Immigrants speak of their fears after the Dublin riots
A double decker bus and a car on fire at the edge of Dublin's O'Connell Bridge on Thursday evening. The riots began after five people, including three children and a woman, were injured in a stabbing in the city earlier that day. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
“I was terrified to take a cab this morning. What if the rioting picks up on the way home?"
That was what 26-year-old Indian immigrant, Vibhor Garg, was saying on Friday morning after being left stranded for the night following clashes in Dublin city centre.
The riots began in the early hours of Thursday evening after five people, including three children and a woman, were injured in a stabbing in the city. Soon the hashtags of 'Ireland is full' and 'Ireland is for the Irish' were trending all across social media alongside messages of “kill foreigners, kill migrants” spreading online.
“I was in the city centre shopping when my flatmate alerted me and advised me to come home. By the time I realized what was happening the rioting had begun and the situation had gotten chaotic," said Mr Garg.
"I immediately rushed to a nearby friend’s house. The way to my home was blocked. Looting, burning of public transport, vandalism in shops, all were happening a kilometre away from where I was."
The chants of “get immigrants out” were heard on the streets of Dublin as rioting spiraled out of control with hotel rooms, and immigrant dorms being set on fire by the angry mob.
“I’m still unsure if the people who were participating in the riots had any intention of harming the public or just taking advantage of the situation to loot the shops," said Arushi Khera an Indian migrant working in Centra.
"But seeing the chaos and the videos online I feared for my safety. All I could think about at that moment was to go back to my country. I was even afraid to go to work this morning."
Immigrants make up 12% of the Irish population, with most living in the capital city. According to the Central Statistics Office, the biggest non-Irish groups are Polish and UK citizens followed by Indian, Romanian, and Lithuanian.
Including Ukrainian refugees, Ireland saw the second successive 12-month period with more than 100,000 immigrants. But the anti-immigrant clashes on Thursday night have instilled a sense of fear among the non-Irish population in Dublin who now fear venturing outside.
“I thought that last night showed a darker side of Dublin that made me feel generally unsafe compared to what I’ve experienced before," said Kyle Kittredge an American migrant student who came to Dublin last year for his MA in Journalism at University College Dublin.
"As an immigrant, I’m wary of my surroundings in an unfamiliar place, even more so now. It’s disheartening to see the destruction in the city on the news. The riots did not feel like Dublin to me. I hope the people that spread violence and misinformation can be brought to justice."
