hold on to the conviction that you cannot be truly Irish and racist.”

Kindness

Neetu Chopra, a woman who works in IT with her husband, Sanyam Chawla, told The Echo that they have been living in Ireland for the last five years “and during this time we have never experienced any violent attacks — whether racially motivated or otherwise.

“Sam, who has been in Ireland since 2015, has always been warmly greeted and treated with kindness. We are fortunate to have Irish friends, who support us in our estate and local community, and we are truly grateful to them for making us feel at home here.

“However, the recent attacks on members of the Indian community have raised serious concerns for us all. With our children growing up, there is now a constant undercurrent of fear whenever we go out together as a family. The latest attack, on a young girl in Waterford, has stirred deep emotions among Indian parents, leaving us anxious for our children’s safety.

“This situation highlights the urgent need for immediate and effective action from the Government to ensure that such incidents are prevented in the future.”

Disturbing

Dr Kishore Doddakula, a cardiothoracic surgeon in Cork, said: “The recent unprovoked attacks on Indians in Ireland is very disturbing. These incidents have hit the headlines in major Indian newspapers and social media.

“Irish people are known worldwide to be friendly and generous. During the second wave of the pandemic, as a UNICEF brand ambassador I was able to generate €800,000 from Ireland in three weeks. In my walk of life, I see nothing but respect and support to Indians, irrespective of the position or status.”

Dr Doddakula said that this concern has caused people living in India to reach out to him: “I received many calls from the parents of students pursuing their education in Irish universities and I did reassure them that these sporadic incidents do not reflect the true behaviour and attitude of Irish people towards Indians, who are predominantly engaged in healthcare, IT, or education.

“The president of Ireland and various political leaders, irrespective of their political ideology, condemned these acts and praised the positive contribution of the Indian community at large in Ireland. This is greatly appreciated by the community.”

Changed

Another Indian man living in Cork, Bishwa, said the situation has got worse. “I’m in Ireland 13 years now, and when I came here it was the friendliest place I’ve ever been. In this last year it has changed. We’d heard some things in Dublin before then, but never in Cork until recently.

“The first one we heard was someone walking down the street being bullied for talking in their own language. Last year, we heard about a student who had a rope put around their neck. We thought it was people being drunk, but in the last few months there’s been an almost regular occurrence of these attacks in Dublin, in particular.”

Bishwa described the recent attack on a child as “very scary”, saying that a friend’s 13-year-old son was attacked while playing. “They physically beat him, telling him to go back to India.

“Before, we would hear about this sort of thing in the UK or France or Australia and we would say we were proud of the place we lived, but, all of a sudden, we are the people that our parents or friends back in India are hearing about and discussing and asking us what is happening.”

Bishwa said: “We are hard workers, we are all contributing in our sectors and adding to the economy. In covid times, Indian nurses and doctors worked around the clock to keep people safe.

“A lot of these attacks are happening because of misinformation; lots of people are falling for false information provided by certain individuals for their own political gain.

“There needs to be some system to address this kind of thing — a lot of the acts are by teenagers, and we need to be able to address violence by teenagers, and some responsibility should go to the parents.” 

He added that the Cork Indian community hopes to address some of the issues with free events in the city that everyone is encouraged to join.

“Lots of Irish people are saying that they don’t identify themselves with the people doing these kind of things, which is definitely a good thing, but, still, people are feeling scared. People don’t want to be interviewed and named, because they don’t want to be exposed; they don’t know if there will be a knock on their door.”

Scared

One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Students who pay three times the fees compared to Irish students are scared to come here for higher education. No one should be attacked for pursuing higher education.

“People who have been living here for years are scared to step out. There have been instances of people being verbally abused by Irish people, for simply walking down the street.”

Ms Harmon said: “The pattern we are seeing forming with racially-motivated attacks in this country is deplorable. There can be no place for racism or discrimination in Cork. We need to make sure this is a place where everyone feels welcome. No one should have to live in fear of attacks like this.”

She mentioned the recent roundtable discussion in Cork. “It opened our eyes to the severity of the issue here in Cork. We agreed on a few key actions, including increased engagement with gardaí. Listening to the problems raised at our meeting has opened my eyes to how much needs to be done.

“We cannot keep looking away from this issue. The attacks we have seen recently are not coming as isolated incidents, but are symptomatic of a wider problem of racism in Ireland. 

"It is shameful that, as a result of attacks in Ireland, a country that claims to offer a hundred thousand welcomes, the Indian embassy has had to issue public safety warnings to their community.

“The Government and minister Jim O’Callaghan need to put in place an immediate response to this. We need to see a definite commitment to the passing of hate-speech legislation and stronger enforcement against these acts of hatred.”