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In a disturbing incident in Ireland, a six-year-old girl of Indian origin was reportedly assaulted by a group of boys who hurled racist abuse at her, telling her to “go back to India”. The girl’s mother, an Irish citizen and nurse who has lived in the country for eight years, said the family now feels unsafe.
Speaking to The Irish Mirror, the mother said the attack happened outside their home when she briefly went inside to feed her 10-month-old son. “It was around 7:30 pm and she was playing inside the house. She wanted to play outside and go cycling. I let her outside for a few seconds,” she recalled.
Soon after, the girl was allegedly attacked by a group of boys aged between 12 and 14. One of her friends told the mother that the boys hit her on her private parts with a bicycle and 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 twisted her hair,” the friend said.
The mother, visibly shaken, said her daughter had been happy after moving into the house until the assault on Monday. “I feel so sad for her. I could not protect her. I never expected that such an incident would happen. I thought she would be safe here,” she said.
She added that after the incident, she saw the gang of boys staring and laughing at her. The matter has been reported to Gardaí (Irish police), but the mother said she is not seeking punishment for the boys. Instead, she hopes they are given counselling.