Twenty racism attacks reported since start of 2014

There has been a massive spike in reported racist incidents — including a petrol bomb attack and one incident where a boy, aged 9, was assaulted by a 30-year-old man — since the start of the year.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) said it has received 20 reports of racist incidents in the first 20 days of the year, in comparison to just one reported incident in Jan 2013, and four last December.

The council’s CEO, Denise Charlton, said that worryingly, 40% of the reported incidents so far this year relate to attacks on the family home or in a person’s local community.

The surge shows that racism is still a reality in Ireland, she said.

“What is particularly alarming is that in many cases victims cannot feel safe in their own homes or communities,” she said.

“These vary from verbal abuse, to racist graffiti, to extreme cases where houses have been broken into or fire-bombed.

“Local councils have an important role here and we are calling on each local authority to ensure it responds rapidly to ensure that graffiti is removed, homes are repaired, and in the more extreme cases, that re-housing is considered.

“It is unacceptable that people must live in fear of a brick through the window or worse while at home.”

The council released figures at the weekend which show that almost a third of the reported cases related to verbal harassment, with 30% related to discrimination and social exclusion.

Property damage and racist graffiti accounted for almost a fifth of the cases, while two were reports of physical violence.

The level of property damage is worryingly serious, an ICI spokesman said.

“The youngest victim of physical assault was a nine-year-old boy who was beaten up by his neighbour, who is in his late 30s,” he said.

Most of the incidents, 40%, occurred in home and in local communities, with 15% of the cases occurring on the internet.

“Already this year, we’ve recorded twice as many instances of racism and abuse in homes than in last year’s report,” the ICI said.

Most of the victims, 39%, were African, with 17% describing themselves as Asian.

The 9% of Irish people who have been victims of racism were targeted by other Irish people because a close family member is of non-Irish or mixed origin, the ICI said.

The ICI has already welcomed the decision by the Oireachtas Justice Committee to examine the issues of integration and migration and has made a written submission.

“It is our hope that the committee will quickly move to hearings so that we can examine how racism in all its forms can be combated and that there is a coordinated multi agency approach to address the root causes,” Ms Charlton said.

The ICI works with several bodies, including the gardaí, transport providers, Dublin City Council, and Educate Together, to raise awareness.

Ms Charlton encouraged anybody who may have experienced or seen racist incidents, to contact the council via [e-mail]

Case studies

- An Eastern European man has complained about being discriminated in work due to his nationality.

He has received inappropriate and degrading comments and remarks from his co-workers.

He has been also denied access to certain work benefits because he was informed they are exclusive to Irish people only.

His health deteriorated recently due to the level of discrimination experienced and he is receiving medical treatment for depression.

- A family of six has been forced to live in just one room of their home in Dublin after more than four years of abuse, harassment, vandalism and property damage.

They can’t afford the constant repairs and most of their rooms cannot be used because windows have been smashed following a petrol bomb attack.

- An Irish mother and her son of mixed Irish and African extraction are suffering daily verbal abuse from neighbours. Their house was vandalised with spray paint. On numerous occasion, bananas were thrown into their garden with the boy’s name written on them.