Racism against people of African descent

Lucy Michael Contents

Foreword 4 1 What is Afrophobia? 5 2 The ENAR Ireland data collection process 6 3 Everyday 3 ‘Old’ and ‘new’ : understanding Afrophobia People of African Descent in Ireland 4 Overview 12 5 Assaults with injury 12 6 Endangerment to life 17 7 Assault without injury 17 8 Harassment and verbal abuse 17 9 Public shaming 19 10 Racism by children and in schools 22 11 Racism and entertainment 23 12 and the rental housing market 24 13 Racism and businesses 25 Discrimination against consumers Employees experiencing workplace abuse 14 Public Transport 28 Racism in the Taxi industry Racism and public transit 15 Racism and public services 29 16 Incitement to Hatred 31 Web and Social Media Graffiti in public and private spaces 17 Policing and discrimination 32 Discriminatory and disproportionate policing Failure to respond to racist incidents against people of African descent Understanding non-reporting of racist offences to An Garda Síochána 18 The impacts of Afrophobic racism 35 Impacts on people targeted by Afrophobia Everyday fear Assertions of rights Western Afrophobia Impact on witnesses to Afrophobia 19 The role of witnesses 39 Interventions by witnesses 20 Conclusion 39 The impact of Afrophobia Making sense of Afrophobic harassment Afrophobia in an Irish dialect Hate Crimes Discrimination Meeting the challenge to address Afrophobia Appendix 1: Survey Questions on reporting to police and other organisations 43 Afrophobia in Ireland Racism against people of African descent

Dr. Lucy Michael, Ulster University November 2015 Published by ENAR Ireland, Dublin 2. ISBN: 978-1-78280-673-8

Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRiSS)

ENAR Ireland and iReport.ie are supported by: 4 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland discussion of and Hate Crime Legislation, at discussion of Hate Crimeand Legislation,at The reportalso providesawelcomecontribution tothe somehow lessrelevanttoan Irishcontext. compelling challengetothe viewthattheUNDecadeis periences oftheself-identified “Mixed-RaceIrish”offera this discussion,DrMichael’s findingsinrelationtotheex- globally. In just one example of this report’s relevance to experiences of people of African descent, in Ireland and Afrophobia inIrelandthecontextofwiderlife Descent, providinganopportunityforustoexamine ed Nation’sInternationalDecadeofPeopleAfrican publication coincideswiththebeginningofUnit - The timingof‘AfrophobiainIreland’issignificant. Its in the2004CitizenshipReferendum. Direct Provision),orinthepoliticalexpediencymanifest (from theIndustrialSchoolsandMagdaleneLaundries to has called“ourloveaffairwithincarceratingpeople” Junior Minister for New Communities Aodhán Ó Ríordáin in specificphenomenaandevents,forexamplewhat anti-Traveller racismathome, and foundfertileground identities, bothinIrelandandoverseas,resonatedwith Afrophobia hascontributedtotheracialisationofIrish wider society,evenasithasevolvedfromcolonialtimes. but onewhichhasfailedtoberecognisedbytheStateand people ofAfricandescentisnotanewphenomenonatall, In Ireland,asthisreportdemonstrates,racismagainst scent haveexperiencedthroughoutthehistoryofracism. cific forms of globalracismwhichpeopleAfricande- Afrophobia isarelativelynewtermusedtodenotekeyspe- Afrophobia collectivelyprovideaEurope-wideview. the EuropeanNetworkAgainstRacism,whosereportson bia, thereportcomplementsworkofourpartnersin mirror upforalltopeerintotheIrishfaceofAfropho- detail ofonekeydimensionIrishracism.Inholdinga ‘Afrophobia inIreland’starklyilluminatesthegranular significantly toagrowing acknowledgement ofracism, bust ‘ReportsofRacisminIreland’continuetocontribute nised globalphenomenonofAfrophobia.Whereourro- depth intoIrishmanifestationsoftheincreasinglyrecog- and half-yearly‘ReportsofRacisminIreland’,delving system, launchedin2013.Itcomplementsthequarterly using datafromtheiReport.ieracistincidentreporting Ireland’ isthefirstofENAR Ireland’s“thematic”reports Dr Lucy Michael’s timely and essential ‘Afrophobia in Foreword Shane O’Curry, Director, ENARIreland sents us.Thekind ofsocietywearebuilding dependsonit. ism presentinoursociety,and tothechallengesthispre- evidence ofracismisnow.Let usbothfaceuptotherac- The timetoactonthisreport andthewidersnowballing all areasofstatepolicy,its agenciesandtheirpractices. Crime Legislation,flankedby root-and-branchreformof a NationalActionPlanAgainstRacism,encompassingHate Rebecca caseandthisreportmakesclear,whatisneeded is proving theexperiencesofpeoplelikeRebecca.Butas recommendations wouldmarkasignificantstepinim - proving Gardaresponsestoracism.Implementingthese port makesinformed,practicalrecommendationsforim - Using thedatafromiReport.iequestionnaire,thisre - of AfricanDescent,thantheAfrophobiatheyexperience. It isasthoughwearemoreinclinedtocriminalisePeople criminal justicesystem,localagenciesandwidersociety. and racistabuse,theinadequacyofresponses scorn, thecombinationofoldandnewformsracism on womenandtheirchildrenasparticulartargetsof Irish Afrophobianowdescribedinthisreport;thefocus children embodiesinmanywaysthephenomenonof comes clearthattheracismexperiencedbyherand Reviewing themediacoverageofRebeccacase,itbe- fleeing theirhomeandneighbourhood. and criminal damage, culminating in her young family years-long pattern of repeated racist harassment, threats in WestDublin,reportedthroughiReport.ie,detailinga launch, Rebecca, an African-born working mother living by theIrishCouncilforCivilLiberties.Justdaysafter Hostility ResearchGroupandaconsortiumofNGOsled Crime inIreland’byUniversityofLimerick’sHateand da. Julythisyearsawthelaunchof‘LegislatingforHate explicably, to have fallen down the Government’s agen- a pointwhenthisdiscussionappears,lamentablyandin- evolved from colonial times wider society, even asithas recognised by theState and one whichhasfailed to be new phenomenonatall,but African descent isnot a Racism against peopleof 1 denies theirhumanity,dignityandpersonhood at aparticulargroupwhichdehumanizestheand Afrophobia is a means of identifying directed development. tify and address problems of recognition, justice and actors canworkwithpeopleofAfricandescenttoiden- Nations, MemberStates,civilsocietyandotherrelevant ade istoprovideaframeworkwithinwhichtheUnited sue since2002.ThepurposeoftheInternationalDec- of AfricanDescentwhichhasbeenworkingonthisis- mendations oftheWorkingGroupExpertsonPeople Declaration andProgrammeofActiontherecom- Nations GeneralAssembly,followingthe2001Durban for People of African Descent, proclaimed by theUnited This yearmarksthestartofInternationalDecade such as employment and housing” as wellsystematicracialdiscriminationwithinareas verbal abuse,spatialsegregation and physical attacks .It“manifestsitselfforexampleas ground in sub-Saharan orwhobelong to the tional andlegalmeans,towardspeoplewithaback - and aversionexpresseddirectlythroughinstitu- Afrophobia describesthehostility,antipathy,contempt tion. results fromandreproducestheseformsofdiscrimina- violence. Low political participation and opportunity justice, withracialprofilingandhighratesofpolice and social security, and discrimination in access to access toqualityeducation,healthservices,housing Descent aroundtheworld.Thesecanresultinlimited and feelingstowardsblackpeopleorofAfrican facilitates thespecificanalysisofnegativeattitudes Although notwidelyusedtodate,thetermAfrophobia

What isAfrophobia? ben.pdf wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Afrofobi-20140203-f%C3%B6r-web- today] Tumba:Mångkulturelltcentrum. http://mkcentrum.se/ view of the developmentof the situationof Afro-Swedes inSweden över afrosvenskarssituationidagensSverige. [Afrophobia:Anover- 2 but isaneffectivetoolforaddressing thisparticularformofracism. those. Assuch,thetermismorethan anothernametodescriberacism, veloping targetedinterventionsand measuringtheeffectivenessof which facilitatetheoppressionandviolationoftargetgroups,de- lar groupsishelpfulinidentifyingthesocialandlinguisticcontexts targeted group.Distinguishingthepatternsofracismagainstparticu- cently adoptedinordertodistinguishracismagainstaparticular 1 Mångkulturellt Centrum(2014)Afrofobi:Enkunskapsöversikt Like ,Afrophobiaisatermwhichhasbeenre- 2 , and “is observable 1 . day and inform public debates and policy change. day andinformpublicdebates andpolicychange. of racismfacedbypeople AfricandescentinIrelandto- reflect Afrophobiainorder to illuminatetheexperiences incidents andtypesofdiscriminationexclusionthat assment. Thisreportdescribesandexplorestherange of and employmentpersistentrepeatedracialhar - es byGardaítoracistcrimes,lackofaccesshealthcare vice provision,poorpolicingpracticesandrespons - discriminatory treatmentinhousing,educationandser - olence, intimidation,racistbullying,illegalpracticesand have includedpoliticalhatespeech,racistcrimes,vi - their children,Europeansandmixed-raceIrish.Incidents people ofAfricandescent,includingmigrants, ed intheincidentsreportedtoENAR Irelandhasbeenfrom Since 2013,thehighestnumberofanysinglegrouptarget- comparison isparticularlyusefulinthisregard. served across larger groups of people, and international ing itandthoseinvestigatingit,butpatternscanbeob- cult inindividualcasesbothforthosepeopleexperienc- discrimination canmakeidentifyingAfrophobiadiffi- discrimination forpeopleofAfricandescent.Multiple these intersectcanproducevaryingformsandlevelsof gion, gender,age,classanddisability.Thewayinwhich with othergroundsforprejudice,suchassexuality,reli- Like otherformsofracism,Afrophobiaalsointersects person’s skincolour,ethnicorigin,andnationality”. as discriminationandracist violenceonthebasisofa /?i=red-network.en.thesaurus.1 3 African diaspora Africa orwhobelongto the background insub-Saharan towards peoplewitha institutional andlegalmeans, directly andthrough and aversion expressed hostility, antipathy, contempt Afrophobia describes the RED Network(2012) Afrophobia.

http://www.red-network.eu 3 5 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 6 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland tice in racist incident reporting, and facilitates a complex tice inracistincident reporting,andfacilitates acomplex el ofinformation, iReport.ieisalignedwith thebestprac- the impactonpartiesinvolved. Inrequestingthislev- porting torelevant agencies orAn Garda Síochána and ence, includinglocation,date, time,formofracism,re- a largeamountofdetailabout thecontextofexperi- periencing racismandthose perpetratingit,aswell Each reportincludesinformationaboutthepersonex- are apersonofAfricandescent. to identifythemselvesinawaythatmadeclearthey can’ or‘Black-0ther’,‘Other’wherethepersonchose targeting peopleidentifyingoridentifiedas‘Black-Afri- this investigationwerethosewhichconcernedincidents for other types of crime. Reports selected for analysis for porting therefore can occurlater than might be expected continue for months and years after they occur, and re- cidents vary. In some cases the effects of racist violence July 2013toendofJune2015,althoughdatesthein- This reportexplores24monthsofreportssubmittedfrom ture ofracisminIreland. vide memberorganisationswiththemostuptodatepic- and effectivelytoongoingevents,analysedpro- course oftheworkENAR Irelandtorespondquickly later movingtobi-annualreports.Thedataisusedinthe sions, beginningwithfourquarterlyanalysisreportsand Ireland havepublishedananalysisofthedataon5occa- which becameoperationalinJuly2013.Sincethen,ENAR through anonlineself-reportingsystemwww.iReport.ie Data onexperiencesofracisminIrelandisgathered data collection process 2 The ENARIreland

to contact the author. to contactthe author. the methodology employedinthisstudy, youareinvited of theseorganisations.Ifyou havedetailedqueriesabout ological Association,andemploys theethicalstandards the SociologicalAssociation ofIrelandandBritishSoci- in theUK,EuropeandUSA. Theauthorisamemberof informed bybestpractice in analysingracistincidents details, inthereportedincidents.Thismethodology is number ofwaysunderstandingthepatterns,and Combining quantitativeandqualitativedataprovides a those investigatingraciallymotivatedincidents. pressions areusedandunderstoodbyperpetrators the opportunitytounderstandwaysinwhichracistex- sence of‘race’inIreland.Thistypedatathereforeoffers people ofAfricandescentuntil1997,therehasbeennoab- tively new,giventhe absence of significant populationsof ly explainedthatAfricanimmigrationtoIrelandisrela- incidents wheretheyarereported.Althoughitiscommon- ing reportedincidents,andonpoliceorotherresponsesto Data iscollectedonthelanguageusedbyperpetratorsdur- people unrelatedtothetargetedgroup. porting ofracistexpressioninmediaandsocialby violence andwitnesses,butthereisalsosignificantre- ly topromptreportingGardaíbybothvictimsofsuch more easilyidentifiedbywitnessesandisalsolike- person(s) orperpetrator(s).Physicalandverbalabuseis racism, regardlessoftheirrelationshiptothetargeted Reports mayalsobesubmittedbypeoplewhowitness textual detailtotheincident. porting, andwhererelevantthetimeofday,togivecon- accompanied bythelocationanddetailsofpersonre- reports. Quotationfromthereportsproducedbeloware analysis ofeacheventaswelltheoverallcollection self-esteem and sense of belonging. self-esteem andsenseofbelonging. the wholeexperienceincluding reportingasdamagingto of violenceorabuseonvictims, butalsooftheimpact therefore requiresnotonlybeingawareoftheimpact of Africandescent.RespondingtoAfrophobicincidents ply distrust, distance and legitimised isolation of people porting agenciesorAnGardaSíochána,becausetheyim - however, in the treatment of victims of racism by sup- ist incident reporting systems. Theydo have an impact, Afrophobic behaviour, but arerarelyreported to rac- over time.Microaggressionsareanimportantaspect of are smallactsofrejectionwhichhavedamagingeffects Everyday racismalsoincludesmicroaggressions,which exclusion. their parentscanbeparticularlyaffectedbyfeelingsof lives knowledge ofracisminthesystemsstructuringtheir other Blackpeople,throughthemediaandtheir the experiences of their friends, family members, and it. Theexperiencesofanyindividualarealsoshapedby ism canhaveasignificantimpactonpeopletargetedby more visibleordangerousattacks,buteverykindofrac- to seeing it in everyday life. Sometimes these escalate to because itissowidespreadthatwebecomeaccustomed offensive jokesandgraffiti.Indeed,itisoftenignored lies inrepeatedverbalabuse,,discrimination, Racism ofthiskindisnotunusualorunrecognisable.It tive ourresponsestoit. trated withinthemhelpstoinformandmakemoreeffec- in whichitoccursrepeatedlyandhowracismisperpe- Understanding thoseroutinesituationsineverydaylife attitudes andbehavioursthatarelearnedinoursociety. ences, whichweseeinthefollowingreport,andinvolves racism isrecognisablethroughrepeatedfamiliarexperi- es andneighbourhoods,atalltimesofday.Everyday cluding onbuses,inschools,takeaways,taxis,stateoffic- Racism occursinawidevarietyofsocialsituations,- providers ofotherkinds. whether statedepartments,NGOs,employersorservice mendations to organisations addressing equality issues, in differentcontexts.Thishelpstodevelopbetterrecom- stand whyparticularformsofracismemergeandpersist more structuralaccountofracisms,wecanbetterunder- by combiningthedailyexperiencesofindividualswitha occurs. Thisisnotameansofexcusingracism.Rather, essary totakeaccountofthecontextinwhichthisracism Africa orBlackpeopleborn in IrelandorEurope,it is nec- rican descentinIreland,whetheragainstmigrantsfrom In order to make sense of racism directed at people of Af- 3 4 Everyday racism

4 . Childrenwhowitnessdiscriminationagainst . London: Sage. P. Essed(1991)UnderstandingEveryday Racism.London:Sage. biological racism is not inferred. It relies much more on biological racism isnotinferred.Itrelies muchmoreon and difference arethemselvesseenasproblematic, and fects ofapoliticscontainment, inwhichmigration What havebeendescribed as ‘new’racismsaretheef- group membership. assertion ofnaturalsuperiority byvirtueofparticular Yet mostformsofracism have inherentwithinthemthis because this kind of biological distinction is unintended. by perpetratorsorjustifiedasrational,itisfrequently sentative ofthisformthinking.Whenracismisdenied logic ofBlackandWhite.Thescienceeugenicsisrepre - racially biologically inferior, and framed within a binary ple orothernon-whiteethnicgroupswereperceived as ‘Old’ racismsusuallyrefertothewayinwhichBlackpeo - ties. impact theyhaveonindividuals,familiesandcommuni- they understand these experiences of racism, and what descent particularlyexperienceracismofallkinds,how sary toinvestigatethewaysinwhichpeopleofAfrican or bywitnesses.TounderstandAfrophobia,itisneces- they arenotrecognisedbyBlackEuropeansorAfricans, clearly discriminatory.Howeverthisisnottosaythat appear tobedirectlyracist,evenwhereoutcomesare tional racismisalsooftendeniedwherepoliciesdonot with asenseofEuropeanculturalsuperiority.Institu- it takes more subtle and cultural forms which are imbued Racism cantakemanyforms,andisoftendeniedwhere Afrophobia ‘Old’ and‘new’ racisms: understanding natural position for groups contexts rather thanany but refers to contemporary skin colour andethnicity, characteristics because of on theassumption of cultural inferred. Itrelies muchmore biological racism isnot seen asproblematic, and difference are themselves in whichmigration and of apolitics of containment, ‘new’ racisms are theeffects What have beendescribed as 7 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 8 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland Europe. about culturaltraitsonthatbasis.Thesameistrueacross on skin colour in their identification and stereotyping from eachotherbyperpetratorsofracism,relyingonly Europeans andAfricansarerepeatedlynotdistinguished an example,intheiReport.iedata,wewillseethatBlack particular groupsbasedontheirethnicbackground.As be deniedwhileatthesametimeexcludingandbelittling understanding howracistattitudesandbehaviourscan These waysofthinkingaboutracismaresimply criminatory treatment. suspicion andaresingledoutbynon-Africansfordis- out inmanyofthereportsasbeingsubjecttoparticular example ofthisisthewayinwhichNigeriansaresingled contexts ratherthananynaturalpositionforgroups.An skin colourandethnicity,butreferstocontemporary the assumptionofculturalcharacteristicsbecause massive inward population movements” tion) “soidioticandsomorallylethargicastoallowsuch bers toenter”andIreland(meaningthewholepopula - scribed as“idioticorfeckless[to]allowsuchvastnum - “tidal wave”,an“armyofillegals”,withthestatede - Ireland have been described in the national media as a through theirpresenceinIreland.Africanmigrantsto described inIrishmediaasproducingracismsimply People of African descent in Ireland are repeatedly can migrantsinEurope. described as‘Black’withcontemporaryfearsaboutAfri- assumptions aboutthe‘natural’inclinationsofpeople bringing togetherwell-known(andtransatlantic)racial and race. People of African descent, through this lens, and race.PeopleofAfrican descent,throughthislens, in Ireland, is distinguishable by the emphasis on place immigrants’, 6 an NetworkAgainstRacism(ENAR). ISBN:978-2-9601308-1-2. Europeans inEurope.ENAR Anti-Racismin Focus2.Brussels:Europe- bia andAdvancingEqualityforPeople ofAfricanDescentandBlack 5 Europe about African migrants in with contemporary fears people described as‘Black’ the ‘natural’ inclinationsof racial assumptions about known (and transatlantic) bringing together well- ‘old’ and‘new’ racisms, Afrophobia merges both

5 Afrophobia merges both ‘old’ and ‘new’ racisms, Afrophobiamergesboth‘old’and‘new’racisms, K. Myers (2007) ‘The problem isn’t racism, it’s the tidal wave of K. Myers(2007)‘The problemisn’tracism,it’sthetidal waveof (2014) ENAR , 5 September 2007. The IrishIndependent , 5September2007. Invisible Visible Minority: Confronting Afropho- 6 . Afrophobia, . Afrophobia, chies home. journalists andbusinessmen,whobroughtthosehierar- (the dominantnarrativeofIrishaswhite,forexample relatively littlepublicdiscussionofourracialisedhistory Compared tootherEuropeancountries,therehasbeen stand AfrophobicviolenceinIreland. other formsofcrime,andinthiscase,helpsustounder- the excessivebrutalityofracisthatecrimescomparedto punished forcrossingthoseboundaries.Thisexplains in a way that corresponds with expectations of them are ilamnsrtr, police nial administrators, estant andCatholic)inBritishcolonies,workingascolo- children tory is influenced by the institutionalising of mixed-race we aregraduallyconfrontedwithevidencethatourhis- a narrativeofIrishinnocenceinglobalracism,evenas place there.Watchingthosedebatesfromafarpermits litical andsocialdiscussionsof‘race’whichhavetaken countries, namelytheUSandBritain,butwithoutpo- is throughthelensofracialpositioninginotherWestern can AmericanandAfro-Caribbean,ratherthanAfrican) ‘Black’ cultureinmusic,literatureandfilm(mainlyAfri- few spokenlinesoftheirown.ConsumptioninIreland acterised asviolentorirrational, used forlaughs,with which Blackperformersarerepeatedlysexualised,char- ‘white’ media,exemplifiedbypopularHollywoodfilmsin Our consumptionofUSmediaislargelyintheform immigrants abroad USA andSouthAfricathehypocrisyof‘illegal’Irish ras asenforcersofracialboundariesparticularlyinthe land’s perceptionglobally,thereputationofIrishdiaspo- creation ofIrishdiasporaaswhiteanditsimpactonIre- This isdespiteawealthofacademicworkexaminingthe to themostrestrictiveimmigrationregimeinEurope. erendum whichtookthecountryfrommostliberal ulation, norevenoftheconsequences2004ref- and its implications forfuture diversification of the pop- Ireland become seenasillegitimatesimplyforbeingpresentin 11 tas-told-1.1973416 race-irish-in-state-care-subjected-to-colour-specific-abuse-oireach- ble at:http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/mixed- colour specificabuse,Oireachtastold. TheIrishTimes.[online]Availa- 10 Studies, 22(4), 433-453. Ireland, Irish Illegals: Diaspora Nation as Racial State’, and state.Cambridge:CambridgeScholars;R.Lentin(2007)‘Illegalin the world.Farnham:Ashgate;A.Lentin,&R.Lentin(Eds.)(2009) zation, migrationandsocialtransformation:IrelandinEurope 9 Irish women.NewYork:PsychologyPress. lentin.html; B.Walter(2001). vol.5,no.4,http://www.socresonline.org.uk/5/4/ search Online, Disavowed multiculturalismanditsdiscontents’,Sociological Re - Press; R.Lentin(2001).RespondingtotheracialisationofIrishness: 8 in B.Perry(ed.)IntheNameofHate,pp.31-56.Routledge. 7 case study.Familia , 2(7),pp.40-6.

7 . Research has shown groups that do not perform . Researchhasshowngroupsthatdonotperform F. Gartland, (2015). Mixed race Irish in State care subjected to F. Gartland,(2015).MixedraceIrish inStatecaresubjectedto See forexampleB.Fanning&R.Munck(Eds.)(2012) S. Garner (2003). B. Perry (2001) ‘Accounting for hate crime: Doing Difference’, D. McCracken, (1991). The Irish in South Africa - The Police: a D. McCracken,(1991). TheIrishinSouthAfrica- Police:a 10 , and the role of the Irish middle classes (Prot- 9 . . London: Pluto Racism intheIrishexperience. London: Pluto Outsiders inside: whiteness, place, and Outsiders inside:whiteness,place,and 11 , lawyers, doctors, dentists, , lawyers,doctors,dentists, Irish Political Irish Political Globali- Race Race 8 ) periences. Neighbourhood harassment over periods of periences. Neighbourhoodharassmentoverperiods of Violent racismisnotdivorcedfromtheseeverydayex - to verbalandphysicalassaults” rican mothersbeing“publiclydemonizedandsubjected malignancy inthebodypolitic”whichhasresultedAf- especially theirchildren,inthiscaserepresentedasortof women’s bodies”andarguesthat“Africanwomen, erally andfigurativelyinscribedonAfricanimmigrant Shandy notes,inIreland,“immigrationdebateswerelit- this viewoftheBlackbodyasinherentlypathological.As African womenwithyoungchildrenareanextensionof In Ireland,theaccusationsofbirthtourismdirectedat streets, inourschoolsandworkplaces. and thrivingintheracisttermsusedeverydayonour aphors fordisease,impurityandanimalism–allpresent sion ofthisshaming.Blackbodiesareoftenusedasmet- ness appearfrequentlyinracistdiscoursesasanexten- of thisbodyshaming.Referencestodirt,diseaseorlazi- sounds orbananathrowinginracismisalsoareflection lic shamingoftheBlackbody.Thepersistencejungle shouting attheminthestreetrepresentthistypeofpub- thrown at people of African nationalityor descent and policing of ’s use of public spaces. Objects shaming, whetherinaesthetic(beauty)normsorthe body oftheBlackpersonispersistentlysubjecttopublic messages well upon the Black bodies they display. The ies. Ournewsmedia,aswellHollywood,inscribethose are disposablebodies,manipulableerasablebod- People ofAfricandescentareconstantlytoldthatthey nicity orimmigrationwas“widespread”inIreland Africans inIrelandbelieveddiscriminationbasedoneth- damental (FRA)in2009foundthat73percentofblack A GallupsurveyfortheEuropeanUnionAgencyFun- of extremevulnerability. is disorientingandalienating,aswellcreatingfeelings ing ‘outofplace’producedbythisaggressiveharassment also containsthreatstopersonalsafety.Thesenseofbe- and intimidationby being followed in public spaces, but public withyoungchildren.Thisincludesverbalabuse Irish nationality,womenarestillabusedwhilepresentin Constitutional amendmentabolishinga‘jussoli’rightto system lished immediatelypriortothelaunchofiReport.ie migrant experiencesofracismanddiscriminationpub - then, including a series of research interviews capturing a numberofreportsbyagenciesworkinginthisareasince experiences ofAfricansinIrelandhavebeencaptured in Council ofIreland. and Anti-SocialBehaviour intheDublinArea.Dublin: Immigrant ing Racism Seriously:Migrants’ Experiences of Violence, Harassment 14 eu-midis/ Union MinoritiesandDiscrimination Survey,http:///fra.europa.eu/ 13 logical Quarterly,Volume81,Number4,Fall2008,pp. 803-831. sage andRightsinCitizenshipPost-Millennial Ireland’,Anthropo- 12 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2009) European European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2009) European

14 . B. Fanning, B. Killoran, S.Ní Bhroin, andG. McEvoy (2012) Tak- D.J. Shandy(2008)‘IrishBabies,AfricanMothers:RitesofPas- 12 . Tenyearsafterthe27 13 . The . The th

assigned racial identity as making them more vulnerable. assigned racialidentityasmakingthemmorevulnerable. es createamongstpotentialvictimswhorecognisetheir we cannotthereforebeblindtotheanxietythatsuchcas- violence areusedagainstpeopleofAfricandescent,and tional scientificliteratureonracismthatgreaterlevelsof these cases.However,itiswellestablishedintheinterna- indeed tested,inthecriminaljusticeproceedingsaround defend themselvesfrom.Racismhasnotbeenproven,or anticipated eventswhichthevictimscouldnotpredictor These, likemanyofthereportspresentedhere,wereun- swimming. Defendants were acquitted inboth cases. stabbed to death in mid-afternoon on his way home from senger, justayearafterteenagerToyosiShittabeywas Dublin afterhewasknockedtothegroundbyapas- precede thisreport.In2011,ablacktaxidriverdiedin Two killingsofpeopleAfricandescentinDublin upon peopleofAfricandescent that violentbehaviourisdisproportionatelyenacted by otherwitnesses.Inaddition,racistattitudescanmean not respondedtoquicklybypoliceorotheragencies,and tration inpatternsofescalation,particularlyiftheyare get forthedisplayandreleaseofresentmentfrus- of peopleAfricandescentbecomeseenasavalidtar- damage, arsonandthreatstolife.Thebodieshomes months andyearscanescalatetoincidentsofcriminal ing hasattractedmoreethnic diversityandgreaterinte- relation toprivateandsocial housing.Privaterentalhous- though therearesomeconcentrating effectsobservablein Residential segregation is not evident in Ireland to date, al- ratio isevidentinbothpopulations. many ofwhomhaveonewhiteIrishparent.Anevensex increase ispartlyexplainedbychildrenborninIreland, ple ofBlackAfricanethnicityand3,793‘OtherBlack’.The increase onthe 2006 Census, whichrecorded 40,525 peo- other Blackbackground”.Thisrepresentsafortypercent 6,381 peoplewhoidentifiedas“BlackorBlackIrish-any ple identifyingas“BlackorBlackIrish–African”and The 2011censuscountofethnicityreported58,697peo - People of African Descent inIreland tion, this is a small proportion of the reported events. tion, thisisasmall proportionofthereportedevents. 15 public withyoung children still abused whilepresent in Irish nationality, women are abolishing a‘jussoli’ right to Constitutional amendment Ten years after the27th

While someviolence isconnectedtodrugoralcoholconsump - 15 . 9 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 10 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland small localcatchmentareastoagreaterextent more impactedbyresidentialpatternssincetheydraw on al amongsttheirstudents,primaryschoolstendedto be ry andsecondaryschoolshadatleastoneAfricannation - A studyin2010notedthatwhilemorethanhalfofprima- lese, SudaneseandEthiopianrefugeesinruralareas. European resettlementprogrammehasalsoplacedCongo- to thepresenceofavailableandaffordablehousing.The small, AfricanandAfrican-Irishpopulations,mainlydue and thesurroundingcountieswhichhaverecognisable,if gration descent havecometoIreland asstudentsandprofession- working historicallyinIreland’s cities,peopleofAfrican diaspora overalongperiodoftime.Aswellasservants with peopleofAfricandescentinIrelandaswellthe idence todisprovethisposition.Irishpeoplehavemixed Africans asanewexperienceinIreland,thereismuchev - Although itisquitecommontothinkofracismagainst more segregatedoneconomicbases. 271-288. and schoolcomposition inIreland’,IrishEducational Studies, 29(3), 17 Ireland’, 16 D. Byrne, F. McGinnity , E. Smyth & M. Darmody (2010) ‘Immigration D.Byrne,F.McGinnity,E.Smyth& M. Darmody(2010)‘Immigration 16 ZM Vang (2010) ‘Housing supply and residential segregation in ZMVang(2010)‘Housingsupplyand residentialsegregationin . There are, however, a number of areas of Dublin . Thereare,however,anumberofareasDublin Urban Studies,47(14),2983-3012. 17 , and are , andare over generations ences throughtheirfamiliesandcommunitiesinIreland military and government, have shared those experi- of the‘civilisingmissions’)inchurches,schools,hospitals, can descent,oftenfrompositionsofauthority(andaspart overseas have had extended contact with people of Afri- als overthepreviousthreecenturies.Irishpeopleworking starvation, sexual abuse, forced labour and violence. The starvation, sexualabuse,forced labourandviolence.The where theirskincolourmarked themoutforsegregation, children inIrishinstitutions betweenthe1950sand1970s gathered extensiveevidence oftheabusemixed-race group representing survivors of institutional abuse, who pects isthatdocumentedbyMixedRaceIrish,acampaign families andwidersociety.Oneofthemostshockingas - or studyinginIreland,havebeenpersistentlyrejected by tions, manytoahighlyeducatedAfricanparentworking Mixed racechildrenborninIrelandpreviousgenera - and childrenofAfricandescenttolivehere. abroad have(aswecontinuetodo)alsobroughtpartners countries sincethe1960s.Irish people returning from also been a popular destination for students from African movement acrossEmpire,buttheRepublicofIrelandhas Diaspora. London: RandomHouse. 18 T.P. Coogan (2002). Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of Irish T.P.Coogan(2002). WhereverGreenisWorn:TheStory ofIrish 18 . British rule facilitated much of this . Britishrulefacilitatedmuchofthis position to disprove this much evidence Ireland, there is experience in as anew against Africans think of racism quite common to Although itis experienced suchidentity-basedtrauma high ratesofsuicide,amongmixed-racepeoplewhohave ing therelationshipbetweenalcoholanddrugabuse, their futureidentitydevelopmentand self-esteem, not- the effectsofdenigrationmixed-racechildrenfor Mixed RaceIrishgrouphavedocumentedextensively the experience of being defined as ‘not Irish’ by default. the experienceofbeingdefined as‘notIrish’bydefault. in thedenialoftheircitizenship,andthesestarttoaddress the damagewhichisinflictedonbothchildrenandadults fact mixed-race.Amuchlargernumberofcasesattest to certain thatpeoplewhoarevictimisedas‘Black’not in ‘mixed race’,althoughthereisnowayforwitnessesto be of caseswhichexplicitlydescribethetargetedperson as without remedy.Inthisreport,thereareasmallnumber therefore hadtocontinueworkingwiththosecolleagues aware thathiscareercouldbedamagedbycomplaining.He Ireland. Hewasshockedbytheirbehaviourbutextremely company eventthathewas‘really’fromAfricaratherthan ‘Other’. Hedescribeshowhiscolleaguesjokedpubliclyata mixed raceatteststothedifficultiesofbeingidentifiedas One casesubmittedtoiReport.iebyamanidentifyingas their identity,orfeellikean‘Other’. and requiresmixed-racepeopletochooseonepartof the boundariesbetweenthesecolour-basedcategories, along thelinesof‘White’,‘Black’and‘Asian’reinforces ground’ under ‘Other’. The construction of the census or allowsthemtowriteadescriptionoftheir‘mixedback- to choosebetweenticking‘WhiteIrish’and‘BlackIrish’, The Census2011,forexample,forcesmixed-racepeople scribed orbepermittedtodescribethemselves. peoples’ wellbeingisinthewaywhichtheymaybede- Irish orbeing‘really’fromanothercountryimpactson vious wayinwhichtheissueofbeingdescribedasnot- with beingdefinedasnot-Irishbydefault.Themostob- Afrophobia inIreland,sinceitencapsulatestheproblems is animportantconsiderationintheunderstandingof The identificationandtreatmentofmixedracechildren as wellrecognisingtheseparticularexperiences. offers aninsightintotheprocessofself-identificationand belong inaracialisedsociety.Theterm‘mixedrace’then to undertakeextraidentityworkidentifywherethey ‘Other’ iskeytounderstandingthewayinwhichtheyhave scribe themselvesasmixed-race,theperceptionofthem therefore liesintheperception. But forpeoplewhode- or superiortoanotherraceraces.Therealityof‘race’ that groupor‘race’,andwhichcandistinguishitasinferi- possess characteristics,abilities,orqualitiesspecificto infers theideaofnaturallyseparategroupswhicheach ‘Mixed race’isatermsometimesavoided,because‘race’ tees/?id=2014-10-22a.543 Equality, 22October2014,https://www.kildarestreet.com/commit- Mixed RaceIrish’,JointOireachtasCommittee onJustice,Defenceand 19 ‘Experience of Persons of Mixed Race in State Institutions: ‘ExperienceofPersonsMixed Race inStateInstitutions:

19 . here in order to preserve the anonymity of the reports. here inordertopreservetheanonymityofreports. data, althoughsomeofthisinformationisnotpresented therefore, beentakenintoaccountintheanalysisof phobia hasalocal,aswellglobal,context.Thishas, racism. IthelpstounderstandthewaysinwhichAfro - facilities, including support in relation to incidents of and publicspaces.Itaffectstheiraccesstoappropriate their experienceinneighbourhoods,schools,workplaces, in Irishcitiesandtownsisimportanttounderstanding The presence andintegration of people of African descent very damaginginthelongterm. confidence andcausinghighlevelsofstresswhichare impinge onthesefeelingsofbelonging,decreasingtheir households in2008 ple, 77percentofNigerianslivedinNigerian-Irishmixed children, sincetheCSOreportshowedthat,forexam- by theirIrishness.Thisaffectsasignificantnumberof in Ireland,andseetheirfuturelivesasbeinginfluenced pedagogic framework,havetheirstrongestrelationships their localcommunities,areeducatedwithinanIrish with thoseoftheirparent,feelloyaltyandbelongingin they contrasttheirexperienceandculturalinfluences identity, identifystronglyasIrishingrowingup,because scent, regardless of whether both parents sharea racial Children borninIrelandtodaytoaparentofAfricande- tionery Office.ISBN 1-4064-2055-5. (2008) Census2006: Non-IrishNationalsLivinginIreland. Dublin:Sta- as Irishcitizensistherelevantpoint here.CentralStatisticsOffice parents borninNigeria.Nonetheless, theidentificationofchildren a whiteparent,andhowmanyrefer tochildrenborninIrelandtwo 20 forced labourandviolence starvation, sexual abuse, them outfor segregation, their skincolour marked the 1950s and1970s where in Irishinstitutions between abuse of mixed-race children extensive evidence of the abuse, whogathered survivors of institutional campaign group representing by Mixed Race Irish,a aspects isthatdocumented One of themost shocking The CSO does not detail how many of these households include TheCSOdoesnotdetailhowmanyof thesehouseholdsinclude 20 . Racism in all forms can directly . Racisminallformscandirectly 11 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 12 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland can descentfortheirsafetyinthesepublicplaces there isagreaterreasonablefearamongstpeopleofAfri - of victimsinthetargetedgroup,however,alsomeansthat able potentialvictimpopulation.Theinterchangeability ble toamotivatedperpetratorthattherewouldbeanavail- city centreareasandpublictransport,itwouldbeforeseea- sought out a victim.Since many of these incidentsinvolved opportunistic orwhethertheperpetratorintentionally possible totellfromthedatawhethertheseincidentswere randomly selected victims in the targeted group. It is not relationship withtheperpetrator,andappearedtoinvolve These incidentshaveoccurredintheabsenceofanyprior gether theseaccountedfor75percentofreportedlocations. lowed byonthestreetandinshoppingcentresorshops.To- on publictransport(includingagainststaff),fol- The largestproportionofface-to-faceincidentstookplace ethnicity. es wheremissilesweredirectedatpeopleofBlack-African above, fivecasesofspittingwerereportedandthreecas- national newspapers. In addition to the 22 assault cases ted inthisperiod,althoughseveralmorewerereported children. Onereportofarsonendangeringlifewassubmit- a vehicle.Tworeportsinvolvedassaultofchildrenbyother ed dogattackonachildandanattempttohitmanwith cases, aggravatedassaultwasoccasionedthroughadirect- child inherownbackgardenbyaneighbour.Intwofurther tre street, andthe second anattack with a hurley stick on a The firstwasanattackwithaglassbottleinbusycitycen- security andpolice.Weaponswereinvolvedintwocases. two allegationsofunlawfulassaultduringdetentionby stances ofsuddenviolentattacksonpublictransport,and portunistic violenceagainstadultsinthestreet,three- submitted inthisperiod.Theseincludedfourcasesofop- Twenty-two reportsofassaultandaggravatedwere months ofdatacollection,betweenJuly2013andJune2015. cerning thistargetedgroupweresubmittedinthefirst24 reported casessubmittedtoiReport.ie.225reportscon- of Africandescentaccountedfor30percentthetotal Reports concerningspecificincidentstargetingpeople 4 when serious crimes have been committed. Fifteen reports when seriouscrimeshavebeencommitted.Fifteenreports injury. Reportsofthiskindaremostfrequentlysubmitted dation, harassment, frequently escalating to violence and reports includerepeatedincidentsofverbalabuse,intimi - to neighboursorpeopleidentifiedaslocalresidents.These Repeated harassmentappearsmostfrequentlyinrelation New York:BasicBooks. Hate crimes revisited:America’s war againstthosewhoare different. group wouldbeasatisfactoryvictim. SeeJ.LevinandJ.McDevitt(2002). target, fromtheperpetrator’sstandpoint, anymemberofthetargeted ically doesnothingtoprovoketheattack ormarkthemselvesoutasa makes themdifferentfrommanyother offenses.Sincethevictimtyp- 21 Overview

Interchangeability is a key characteristic of hate crimes that Interchangeability isakeycharacteristic ofhatecrimesthat 21 . ist expression in social media. ist expressioninsocialmedia. number isaconservativereflectionofthefrequencyrac - discussions onsocialmediainIreland,andthereforethis African descentarereferencedwidelyinanti-immigration can descent.Itishoweverwellestablishedthatpeopleof materials whichdonotspecificallytargetpeopleofAfri- grant groups.Thisfiguredoesnotincludereportsofracist people ofAfricandescent,sometimesalongsideothermi- media postsandotheronlinecommentswhichtargeted 112 reports(46percent)relatedtowebsites,forums,social bours overaperiodofeightyears. experienced threatsandcriminaldamagefromneigh- hood andinpoliceresponses.Inonereport,afamilyhad addressed promptly,becomenormalisedintheneighbour- a sequenceofeventsoverperiodmonths,andifnot with family.Reportsofrepeatedharassmentcanrelateto in aresidentandyoungchildrenleavingherhometostay serious injuryandoneinvolvedarson.Onereportresulted which werepreviouslyunreported.Ofthese,threeinvolved one case,ateacher.Fourteenoftheserelatedtosituations of harassmentsinvolvingneighboursorco-workersandin indicated thatincidentswererelatedtoarepeatedseries or part of an ongoing pattern of harassment. or partofanongoing patternofharassment. ferent contexts inthesereports,andcan bespontaneous minority ethnicgroups.Assaults occurinarangeofdif- people of African descent in Ireland as well as for other reported here. Assault is known to be an ongoing risk for assault reportedinthenational mediawhicharenotalso saults describedhere,there have beenseveralincidents of ie involve assaults resulting in injury. As well as the as- The most serious incidents described in reports to iReport. 5 security andpolice assault duringdetention by two allegationsof unlawful on publictransport, and of suddenviolent attacks the street, three instances violence against adults in four cases of opportunistic this period.These included assault were submitted in assault andaggravated Twenty-two reports of Assaults withinjury was still not investigated at the time of this report. was stillnotinvestigated atthetimeofthis report. to tryagainwhen particularGardaíwereon duty.Thecase Garda stationwerealsounsuccessful. Shewassimplytold them, shewasunabletodo so,andpersonalvisitstothe community Gardaí.Despite frequent attempts tocontact Garda thatattendedthescene advisedhertocontactlocal assment andviolencetolocal Gardaíatthetimebut and violatedeveninmyownhouse.”She reported the har - The womandescribedfeeling“helpless,frustrated,abused from theperpetrator. assed thefamily,leadingtofurtherabuseandviolence children oftheperpetratortobehaveinwayswhichhar- perpetrated frequently uponthefamilyencouraged family from their violence. The ways in which racism was But evenavoidingtheneighboursdidnotprotect nal damage,andrepeatedthreats: repeated verbalabuse,anincidentofassaultandcrimi- neighbouring woman and her children, which included Dublin recountsalengthyperiodofharassmentby A motherlivingalonewithhertwochildreninNorth which itplacesallmembersofafamily. illuminates thenatureofsuchacaseanddangerin to serious violence andendangermentoflife.Thiscase is frighteningandinvasive.Unchecked,itcanescalate Harassment byneighbourswhichescalatesovertime In ourback garden on us calling us and animal.” on uscallingniggerandanimal.” memory card and they walked away raining abuses smashed thephoneonfloorandremoved her sonsnatchedthephonefrommydaughterand the hurleystick.Shecameintomygardenwithand her phoneshegotangryandhitmydaughterwith My 13yearsolddaughterstartedvideoingherwith throw itbackbecausewedon’tdeservetolivehere. times theballisthrownintomygardenwehaveto open mygardendoorandsaidnomatterhowmany den. Whenitwasnotthrownbacktheirmotherburst twice buttheykeptthrowingitbackintothegar- den. I asked my daughter to throw it back to them “On Wednesday,herkidsthrowingballintomygar- other Africansintheneighbourhood.” threatens. […]Iunderstandshedoesthesameto house willbesetonfirewhileweareasleepasshe them. Wesleepwithoneeyeopennotknowingifthe So Iamdoingeverythinghumanlypossibletoavoid her familytocometrashmyhouseandsetitonfire. us andstartafight.[…]Shehasthreatenedtobring throwing theirballintomygardenjusttoprovoke would send her children to come and be playing and bitch. Shelivessevenhousesawayfromme,butshe being here.Callsmy12yearsolddaughterfatblack yard, shesaidtheyareblackandhavenobusiness let mychildrenplayoutsideeveninownback- “This Irishwoman(about35yearsold)wouldnot vestigate properly.Andheisprobablyright.” do anythingaboutit.ProbablyfeelstheGardawon’tin- otherwise. S/he described the victim as Gardaí onseeingtheincident,butcouldnotintervene The witness tothis second case, a local resident, called the ly morningandeveningcanalsobehazardous. Simply passingthroughtheneighbourhoodaloneinear- In ourneighbourhood in the case below, this is unusual. in thecasebelow, thisisunusual. olence insomecases,andcensure theperpetrator,butas any case.Thegroupcanalso preventtheescalationofvi- curity toperpetratorsofspontaneous racistviolencein to beinvolved,sincethegroup itselfgivesasenseofse- although itisnotessential for allmembersofthegroup Assaults bygroupsuponsinglevictimsarenotunusual, by CCTVrecordingoftheassault. porting, investigationsbyGardaíwerecontinuingaided ternoon byayoungerwhiteIrishman.Atthetimeofre- descent onO’ConnellStreet,Dublinat2o’clockintheaf- riod isthisbrutalandsuddenattackonamanofAfrican Amongst themostshockingassaultsreportedinthispe- Walking inthecity centre (South Dublin,10pmmidweek,reportedbywitness) The Policearrived45MinutesLaterandthenleft.” Black Malelimpeduptowards[locationremoved]. ass. TheytookhisBike,JacketandPhone.Theyoung ing homefromwork.Theycontinuedtokickandhar- him. Heshoutedtoleavehimalone.Iamonlycom- They beathimtothegroundandrepeatedlykicked him [informationidentifyingperpetratorremoved]. work (cycling)[locationremoved].Twomensetupon “A youngblackMalewasonthewayhomefrom the picturesofhiswounds.” the hospital.Thefatherandboyshowed[NGO] badly bittenbythedogandfathertookhimto polish instructing the dog to bitehim . Theboy was dog speakinginhernativelanguagebelievedtobe her tostop,butthegirldidn’tinsteadshesent and Paki”.Sotheboywentclosertohertold not fromIrishorigin.Thegirlcalled them “nigger the girl’s place kicking the ball to his friends who are playground toplaysoccerandashepassedalong this particulardayastheboywasheadingto lives towhichshealwayscalledhima“nigger”.So “The boywaswalkingpasstheplacewheregirl lance.” (Reportedbyfriendofthevictim) injured andhewastransportedtohospitalbyambu- assaulted himwithaglassbottleinhishead.Hewas ning towardmyfriendandwithoutanywarninghe Dublin 1, when suddenly one of 2 guys came run- “He wassmokinginfrontofDrQuirkey’sCasino “Too Terrified to “Too Terrifiedto

13 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 14 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland and police behaviour in them. and policebehaviourinthem. do notfeelsafeinthem,andabletoanticipate City spacesareendangered when visitors andresidents cided notto revisit, outoffearandfeelingsunsafety. visiting thecitycentreforaspecialoccasion,andhavede - for leisure.Forexample,thecoupleinabovecasewere Incidents likethisencourageavoidanceofpublicspaces above and,again,wasnotreportedtoGardaí. This casefromLimerickcloselyechoestheDublin trator, aswellthespontaneousnatureofviolence. reflect theinterchangeablenessofvictimsforperpe- Sudden displaysofviolencearecommonlyreported,and This casewasnotreportedtoGardaí. tors. Thefollowing caseissuchanexample. repeated andescalate inseverityandnumber ofperpetra- when escalationtoracistviolence occurs,assaultscanbe everyday lifevulnerableto interruption atanytime,but Persistent harassmentfrom knownperpetratorsmakes Walking ourkidsto school places their safety inthese public people of African descent for reasonable fear amongst staff) .there is agreater (including against transport place onpublictransport face-to-face incidents took The largest proportion of 10pm) him monkey,andshoutingotherslurs.”(Limerick, on myhusband(I am whiteIrish).They were calling face andtoldhimto‘gohome’.Thegirlsonlyfocused them ranbackandslappedmyhusbandacrossthe girls walkedpastshoutingslursathim,thenoneof nell Streettoalocalclub.Whengroupofyoung Myself andmyhusbandwerewalkingdownO’Con- “We were heading out for our wedding anniversary. didn’t doanything.”(Male,18-25yearsold,Dublin). ed shouting‘whydidyouhittheblackbastard,he most 30minutes.Afterpunchingmethegroupstart- eye leavingacutwhichcausedthebleedingforal- he swinghishandtomyheadandtouchedleft third boyaround23yearofagereachedclosertome close to6peoplewalkingtheoppositesidewhen “As IwaswalkingatthesideofRiverLiffey,came Gardaí.” ment, meandmyfamilyhavelosttotalconfidenceinthe no furtheractionwastaken.Thevictimsays “At the mo- ered thefalsereportsandsympathisedwithfamily, reports bytheperpetratorand,althoughGardaídiscov- assaults, to local Gardaí. Thecasewasfrustrated by false In this case,thefamily reported theharassment,and of time afterwards. of timeafterwards. suffer theeffectsofincident forasignificantperiod incident seriouslyhascaused thevictimtocontinue result oftheattackand failureofGardaítotakethe residents fromthesameneighbourhood. Thecombined charges forseriousracistviolence.Theteenagerswere prompted Gardaítoencouragethevictimsnotpress racist language,theinvolvementofteenageperpetrators Despite theevidentinjuriesofvictimanduse of attack. Theattacktookplaceinmid-afternoon. their home,withracistlanguageusedduringtheviolent pregnant wifewereattackedbyagroupofteenagersnear In thefollowingcasefrom South Dublin,a man andhis On theway homefrom themosque (Male, 26-35 years old) [location removed].”(Male,26-35yearsold) daughter, nolongerfeelsafewalkingthestreetsof stalks useverytimeshe sees us.We,especially our afternoon when we go to pick her from school). She when wedropourdaughteroffinschoolandthe alone. Sheinsultsusevery day (bothin the morning We havemadeseveraleffortsforhertoleaveus daughter offinschool. partner toassaultmeagainafterI’ddroppedmy defend myself.Thenextmorning,shecamewithher after callingmestupid,bastardetc.Iwasforcedto year olddaughterandassaultedme(slappedme) Last weekMonday,shewalkeduptomeandmy5 been goingonforagesandisaboutescalating. country’, ‘blackpeoplesmelllikefish’etc.Thishas keys, getyourf**kingpassportsandgobackto “She madecommentssuchas‘blackanddirty’,‘mon- “It has made me afraid. I don’t walk home alone any “It hasmademe afraid.Idon’twalkhome aloneany kids.” gesting thatwedon’t, because theperpetrators were the guardsaskeddidwewanttopresscharges,sug- straight away.Iwasinjuredonthegroundwhile My wife then phoned the police. The guards arrived the ground.Theybustedmylipsandkickedribs. they stopped.Iwasbeaten,punchedandkickedto It wasonlywhenmypregnantwifeintercededthat They asked me the time. And then they assaulted me. by agangofwhiteteenageboys,about12them. was walkingwithmypregnantwife.Wewerestopped “I waswalkinghomefromtheMosquetomyhouse.I in this report. in thisreport. pregnant womenandyoungmothers,asdiscussedlater the patternofincidentsagainstandcausingdistressfor violence againstherisreported,butthispossiblegiven the victim’swifewasalsotargetedinattack,sinceno them asMuslims.Itisnotclearwhetherthepregnancyof victim’s wifewaswearingaheadscarfwhichidentified phobia andAfrophobiacanintersect,asinthiscase,the This caseisanexampleofthewaysinwhichIslamo- This incident was not investigated by Gardaí. This incidentwasnotinvestigatedbyGardaí. verbally abusedbytheperpetratoratsametime. target ofanunanticipatedassault,whilepassengerswere In anassaultcaseinSouthDublin,abusdriverwasthe whether theyarepassengersorstaff. making people of African descent vulnerable to racism, Public transportiswellknowntobeproblematicin On thebus the perpetrator abuse andviolence from family, leading to further in ways whichharassed the the perpetrator to behave encouraged the children of frequently uponthefamily racism was perpetrated The ways inwhich suspicious, andlesstrustingofwhiteIrishpeople.” more. Ialwaystakethecar.ammorevigilantand happened onthe bus.” CCTV footagefromDublin Bus asthewholething and thewomanwalkedoff bus.Thereishowever ing someonetoaddressthe issue, butnoonearrived “I phonedtheGuardsandthey saidtheyweresend- until shegotoffthebus.” dow andhithim.…Thiscontinuedfor10-15minutes driver andstartedtryingtoreachthroughthewin- of thebusandoutIreland.Sheturnedbackto ing aboutforeignscumandhowweneedtogetoff myself included,arenon-nationalsandstartedyell- Turned totherestofpassengersmostwhom, abuse atthebusdriveraboutbeinganon-national. “A womancameontothebusandstartedshouting up and threatened to hit him. He warned her not to do up and threatened to hit him. He warned her not to do er passengers, andwhenheaskedherto stop,shestood The womancontinuedtoabuse himloudlyinfrontofoth- he defendedhimself. found himselfsubjecttofurtherabuseandviolencewhen white IrishwomanonacrowdedbusinSouthDublin,and Black Africanmanwasverballyabusedandthenhitbya lem ofracistharassmentinthiskindenvironment.A One caseofassaultinparticularhighlightstheprob- the onlyonewithballsto sayitoutandlouder.” the busisthinkingsame thinglikemebutIam wants youhere,shethensaid everyoneelsehereon are, sittingatthetopofthisbuswithus?Nobody up becauseofpeoplelikeyou,whodoyouthink f**ked ofyoublackbastard.’Mykids’futureis of people like you that I’m like this, my country is our jobs,thinkingyou’rebetterthanus,it’sbecause sick ofyoublackcomingintoourcountryandtaking a nigger,whichwascompletelyinexcusable.Iam words suchas:‘Youblackbastard,areyounotonly she was extremely and aggressively using racist “It was disgraceful, shocking and unacceptable as strongest wordswhichIcannotremember.” and wasgoingmorewithevensomeofthe nigger, getoutandgobacktoyourf**kingcountry’, f**king blackbastard,Iamtalkingto,lookatyou toward meandpointedherfingerstome:‘it’syou hind hertofindaseat[…].Thewomanturnedherself COUNTRY’. Ididnotsayanythingandcontinuebe- NIGGER, GET OUT AND GO BACK TO YOUR F**KING ly andsaid‘lookathimBLACKBASTARD, blond hairandreddresslookedatmedisgraceful- as soon as I walked up the stairs, a woman with “I gotonthebusandupstairstofindaseat 15 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 16 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland away fromthescenewithoutarrestorinterview. confronted heraboutracism,andeventuallywalked The firstperpetratoralsoassaultedafemaletouristwho One startedshoutingatthebusdriver. from thebus,sayinghewas‘thecause’ofproblem. daí, althoughsomepassengersinsistedonremovinghim The busdriverwaspersuadedbythevictimtocallGar- other womenonthebus,whojoinedinverbalabuse. again by the first perpetrator, drawing the attention of go downstairs,hewasattackedbyawhiteIrishmanand The victimpushedhisattackeraway.Ashestoodupto this andthathewoulddefendhimselfifnecessary. shouting atthebusdriver of theproblem. Onestarted saying hewas cause’ ‘the removing himfrom thebus, some passengers insisted on call theGardaí, although persuaded by thevictimto The busdriver was ly came down stairs and abused me again and other ly camedown stairsandabusedmeagain andother woman andher malefriendorcompanion eventual- took over 20 to 30 minutes and even more and the within twotofiveminutes butunfortunatelythey was toldtwotimesthatthe Gardawillbeuptous tacting thebusofficeand reporting theincident.I “I calledthepoliceandwith thebusdriverhelpcon- her friends)theyleft.” said whocaresandwithotherwomen(presumably move tilltheGardacomeandreportincident.She to leave the bus. I toldher to leave as thebus will not to putmeoffofthebusotherwisetheyareones her disgracefulbehaviours.Sheaskedthebusdriver she wasalsoracistandshouldbeashamedof and Ishouldgetbacktomycountry.toldherthat “She saidthewomanwasrightraciallyabusingme force mywaydownthestairs.” I againpushedthewomanwhowashittingmeto I turned and pushed him and he felt at the back and shouted on me, black bastard, leave heralone), which hold myneckfrombehindandpulledhitme(he driver. Irealisedthatamanwhowassittingbehind find mywaydownthestairsandreportittobus to fightme.Atthattime,Istoodupfrommyseat and Ipushedherbackwhichshefeltstoodup hand atthesecondtimeshewantedtohitmeagain “She suddenlyhitmyfaceandfromthereIholdher undeserving ofsympathyor support police) viewBlackpeoplewhorespondtoracistviolence as ed StatesandAustraliashowsthatwhitepopulations(and is not,however,uniquetoIreland.ResearchfromtheUnit - any way.Suchanexpectationisunfairandunrealistic. It racist violence,nottodefendthemselvesorrespond in of Africandescentareexpectedtobepassivevictims of Gardaí believealcoholtobethecauseofincidents.People olence whengroupsofperpetratorsareinvolvedand lights theproblematicnatureofracistharassmentand vi- This incidentisworthpresentinginfullbecauseithigh - by theperpetrator. ment intheGardaresponsewhichblamedalcoholabuse tinues tosufferpanicattacksandreportshisdisappoint- but notpreviouslyknownforviolence.Thevictimcon- well knownforherracistabuseofforeignersinthearea The perpetratorwasreportedbyanotherpassengertobe pletely devastated.” made himfeel“shaken,humiliated,shockedandcom- ure ofGardaítoadequatelyrespondthesituationhave given totheperpetratorbyotherpassengers,andfail- combination oftheferocityincident,support encouraging him to avoidnormal everyday activities.The cant, seriouslyaffectinghishealthandconfidence, The impactoftheincidentonmanhasbeensignifi- the problem of the ‘perfect victim’ or ‘ideal victim’. the problemof‘perfectvictim’ or‘idealvictim’. Zealand Journalof Criminology,40(3),249-271. Moral Category: Lessons From the Snowtown Case’, Australian & New Interpersonal Violence,14(2),138-151;G.Mason(2007)‘Hate Crimeasa African AmericanandWhitereactions toracisthatecrimes’,Journalof 22 lacking ofrealwordstoexpressmyself.” and honestlyleftinashockingsituationwhichIam pointment toseekforhelp.Iamcompletely,truly knowing whattodowhichIamexpectingGPsap- and beenhavingpanicattackseachtimesnottruly I havebeenleftsodevastatedandunabletosleep get onthebusorsittingevenclosetosomeoneelse. days andnightsheadachesnowsoscarytoeven ly devastated. Since then, I have been dealing with etly leftshaken,humiliated,shockedandcomplete- behaviour ofthewomantowardmeandI have qui- her companioncursing.Iwassofrightenedbythe and thewomanwalkedfreelydownstreetwith ly around30to40minutesaftertheywerecalled, “The policeonlyarrivedafteraboutorapproximate- walked away.” and gotoffofthebuswithhermalecompanion to her that she was Irish but she replied f**k you all to intervenewascalledf**kingforeignerwhoreplied that. AtthatstageanIrishwomanwhoalsotried her tostopandsaiddon’tdaretalkpeoplelike countries. Shealsohitatouristwomanwhoasked should allf**kinggetoutandgobacktoourbloody people callingthemallf**kingforeignersandthatwe K.M. Craig (1999) ‘Retaliation, fear, or rage an investigation of K.M. Craig(1999)‘Retaliation,fear, orrageaninvestigationof 22 . This is known as . Thisisknownas risk: risk: at 2amwhichputthelivesofsleepingresidentssevere This case,inSouthDublin,involvedanincidentofarson over thepastyear. people, severalofwhichhavealsoappearedinthemedia these havetakentheformofarsondirectedagainstBlack people ofAfricandescenttheyhavetargeted.Some criminal offenceswhichhaveendangeredthelivesof have beenenactedandperpetratorscommitted ment, buttherearesignificantcaseswherethreatsmade Verbalised threatstolifearefrequentincasesofharass- 6 Endangerment to life unrealistic an expectation isunfair and or respond inany way. Such not to defend themselves victims of racist violence, are expected to bepassive People of African descent reported by EU National of Black African ethnicity) reported byEUNationalofBlackAfricanethnicity) a summaryofwhathappened.(SouthDublin,2am, was tootraumatisedtogiveitthem.Sotheywrote media coveragetheycameandtookmystatement.I Initially, [Gardaí]didnottakeastatement.Afterthe the fire.Ireallythoughttheyweretryingtokillme. me totheincident.Hehadseenperpetratorsset A neighbourwasbangingonthedoortryingtoalert they left,Iawoketosmokeandtheflatwasonfire. my girlfriendleftandtheGuardscameagain.After didn’t realisethattheyhadsetfiretothehouse.Then outside because of the racial harassment because I because thefirebrigadecame.Ididn’twanttogo car. TheydamagedmyLaterthatnight,Iawoke They calledtheguardsonmetogetmovemy -er, you’vecomeheretotakeourjobs,gohome!”. my flatdoorandtocar.Onewomanshouted“n-- including previousincidentsofcriminaldamageto by thesamegroupofpeopleinmyapartmentblock, “After apatternofracistharassmentdirectedatme verbal abuse 8 pocket tocallforhelp,threatenedtakethephone. the man,andwhenmanremovedhisphonefrom erately obstructed”theexit,“shoutingcontinuouslyat and inappropriatebehaviour”. The security guard “delib- ening, intimidating, abusive,unprofessional,uncivilized rity guardinanincidentdescribedbyawitnessas“threat- one manfoundhisexitfromthetoiletsblockedbyasecu- After using the toilets in a South Dublin shopping centre, Out shopping no injuryresultingfromtheincident. seriously bywitnessesorevenGardaíbecausethereis They causefearandintimidation,butmaynotbetaken Assaults ofthesekindarefrequentandusuallysudden. 7 media aswellbyENAR IrelandandotherNGOs. attacks havebeenreportedinIrelandthemainstream experience thisheightenedleveloffearbecausephysical No previousexperienceofphysicalattackisnecessaryto normal activitiesbecauseoftheirfearphysicalattack. of avoidanceactivity,wheretheydonotparticipatein ing intheirlocalneighbourhoods,andsignificantlevels levels offeargoingaboutdailyactivities,includingwalk- kind of unpredictableverbalabusereportheightened must notbeunderestimated.Peopleexperiencingthis pact ofharassmentandverbalabuseinpublicspaces threats ofviolence,andassaultwithoutinjury.Theim- including verbalassault,intimidation,beingfollowed, es iscommonlyreportedtoiReport.ie,withincidentsalso Harassment ofpeopleAfricandescentinpublicspac- Assault withoutinjury Harassment and and spiteful looks whispering something and the and spiteful looks whisperingsomething andthe know herjoined herandstartedgiving us strange louder, theothertwoIrish women whodidn’teven going, shewasfollowingus andshescreamedeven back wonderingwhatisgoing on,andshekepton other thingswecouldn’teven understand,welooked back, shestartedscreamingat us,saying‘bitches’and all ofasuddentherewasanIrishwhiteladyatthe my friend.Wewerechattingandlaughingthen “I waswalkingatthecitycentrewithmysisterand anyone.” is ahorriblesinkingfeelingthatIwouldnotwishon pray theywouldnotabuseverballyorphysically.It person approachmydirection,Imoveawayand ute, waiting for the busispretty scary, when a white that has been taken from me. I calculateevery min- “I shouldhavemylibertytowalkfreelyinDublin, 17 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 18 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland lice can prevent further harassment. lice canpreventfurtherharassment. appear toact,althoughthethreatofawitnesscallingpo- Witnesses attesttotheimpunitywithwhichperpetrators There are,aswell,unpredictablethreats: cause significantshockinwitnessesaswellvictims. ported. Thesearedifficulttopredictandprevent, ticipated incidentsofviolenceandthreatwhicharere- Among themostshockingformsofracismareunan- their fear of physical attack normal activities because of they donot participate in avoidance activity, where and significant levels of local neighbourhoods, including walking intheir going aboutdailyactivities, heightened levels of fear verbal abuse report kind of unpredictable People experiencing this 1.30pm, reported bywitness,) told mesheget these abuses often.” (North Dublin, police” anddisappeared.Talking tothepoorladyshe dialling thepolicenow...They said“F**kYouandthe the othersaidIdon’tcare. took myphonesaidIam lies astheladywasjuststanding atthebusstopand said shehitmewithherbag whichwascompletely asked themwhatthepoorladydidtobeabused?One I wasn’tconcernastheywerenottalkingtome. tion. Itookthechallengewiththemandwastoldthat heard the abusivelanguagewhich called myatten- the twoIrishladieswerepassingbyandsuddenlyI their 40s.Theladywasstandingjustbehindmeand lia wascalledniggaandspatbytwoIrishladiesin bus andanAfricanyounggirloriginallyfromSoma- “I was atabusstopMountjoyStreet waiting for a was goingtokillme.”(SouthDublin,1.30am) “A person on bikecalledmea Black ape, and saidhe followed herandgotin.(SouthDublin,3.30pm) so sheranintotheDublinbusstationofficeandwe cause shewasafraidtheycouldattackusphysically, my friendcalledusandsaidweshouldrunawaybe- and other local people looked and were not bothered, first ladyscreamedevenlouderandpointedatus Some of the incidents involving racist language arise in Some oftheincidents involvingracistlanguage arisein came from”.(NorthDublin,7.30pm,reported byNGO) type wasnotwelcomeand should gobacktowhereshe woman ranintoanearbyshop forhelp,she“was told her abuse. Otherpassers-bydid notoffersupport.Whenthe the streetbyaslightlyolder whiteIrishwomanshouting Black Africanwoman(25-35yearsold)waschaseddown tributes tothegeneralfeelingofunsafety.Inonecase, a however, andbeingrefusedhelpatthispointfurthercon - quite successful.Findinghelporshelterisnotguaranteed amongst peopleofAfricandescentinIreland,andcan be businesses to shake off harassers is a common strategy ent dangerinmanycases.Enteringlocalshopsorother witnesses to intervene or attempt to address the appar- Adding tothesenseofvulnerabilityisfailure of in theon-streetexperiencesreportedhereIreland. UK illegally?GoHomeorRiskArrest’issharplyreflected campaign whichusedvanscladinposterssaying‘Inthe The impactoftheUKHomeOffice‘GoHome’immigration Mountjoy Squareincidentexemplifiesthiswell. ple targeteddonotseereportingasworththeirtime.The frequently poortowardsmoreviolentoffences,thatpeo- These incidentsaresofrequent,andGardaíresponses to do what they did.” to dowhattheydid.” home!” Theseyoungmenwereconfident and proud vans weredrivenaroundwiththesamewords“Go band whoconsoledmeandinformedthatinEngland before and they werenot helpful. I phonedmy hus- never listen.MyfamilyandIhaveapproachedthem to ashop.IcouldnottelltheGardaíbecausethey was likeadream.TheydroveoffandIwalkedquickly man jumpsoutofthecarandtrytoattackme.It was afraidtotakeoutmyphoneincasetheyoung pouring withrainandtherewasnobodyaround.I shout atme.Iwasafraid.startedtopray.It half ofhisbodyoutthewindowandcontinueto violently “Getout,Gohome!”Oneofthempushed opposite directionsloweddownandstartedtoshout in the afternoon. A small white car driving in the “I waswalkingtowardthemainroadfrommyhome do? Justprayers...”(Reportedbywitness) back tous.Itsmorethan2yearsnow.Whatcanwe when wereportedittotheGardatheynevercame back home.MysisterwasbeatenbyIrishboysbut out withfearandprayingforgodtobringmesafe my life. I pray that I don’t get kill as now I always go Garda Station.NowIjusttakeitandmoveonwith called abigliarbyGardagoingtoreportitthe They eventhreatmemorebadly”shesaid.“Iwas few timestotheGardaandwasmoredisappointed. Same people,Idon’twastemytime...”…“Ihavegone erful thantheGardaí,sheaskedme?Whoarethey? asked me“whatwillthatdo?IstheiReportmorepow- “When IaskedtheladytoreportitoniReport,she person(s) at their presence. person(s) attheirpresence. is acommonmeansofindicatingdisgusttothetargeted used tointimidatethetargetedperson.Theuseofspitting alongside eitherorbothverbalabuseandassault,is Dublin busstopcase mentioned above, spitting canoccur ing disgust towards people of African descent. Like the Spitting is frequentlyusedasa means of communicat- against BlackEuropeansaswellAfricannationals. Recent incidentshaveincludedreferencestoEbola,used used frequentlyacrossawidevarietyofsituations. insults include‘nigger’and‘blackbastard’,theseare violence thatarisesoutoftheseencounters.Common for similarincidents,orbecauseofthelevelabuseand the targetnoticesthatwhiteIrishpeoplearenotblamed are reportedtoiReport.iefortworeasons:eitherbecause ing trafficjamsorminorcollisionswhiledriving.These ing, bumpingintopeopleonpavementsorinshops,caus- are picked out and blamed for supermarket queue-jump- the contextofeverydayinteractions,whereBlackpeople approaching aracist attack’ more information about ‘I would love to findout you uncomfortablewherever yougo.” only becauseofskincolourso thisthingitwillmake a reallybadexperienceespecially spittingonpeople ly badbecauseitwasawfulanddisrespectful.It on meandtheystartedmakingfunofme.Ifeltreal- guys werestandinginfrontofmethenhejustspit “While IwaswaitingatraintoConnellystation2 went away.” with disgustonface,lookedawaytilllpassedbyand looked atme,sawturnedandspatontheground “On thestreet,Imetpersonheadon, witness) drove aroundhim.”(Limerick,11am,reportedby behind. Themanshouted‘F***ingNigger’andthen ing spacewassubjectedtoracistabusefromthecar who waswaitingforsomeonetopulloutofapark- “As I was walking through a car park a man in a car ported bywitness) man walkingpasttheshop.”(NorthDublin,6pm,re- shop calledout‘nig,nig,nig...’atablack Street andTempleStreet,amancomingoutofthe “Walking pasttheSparshopatcornerofDorset ly performative innature.Residentssubjected tohar- Neighbourhood abuseofBlackresidentscan alsobehigh- own safetyandthereforeofferonlyemotionalsupport. nesses areevidentlyreasonablyconcernedabouttheir passers-by intheaftermathoftheseevents,howeverwit- There isagooddealofevidencesupportofferedby intervention wouldaggravatethesituation: cident nearherinapub,sinceshewasunsurewhether ing upsetwithherselfatnothavingintervenedinan- them iftheyintervene.Onesuchwitnessdescribedfeel- erless, and are aware of the possibility of violence against who arenotthemselvesBlackfrequentlycitefeelingpow- they arecalledtothescene.Witnessespublicincidents come thesubjectofattentionfromGardaíaswellif sometimes violencebyawideraudience,andusuallybe- bally orphysically,aresubjecttofurtherharassmentand sponse. Thefewwhorespondtotheracism,eitherver- the frustrationtheyfeelatbeingrestrainedintheirre- People targetedinthissortofincidentfrequentlyreport port ortoleranceforfurtherformsofabuse. acts asameansofidentifyingwideraudiencesup- called tothe blackness ofsomeone’sappearanceand this in shopping centres and in the street. Attention is loudly This typeofincidentisdocumentedonpublictransport, es aswellagainsttheinitialtargetofracistabuse. This canresultinviolenceperpetratedagainstwitness- trator attractstheattentionandinterventionofothers. ment inpublicspaces,frequentlyescalatingastheperpe- ages. Thisismarkedbyshoutingandcontinuedharass- nature ofracismagainstpeopleAfricandescentall Evident throughoutthereportsishighlyperformative 9 Public shaming Publicshaming Dublin, 5.45pm) Dublin, 5.45pm) that thisishappeninginmy owncountry.”(North heard. Pleasedon’trespond tohim.Thisisashame what hesaidtoyou,thisisthe stupidestthingIever my shoulderandsaidtome:“Iamsorryhear old manjustbesidemewhoimmediatelygrabbed shouted atmeusinghisfingersonme.Therewasan me andmakingasignlanguagetheonewho shouted at me, I saw them walked away looking at at meIwasshakenoffearandwhenlookedwho to yourcountry”.Theotherswerefunnilylaughing text andoneofthemshoutedonmyear:“f***back walked uptomewhileIwasonmyphonesendinga “I waswaitingatthebusstopwhenyoungboys is aneedforsomemoreinformation.” be afearthatlotofpeoplehaveandmaybethere might makethesituationworse.Ithinkthat ing thewronglanguageorsayingsomethingwhich approaching aracistattack.Iamworriedaboutus- “I wouldlovetofindoutmoreinformationabout 19 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 20 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland attack above). attack above). by anadultorinvolveassault (asinthecaseofdog quently reported,usuallyonly whentheyarewitnessed Incidents againstchildrenby otherchildrenarelessfre- using publicspaces. to mothersofveryyoungbabieswhobecomenervous in their own and could be particularly hurtful and damaging Accusations ofthiskindareusuallyaimedatwomen on “ Not tohavechildrenhere,mysonisfivemonths.”Shefelt Another reported“Iwastoldtogobackmycountry. such anincident: izenship. Ayoungmotherdescribedherfeelingsabout surrounding the1999constitutionalreferendumoncit- tourism againstAfricanmothersthatmarkedthedebates sort ofaccusationcloselyreflectstheaccusationsbirth dren onlytoattaintherightofresidenceinIreland.This public shamingintheformofaccusationshavingchil- Young Blackwomenunder35areparticularlysubjectto Young mothers andchildren astargets problematic. and makestheissueofprivaterentalhousingavailability environment for women living alone withtheirchildren, lance andthreat.Thiscreatesaparticularlythreatening despite makingresidentsfeelthattheyareundersurveil- Gardaí, giventhereportingofineffectiveresponsestoit, idently nottakenseriouslybyotherneighboursorthe passers-by. Thiscontinuousformofharassmentisev- abuse whentheyarriveorleave,andintimidateother space outsidetheirhousesorflatstowatchthem,shout assment frequentlyfindthatperpetratorsusethepublic ” as a result of the incident. awful, threatened,cornered”asaresultoftheincident. am not onbenefits???’ every white person thatno, I this. DoIhave to explain to people treat other peoplelike and attimes methat ithurts ‘I amanurse by profession “A youngblack teenagerdeliveringadvertising leaf- tered suchabuse.” However, thisisnotthefirsttimewehaveencoun- not onbenefits???Whatbusinessisittothem?[…] I havetoexplaineverywhitepersonthatno,am hurts methatpeopletreatotherlikethis.Do family. Iamanursebyprofessionandattimesit “My husbandisworkingandamlookingafterour range from direct exclusion to harassment and violence. range fromdirectexclusiontoharassmentandviolence. targeted byadultsthemselves.Thesekindsofincidents volving adultperpetratorsandtargets,aresometimes However childrenarepresentinmanyoftheincidents- neighbour.) with […]again.”(NorthDublin,4pm,reported by can origin. Thechild removed was toldnevertoplay cause onechildinthegroup named[…]wasofAfri- “A childwasremovedfrom a groupof7childrenbe- many Muslims’.”(Offaly,reportedbyNGO) a whiteboy’andagainsayingthattherewere‘too plained to the boys mum that her son had ‘kicked their owncountry’. many of you’ and that ‘Muslims should go back to Irish heritage)andhisfriendsthat‘therearetoo “ person there.”(NorthDublin,9am) adults and kids around. My son was the only black age approx.40yearsold.TherewereotherIrish “ Dublin, 1.30pm) shouted atthem,thentheyranaway.”(Male,South us. Apasser-bystoppedthecarbyboysandshe road buttheykeptthrowingthingsandshoutingat throwing thingsasus.Wekeptwalkingdownthe I do know them and then ran further away but kept street. Ishoutedatthemthatknewthem,because things atusandthrowingfromjustacrossthe apples andeggsatusshoutingbadnasty us. These small kids all about 12 or 13 were throwing across theroad.Thentheystartedtothrowthingsat er. Weclosedthedoorandweheardshoutingfrom our house. We were on our way to the library togeth- “Me andmysondaughterhadjustcomeoutof reported bywitness) a bananaonthepathin front ofthem.” (Meath, 4pm, the streetinafternoon,whenanIrishmanplaced “A blackfatherandhisyoungsonwerewalkingalong 7.30pm, reportedbywitness) I rangpolice.Theydidn’tturnup.”(NorthDublin, not seenthemdoittoanybodyelsedeliveringmail. time Ihaveseenthemdoingthistohim,and continued for at least ten minutes. This is the second it difficultforhimtomoveonthenexthouse.This come downthedrive,theyblockedhispath,making him (whichIcouldnothear).Ashelefteachhouseto staring himdown.Someofthemcalledoutthingsto ing attheentrancetoeachdriveashewentin,and following himashewentabouthisbusiness,stand- They engagedinsilentintimidationofhimbyclosely a gangofchildren,withsomepossiblyabout13,14. lets tohouseswasfollowedfromhouseby A local man told a 12 year old boy (of Nigerian and A localmantolda12yearoldboy(ofNigerianand My 11yearoldsonwasspatinthefacebyaman This samemanrecentlycom- nic residents. nic residents. peaceful livingofBlackAfricanandotherminorityeth- problems ofneighbourhooddisorderforthesafeand as keyissuesforattention.Severalreportshighlightthe This highlightshousingandneighbourhoodintegration reflects awiderpatternofneighbourhoodharassment. This kindofharassmentmothersandchildrenathome particularly vulnerable: following terms,identifyingherisolationasmaking up. She described her understanding of the events in the ther escalation when more young people started to turn took refuge at a friend’s house with her son in fear of fur- Gardaí were called twice but did not respond. The woman fronted them,thedamagedirectedathouseescalated. When shebecamefearfulofbrokenwindowsandcon- music intoherwindowswhentheysawinthehouse. ed withbangingonherwindowsandplaying‘obscene’ back oryelledfromadistance.Theharassmentescalat- abuse andrepeateduseoftheword‘nigger’behindher suspected drug-taking).Harassmentbeganwithverbal space outsideherhouseforsmokinganddrinking(with dents ofrepeatedharassmentbyteenagerswhousedthe A youngmotherlivingalonewithhersonreportedinci- neighbours involvingthreats,damageandviolence. children are also particularly vulnerable to abuse from However it is clear from the reports that women and of childrentoracistexpressionsandthreat: Reports commonlyexpressconcernabouttheexposure only blackperson there’ kids around. My son was the were other Irishadults and approx. 40years old.There in theface by aman age ‘My 11year old son was spat with ease.” staying aloneaddstothefactthattheycanabuse for beingblack.Obviouslyblackfemaleand house makesmefeellikeI’mbeingvictimizedsolely “The words they use to shout while banging at my cal resident) see it as they go to school.” Gaelscoil Nationalschoolsalsowherechildrencan church islocatedbesidebothEducateTogetherand in Kildare Town. The words were “No Blacks”. This side aDivineHopeofGloryInternationalChurch “Racist graffitiwasspraypaintedontoasignout- (Kildare, reportedbylo- for public agencies to deal with: for publicagenciestodealwith: ferent forms,makingthesituationhardertocontainand Ongoing problemsofharassmentcandiversifyintodif- African female, 36-55yearsold). ed bysupporting organisationonbehalfof Black brought outtoinspectthehouse.” (Cork,report- client tothecouncilanda representativewas racially motivated.Theneighbour reportedthe believes thattheneighbour’s commentswere ent states that there was no basis for this and the rodentproblemwasduetoclient.Thecli- about arodentproblem.Theneighboursaidthat “Client receivedacomplaintoffneighbour old). Dublin, reportedbymixedcouple,36-55years than 10AfricanandRomaneighbours.”(North now escalating.Beingcallednigger.Againstmore Garda havebeeninvolvedwithnosolution.Itis Romanians inoursmallestatei.e.20houses. “Our neighboursarebeingracisttoAfricansand 18-25 yearsold) (South Dublin,reportedbyBlackAfricanfemale happen samethingswiththeeggsthrowing.” the policesaidtheywilllookatitnothingever my meandneighbour’smirrorswerebroke, means they knew who we were. Second time when heard them,theyshoutedathersaying“nigga”, to 2carswithblackowners.Whenmyneighbour did toothercars.Butthefactisitonlyhappen the Gardasaiditwasagangofboysandthey several times.Firsttimewhenmycarwasbroken, er blackneighbour’scarandhousemy March 2014,eggswerethrowtomineandmyoth- probably July 2013, my mirror was broken in “My car window on driver seat was broken in “My carwindowondriverseatwasbrokenin 21 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 22 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland prevent recurring incidents. prevent recurringincidents. with onlyasbullying,andnotaddressedadequately to anonymity. Assaultsbypupilsonotherweredealt aggravating. Locationdetailsareprotectedheretoensure responses bytheschoolwereineffectiveandsometimes of Africandescent,withevidencedemonstratingthatthe Several reportsinvolvetheschoolsattendedbychildren ents werepresentandallowingracistbehaviours: to dealwiththreatsbychildren,particularlywherepar- Adult witnessesinthesereportswerenotatallsurehow ticularly hard to ignore. ticularly hardtoignore. is seentobetolerated(orencouraged)byadults,itpar- cases as childish behaviour, where it is violent or where it ism bychildren,sinceitcanbeeasilybrushedoffinsome Although therearedisproportionatelyfewreportsofrac- and inschools 10 Racism by children called namesthat relatetothecolourofher skin.” bullied atschool- beingpushedoveraswell asbeing has aracialisedelementto ittoo.Sheisphysically riencing bullying at school. Sometimes this bullying “A 9yearoldgirlofNigerian descenthasbeenexpe- ‘you shouldgobacktoyour own country’.” such as‘blackpeoplearestupid’,‘f**kingblacks’and ticular boyinthevictim’sclassthatwilluselanguage adequately dealingwiththeissue.Thereisonepar- year anditisfeltbytheparentsthatschoolnot […] School.Anincidentmayhappenacoupletimes “There is re-occurringincidentsofracistbullying at manner.” ( come awayfrom,themBlackpeople”inaderisory expressed horrortheadultssaid“Heisonlyachild, reached herhandandsleeveofcoat.Whenwe wards usandonechildspatdirectlyatmyfriend,it one oneithersideofme.Thegroupwaswalkingto- “I waswalkingalongthestreetwith2Africanfriends 6pm) harass thepeopleinsidecafé”(NorthDublin, I leftthemandamnotsureiftheycontinuedto family membersandaccusedmeofverbalabuse. to leavebuttheboysthreatenedmewiththeir what theyweredoing.Thelittlegirlsabout but decidedtochallengethemsoIasked ing inaloudvoice‘’.Iwaswalkingpast animal typenoisesandoneoftheboyswassay- themselves food.Thewhitechildrenweremaking of blackchildreninsidethecafewhowereserving making gesturesandlaughingloudlyatagroup 10 yearsofagestandingoutsideacafeshouting, “I witnessedasmallgroupofchildrenapprox. Limerick, 2.30pm) velopment available toschoolsinIrelandsupportthemthisde - need to be incorporated consistently. Programmes are to anti-racismintheclassroomorschoolpolicies,but School strategiesneedtodomorethanpaylipservice riences isimportantforself-esteemandunderstanding. on adailybasis,theabilitytonameone’severydayexpe - which childrenaresubjectedtoracismoutsidetheschool within theeducationalenvironment.Givenextent to ences asracismandunsupportedbyantiraciststrategies rican descent,sincetheyareunabletonametheirexperi- effects fortheconfidenceandsecurityofchildrenAf- work withschoolstafftoraiseawareness.Ithasknockon parents’ effortstoaddresstherootofproblemand quently recordedsimplyasbullying es at a local level, while racist incidents appear to be fre- strategy, and schools decide cultural approach- Education policyinIrelandhasnoexplicitanti-racist teachers andstaff. as seeninthereportbelow,whichalsodetailsracismby This isatoddswiththekindsofresponsesfromschools tal confidenceintheschooltohandlefutureincidents. positive responsefromschoolstaff,andreinforcesparen- solutions aspartofateamwithintheschooloffersmore ing such a racialisation and inviting parents to suggest and resolutionofincidentsracisminschools.Reject- ised, andallowsthemtobeside-linedintheinvestigation Stereotyping ofAfricanparentsaspushyisalsoracial- yellowflag.ie/ and in-schoolgroups whichcanactasregularreviewers http://www. around diversity,helpinadaptingpolicies, establishinganactionplan ti-racism trainingforstaff,curriculum aids,areviewofschoolissues 24 in School’,BritishJournalofSociologyEducation, 30(5),521–535. lising Capitals?MigrantChildren’sNegotiation ofTheirEverydayLives versity, White andGaelic’:schoolsinIreland comingtotermswithculturaldi- 23 M. Parker-Jenkins & M. Masterson (2013) No longer ‘Catholic, M. Parker-Jenkins & M. Masterson (2013) No longer ‘Catholic, tion againstblackfamiliesattheschool.” complain. Theythinkthereisageneraldiscrimina- school ishighlyracistandtheyfeelthatcan’t at school.Theparentsfeelthatthetreatmentby incidents oftheirsonfeelingdiscriminatedagainst their son.Therehavealsobeenanumberofother them aftertheycomplainedaboutthetreatmentof The parentsfeelliketheschoolistryingtointimidate allegation was found to be completely unfounded. this boyduetoanallegationofhitting,however school alsocalledasocialworkerontheparentsof ‘your son is behaving like an animal at the zoo’. The teacher oncesaidtothefatherofsameboythat bullying incidentsoccurred.Inaseparateincident, she wasdismissedandnorealinvestigationintothe issue withtheprincipalofschool,shefeelslike set aboutthis.Whenhismotherwenttoaddressthe physically andmadehimfeelstupid.Hewasveryup- ing a 9 year old Nigerian boy. The boys bullied him “Senior boysat[…]NationalSchoolhavebeenbully- TheYellowFlagforexampleincludes intercultural and an - Irish EducationalStudies,32(4),477-492;D.Devine(2009)‘Mobi - 24 . 23 . This undermines . Thisundermines loween costume marketing. loween costumemarketing. a Blackchildnotedthepotential impactofracialisedHal- case below,forexample,awhite Irishfamilymemberof racism inwiderformsofentertainment inIreland.Inthe awareness amongstwhiteIrishpeopleoftheimpact of those whohavelivedabroad,butthereisalsoagrowing of Blackpeopleforperformancemaybemoreobvious to The problematicnatureof‘blackface’orthesinglingout entertainment moregenerally: Another reportmentionsthepersistenceof‘blackface’in characters”. students whoaretoplaythemusicalsAfricanAmerican informed thatstaff would “paint ‘blackfaces’ on white of Hairspray,parentsreportedtheiroutrageatbeing school plannedlastyeartoputonapublicperformance blackface inpublicperformances.Whenacommunity normalised activities. One example is the emergence of the insidiousandimplicitwaysinwhichitemerges tions amongstchildrenarealsoexpressedinrelationto Concerns about the reproduction of racism in interac- entertainment 11 Racism and rian, while shopping in Heaton’s I came across the rian, whileshopping inHeaton’sIcame across the “I am a grandmother, my grandsons father is Nige- this dayandage.” still completelyacceptablebehaviourinIreland A friendtoldmeaboutit.Ican’tbelievethatthisis Irish personperformsasMuddyWatersinblackface. Waters performs.Inthetribute,apparentlyawhite happening in the Olympia. Intheoriginal, Muddy “The Last Waltz is a tribute night of TheBandconcert it continuestoday.” types thatbeganinminstrelshowsandapparently style ofentertainmentbasedonracistBlackstereo- more than just burnt cork appliedas makeup. Itisa since itbeganwiththeMinstrelshows.Blackfaceis black faces on white ‘actors’ has been deemed racist African/ Irishchildren,THISISNOTOK.Painting iour doesnotbecomenormalizedbeforetheBlack their childrenattending[…].Ihopethatthisbehav- miliating to our Africancommunitylivingin[…]and this, IhaveBlackAfricanfamilymyself.Thisishu- blackfaces onthewhite students. Iamdisgruntledby to allowtheschoolproceedwithpainting authorization bythestudents’parents,inquestion, been informedthattheschoolhasreceivedwritten expecting thisblatantlyracistsituation.AlsoIhave I amnotcertainofthis,butassumetheyare and undoubtedlytheirparentswillalsobepresent. African/Irish studentsalsoparticipatingintheplay- “Not onlyisthisoutrageous,thereareotherBlack The case was reported by a friend of the child’s parents. The casewasreportedbyafriend ofthechild’sparents. ence forthecreationofajoke aroundraceandslavery. child wassingledoutfrom a predominantlywhiteaudi- In anothercaseatafamily festivala‘mixedheritage’ mixed heritage’ friend’s daughter whoisof ’] andhandeditto my placard [to say ‘BringBack performer spray painted a ‘An interactive show interactive show performerspraypainted aplac- “During acircus performanceinMucknofestival, an all upincaseachildwouldseethem.” tures....it says on it adult only ...I felt like buying them SIONS OFEVIL....andabovethat....MidnightCrea- the wordswrittenaboveinboldlettering...EXPRES- it woulddototheiresteem,seeablackfaceand rican children in Letterkenny, I cannot imagine what quite sicktomystomach,therearealotofyoungAf- dinary blackface,lookingatthemaskmademefeel horror masks,oneofthemupforsalewasjustanor- 23 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 24 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland ment historyinthe19 not bedismissedasentirelyinnocent.Ireland’sentertain- Whilst eventslikethisareapparentlyinfrequent,theycan- the practice today. the practicetoday. however highlightthestartofshiftingattitudestowards been forcedtoaddressthepoliticsofBlackface.Thesecases as well. Unlike other European countries, Ireland has not harmless, appearinginreportsconcerningsocialmedia across Ireland,anditcontinuestobeviewedasrelatively continues tobepopularlysoldforHalloweencostumes vision werepopularwithIrishaudiences.Blackfacepaint Zulus andtheBlackWhiteMinstrelShowonBBCtele- showbands using blackface and minstrelsy such as the The paying passengersonthevoyage.Evenaslate1970s, Australian childrenaspartoftheon-boardattractionsfor land hadtheirfacespaintedblacktomimicindigenous children sentinthe1950stoAustraliafromNorthernIre- like LiverpooluntilthestartofWorldWar1.Orphaned ity particularly amongstIrish diasporas in the UK in cities popularity of blackface here, which continued in popular- lass, thefamousAmericananti-slaveryspokesman,for famously subjecttoadamningcritiquebyFrederickDoug- (where Africanscouldbeviewedforaprice).Irelandwas performances aswelloccasionalvisitinghumanzoos out rent supplement. out rentsupplement. crimination isalsosharedamongstBlackfamilieswith - with rentsupplement.Howevertheexperienceofdis - because of the permitted discrimination against tenants were alreadyrestrictedinthehousingavailabletothem ity seekingrentalhousing.Insomecases,thesefamilies stant rejectionofpeopleBlackorAfricanethnic - to findandseveralreportsdetailtheexperienceofcon - Affordable housingintheGreaterDublinareaisdifficult market the rental housing 12 Discrimination and negative representatives of black people’s heritage.” negative representativesofblackpeople’sheritage.” is being handled, because it highlights a race based of achild.Verydisappointedwiththewaythisissue This isnotonlyracialbasedbutapublichumiliation nobody ismakinganyprogressorattemptingto. ting anexplanation,theGardaíwascontactedbut made efforts to engage the organisers regards get- friend’s daughterwhoisofmixedheritage,Ihave ard [to say‘Bring Back Slavery’]andhanded it to my 26-35 yearsold) available.” (Nolocationgiven,reported byfemale, me where I was from,andthensaid the house is not ity of a house for rent on Daft.ie the person asked “Icalledanumbertoinquire abouttheavailabil- th century included regular blackface centuryincludedregularblackface as much as any professional experiences. as muchanyprofessional experiences. racism playsaroleintheperceptionofAfricanmigrants language employedinthesereportssuggeststhatwider icies wouldapplytoallpeopleofAfricandescent,butthe all peopleofAfricanorigin.Itisnotclearifthesamepol - estate agentissufficienttodenyrentalopportunities to landlords tootherpeople.Asinglebadexperienceby an about AfricanslivinginIrelandbyestateagentsand Three reportsconcernedthirdpartycommentsmade rogatory towards this community. Disgusted that rogatory towards thiscommunity.Disgusted that about blackpeople inDublinandwasincredibly de- Irish. Atonepointalandlord wentonaracistrant were happythatmypartner andIwerewhite “Recently viewing apartments in Dublin.Landlords rican female26-35yearsold). ed bysupportingorganisationonbehalfofBlackAf- expecting ababyinfewweektime.”(Meath,report- house, ashercurrentplaceisverydampandshe sad asshehasbeenlookingforover6monthsa an appointmenttoview.Shefeltveryhelplessand we weretoldthehousewasavailableandgiven to makeanappointmentview.[…].Whenwecalled “The youngwomanfoundahouseonDaftandcalled ing. “(Meath,reportedbysupportingorganisation) had beenandwereofferedanappointmentforview- told howmuchthehousewas,manyoffersthere […] Whenamemberofourorganisationrangwewere told thehousewasgoneandphonecutoff. interested inthehouseandcomingtoviewitbutwas today, whenshefinallygotthroughsaidwas which wasputupontheinternetbeforelunchtime “A blackwomancalledaboutrentingaprivatehouse female, 18-25yearsold). erick, reported by family member of Black African tion Iwasofferedtheopportunitytoviewit.”(Lim- rented butwhenIpretendedneededaccommoda- cept adepositandlaterclaimedsomebodyelsehad “I have proof the landlady concerned denied to ac- by supportingorganisation) ing turneddownforahouseisexcessive.”(Reported prove racism,Ibelieveitisanissueas6monthsbe- and anotherfamilygetsthehouse.WhileIcannot occasion thattheyviewahouseareturneddown have beentryingtofindahouserent,butonevery “For6monthsnowthis[BlackAfrican]familyof (Meath, reportedbysupportingorganisation) for ahouse-someoneelsealwaysgetsthehouse” African familycannevergetpasttheinterviewstage successful intheirapplicationforahome.Thisblack they haveconsistentlybeenthefamilywhoisun- to viewthefewhousesthatacceptrentallowance, house torentforover6months.Everytimetheygo “ A black African family have been trying to find a A blackAfricanfamilyhavebeentryingtofinda

in the received reports. in thereceivedreports. clear patternofdiscriminationinDublinandMeathwith- grounds ofrace,genderorfamilystatus,butthereisa hibit discriminationinaccommodationprovisiononthe ilies deniedaccommodation.TheEqualStatusActspro- reports relatedtoeitherpregnantwomenoryoungfam- searchers in this field particularly since 2004. Several who haveyoungbabiesisaproblemwellnotedbyre- Refusals torentAfricanwomenwhoarepregnantor by default. by default. or localcelebrationsareregularlyheldinsuchpremises regular drinking, since birthday, anniversary, wedding Interaction inpublichousesIrelandisnotlimitedto for thepubassocialcentreinmanytownsandvillages. noted increasing, rather than decreasing importance full socialinclusionespeciallysincerecentstudieshave and servicewithinpublichousesisimportanttofacilitate Black peopleasdeeplyproblematic.Normalentranceto social life,itisessentialtoseetheirinaccessibility Given theestablishedcentralityofpubsandbarsinIrish Discrimination against consumers businesses 13 Racism and (North Dublin,reportedbywhiteIrishfemale) public. Thetermsandlanguageused,e.g.“nigger”” entirely comfortabletomakeracistcommentsin Irish peoplearefavouredtothatextent.Theyseemed alities toobtainarentalapartmentinDublinwhen I canonlyimaginehowdifficultitisforothernation- dence of racism amongst whiteIrish male landlords. there seemedtobeanoverwhelminglystronginci- “I met two black male friends who were over from “I mettwoblack malefriendswhowere over from them drunk).”(ReportedbyBlackstudent, Cork) white folksallowedinwhile Istoodoutside(someof own opinion(coverupplan). Meanwhiletheremany but statedthatthesecurity guard hadarighttohis He realizedthatIwasinno waydrunk/intoxicated then walkeduptome,andwestarteddiscussing. story, andaskedtoseethemanager.Abarattendant drink. Iwasveryshockedatthissuddentwisttohis changed thestorysayingIhavehadtoomuchto for areason,andaskedtoseehismanager,hethen and shookhisheadmeaningnone.WhenIinsisted then requestedhimtogivemeareason.Heshrugged is closedforthenight,butheansweredsayingno.I saying Iamnotallowedtoenter.askedifthebar the doorsecurityguardpulledmefrombehind walked totheentranceofthispub.AsIapproached to eatsomethingahavedrinkortwo.AfterfoodI “After a long night of studying I decided to go out to lead to disorder from the reported cases. to leaddisorder fromthereportedcases. idence thatbar staffdoaddressracismwhere itislikely ed againstcustomersandother visitors.Thereissomeev- which serveassocialspaces, toaddressracismperpetrat- There isaroleforbusinesses, particularlybusinesses was theissue for thiswoman’ of thecolour of my skinthat a doubt thatitwas because explain to her. Ifelt without to you like this?” Icouldn’t done, why are they talking “mummy whathave you because shewas asking with my young daughter ‘I felt so bad because Iwas Newbridge, 10pm) ported bypersondescribingherselfas‘mixedrace’, penny dropped.Iwasnotgoingtobeserved.(Re- ignored mine. This happened several times until the stood nexttome,thebarmantookherorder,and up alongsidemeandsaidhello.[…]Asthelady beverages. AsIstoodatthebar,anotherladycame the frontbar),Idecidedtogoorderour this pointIassumedhewasonlyservingpeopleat When oursignalstothebarmanwentunnoticed(at barman whowasobviouslyservingotherpatrons. minutes, whiletryingtocatchtheattentionof at me.[…]MypartnerandIconversedforaboutten lines of“Therekindisn’twelcomehere”andglared remark tothegentlemansittingnextheralong view ofmyselfandwithinhearingdistancemadea to ourseatswereanelderlycouple.Thelady,infull found twoseatsattherearofbarcounter.Next All seating at the front of the pub was taken, but we My partnerandIwalkedinto[nameremoved]pub. South Dublin,9pm) happen in2014!”(ReportedbywhiteIrishwitness, friends in.Iamabsolutelydisgustedthatthiswould they weretryingtocorrectbynotallowingmymale in -soitclearlywasn’tagenderbalanceissuethat stood outside they let countless white girls and guys we were sober and were all well-dressed. As we didn’t give them a reasonbut it wasonly9.15 pm, returned. Thedoormenwouldnotletthemin.He finding the place soIleft,metupwiththem and and wasletinnoproblem.Myfriendshadtrouble to [name removed]forcocktails.Igotthereearly London fortheweekendanddecidedtotakethem 25 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 26 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland country too. The volume of their comments were loud country too.The volumeoftheircomments wereloud my wifetoleave thetablebutwantedherto leavethe to herskincolour;atthisstage notonlydidtheywant the ladyinher60’swithinsulting commentsrelated 40’s decidedtojointheconversation bybackingup was black.Atthispointthe twoindividualsinthere she thoughtcouldtellher whattodobecauseshe use. Atthispointtheladyinher60’saskedmywifeif was avacanttableinthesmokingareathatshecould wanted touseitforherdrinks.Mywifetoldthere things offthetablethatshewassittingatbecause ble theladyinher60’saskedmywifetoremove she couldalsodrink.Insteadofusingthevacantta- cided that wanted a tablein the smokingareawhere While she was out smoking the lady in her 60’s de- by mywifeandherfriendtheotherwasvacant. were twotablesinthesmokingarea,onewasoccupied people werehersonanddaughterinlaw.There and awomanintheir40’s,mywifethinksthesetwo came out to smoke and was soon joined by a man beside thefootpathonDameStreet.Aladyinher60’s a drink.Theysatattablelocatedinthesmokingarea around someofthesitesandtheydecidedtostopfor rived inIrelandattheweekend.Sheshowedherfriend went intotowntodaytomeetafriendofherswhoar- state. SheisfromBrazilandhasAfricanancestry. My wifearrivedhomethiseveninginadistressed that Iamgoing tostealsomething.” when tryingto do grocery shopping.With theintimation stantly followedaroundnumerous supermarketsbystaff Another report,alsofrom Cork, described“Being con- lance bysecurity. other customers,andbeinghandledorputundersurveil- es ofBlackpeoplebeingpushedasideinshopsbystaffor course of everyday activities. There are repeated instanc- reinforce theinescapabilityoftheseexperiencesin Reports aboutdiscriminationinshopsandsupermarkets amongst thereasonsfordecliningtoaccesstheseservices. but lackofsafetyorfearhumiliationshouldnotbe ing premisesservingalcoholforreligiousorotherreasons, There areofcoursethosewhonotinterestedinaccess- (Cork, Blackmale,26-35years old). Self-check attendant queried securities response.” other gentlemanandusedabruptrudelanguage. the customer. Security automatically sided withthe customer. SecurityintervenedwhenIapproached ping centre.Waspushedoutofthewaybyanother “[Iwas]waitingtouseself-checkserviceinashop- reported byBlackAfricanfemale,36-55yearsold) I haddonenothingtowarrantthis.”(NorthDublin, bad whenshethreatenedtocallsecurityforme customers watching my treatment. I felt particularly I wasparticularlyembarrassedastherewereother thing likethistohappenme,especiallyinashop. humiliated andhelpless and Ineverexpectedsome- of myskinthatwastheissueforthiswoman.[…]Ifelt felt withoutadoubtthatitwasbecauseofthecolour talking to youlike this?” I couldn’t explain to her. I asking “mummywhathaveyoudone,whyarethey cause Iwaswithmyyoungdaughterbecauseshe to anothertillgivemearefund.Ifeltsobadbe- explaining mysituationheapologisedandtookme daughter. Atthispointthemanagercameandafter customer thensaidpleasemoveyouarescaringmy protested, sayingwhoamInotacustomer.A customers orshewouldcallsecuritytogetmeout.I told metogetoffthequeuesoshecouldserveother that IshouldgotoanotherstoreinDublin.Thenshe and toldmetheycouldn’ttaketheproductthere and reordertheproduct.[…]Thesupervisorcame me togomynearestDebenhamsgetarefund sent thewrongitemtome.Icalledthemandtheytold “ the nexttimeshewasintown.”(SouthDublin,7pm) telling mywifethathewouldbelookingoutforher as sheleft.Thegentlemaninhis40’sleftthesceneby table the lady in her 40’s threw her drink at my wife uals moved on, but instead of leaving her drink on the leave. Afterquitealotofresistancethethreeindivid- out to the smoking area to ask the three individualsto enough tobeheardinsidethebarandabarmancame I bought a product online from Debenhams and they I boughtaproductonlinefromDebenhamsandthey tended period of time. tended periodoftime. detail arangeofexperiences overanex- stress under conditionsofisolation,denigrationandsevere pushed toworkharderandlongerthantheircolleagues workplace abuse,sincetargetedpersonsarerepeatedly There are,nonetheless,seriousphysicalconsequencesof is morelikelytoresultindismissalfortheperpetrator. cal abuse,orthethreatthereof,butthisisrare,sinceit Workplace abusesometimesincludesdirectphysi- rity, refusalofpromotionandillegalworkplacepractices. cial situationsofexclusionandmockery,lackjobsecu- responses toit.Itcanincludeverbalabuse,repeatedso- targeted byit,anditsrenamingcanundermineeffective ten termed‘bullying’byothers,butrarelythosepeople though notwithfrequency.Workplaceharassmentisof- leagues appearswithregularityinthereportedcases,al- by customers or colleagues. Workplace abuse by col- Just overfivepercentofreportsconcernedstaffabused witnesses, mostlyothercustomersorpassers-by. work from customers. These are invariably reported by as experiencingracistverbalabuseandviolentthreatsat employment. Securityguardsfeatureinseveralreports respond totheabusewithoutraisingconcernsabouttheir leagues areinaparticularlydifficultposition,andcannot Staff whoareraciallyabusedatworkbycustomersorcol- Employees experiencing workplace abuse ish JournalofMedical Practitioners, 2 J. Latoo(2009)‘Uncovering thefaceofracismin workplace’, 25

that with some managerial skill before they started that withsomemanagerial skill beforetheystarted luctant tohaveteammeetings. Isomehowovercame for an Africanpersonto be their bossand were re- already there.Thetwoofthemwereuncomfortable myself. Iinheritedtwounskilledemployeesthatwere manager startedmanipulating[me]todoallthejob I knewthejobhands-on,MDandoperations cords frommypreviousemployeeandthefactthat was tosetupateambutbecauseofmyexcellentre- role thatstillexistedwhenIspokeout.The[project] moted a level above me and made redundant in a “I was bullied at workby a colleague that was pro- male, 26-35 years old) male, 26-35yearsold) organisation aboutexperienceofaBlack-African to thecustomer.”(Meath,reportedbysupporting helpless asheneededthejobandcouldn’ttalkback try anyway.Hefeltembarrassed,sad,bulliedand monkey andsaidthatheshouldn’tbeinthiscoun- man becameangryandcalledhimaF**kingblack was with another person at which point the older that hiscarbefilledwithpetrol.Thevictimsaidhe white Irishmancameintothestationdemanding dant andwasfillingawoman’styreswithair.A “The personwasworkingasapetrolpumpatten- 25 . Because of this, some reports are lengthy and . Becauseofthis,somereportsarelengthyand For more on workplace racism and its effects, see M. Mistry and For moreonworkplaceracismandits effects,seeM.Mistryand (2), 20-24, and (2), 20-24,and Brit- challenged, as in the case below. challenged, asinthecasebelow. come to occupy a central place in office culture unless in front of Irish and foreign national colleagues. It can absence ofpersonsAfrican descentascolleagues,but Workplace racismwhichisAfrophobicalsooccursinthe same companybecauseofsimilarconditions. er colleaguesofAfricandescenthadpreviouslyleftthe targeted person,likethisonefromLimerick.Twooth - they concisely reflectthebreadthofproblemfora For others,itistooemotionaltorepeatthedetails,but effective responses to it its renaming can undermine people targeted by it, and others, butrarely by those often termed ‘bullying’by Workplace harassment is child with Downs’ Syndrome wearing a t shirt that child withDowns’ Syndromewearingat shirtthat “Someone circulated aphotoviatextthat showeda work, reference.“ tively inmanythingswhenitismyturne.g.extra sion, ganging up, making rules that affect me nega- further education/careerbreak,harassment,exclu- “Active preventionfrompromotionandaccessto am stilllookingforworksincethenwithnoluckyet.” time employmentfromapreviousemployment.I make meredundantjustafterthreemonthsoffull- well...he wassorryitdidn’tworkoutandthathewill weekend that passed and the chairman sadly said, true casebehindmybackbeforetheMondayaftera to thechairmanandobviouslyhehadmadehisun- because moneywasinvolved.SoIraisedthematter rious security breach which I was not taking lightly At thatpointIdrewthelinebecausewasase- into mysystemsbeforeIgettoworkinthemorning. lying didn’t stop anditgraduated to him sneaking a director-Iknewthatwasit.[…]Theoccasionalbul the operationsmanagerwouldnowbepromotedto that activewiththerunningofbusinessand in andsaidduetoillhealthhe’llnotbeable something Iwasdoing.Onedaythechairmancalled even infrontofmyteamwhenhedidn’tunderstand to bullymebyraisinghisvoice,sometimesshouting the factthatwewerebothmanagershewouldtry comfortable withmefromdayone[…]anddespite mining my position. This said manager has been un- to theoperationsmanagerwhodidnothing,under- the sameroom.WhenIcouldn’tcopecomplained if I call out they don’t hear me even though we are in plugging theirearsandplayingloudmusicsuchthat 27 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 28 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland vehicles. vehicles. the streetandintraffic,shoutingatBlackdriversofother thumping orkickingtheircars,shoutingabuseatthemin nesses asshoutingatothertaxidriverswhiledriving, Taxi driversarefrequentlyreportedbywhiteIrishwit- drivers. to remove greenlights which were used to indicate Irish order fromtheNationalTransportAuthorityfordrivers attracting widespreadmediaattentionin2012andan targeted person. targeted person. behaviour comprehensivelyandprotectsupportthe appropriate measuresinplacetoaddressthevictimising porting within the workplaceis only effective if thereare place measuresonracismandequality.Encouragingre- already accessarangeofsupportivetrainingandwork- timisation oftheirstaffduringworkinghours,andcan Employers areresponsiblefortheharassmentandvic- rican taxidrivershasbeenwellnotedinrecentyears Racism amongstIrishtaxidriversandagainstBlackAf- Racism intheTaxi industry 14 Publictransport Use andUserPerceptions . Galway:IrishCentre forHumanRights. Galway TaxiIndustry: EmploymentOpportunities,Patterns ofPublic 26 ashamed tobeIrish.”(NorthDublin) in acosmopolitansocietyand thisincidentmademe of theIrishtaxidriverwas appalling. Wenowlive had pulledinfrontofthetaxirank,behaviour driver werefrightening.Eveniftheblacktaxi guage andthreateningbehaviouroftheIrishtaxi window ofthetaxiandkickingdoor.Thelan- taxi driverand,atthesametime,thumpingon using abusiveandthreateninglanguagetoablack “Leaving theGateTheatre,anIrishtaxidriverwas (South Dublin,1.30pm) him sayinteraliathewords“youdirtyblackpig”. street approach another, black, taxi driver and heard “I observedataxidriverattherankonGrafton ondary witness) ing day they apologized!” guards andthismadethemstopjoking.Thefollow- of humour.Hethreatenedtosendtheimage They refusedtolistenandtoldhimhehadnosense racist butalsooffensivetopeoplewithadisability. lenged them and pointed out that it was not only who workswiththisgroupofmenregularlychal- everyone laughedandthoughtitfunny.Mypartner culated tothegroupofworkersonthisbuildingsite said ‘atleastIamnotanigger’.Whenthiswascir- Riding Along With Racism? Research on the VJaichand(2010)RidingAlongWithRacism?Research onthe (Dublin, reportedbysec- 26 , Accusations of fraudulent charges are commonly levied Accusations of fraudulentchargesarecommonly levied ring inSouthDublinat2am: a commonfear.Onewomanreportedanincidentoccur - Violence againstBlacktaxidriversbypassengersisalso out asfearmongering: ening’. OnereportfromSouthDublininparticularstands These stories are described by some witnesses as ‘fright- passengers nottotakeataxidrivenby Black African. A numberofreportsdescribewhitetaxidriverswarning “you dirty blackpig”‘ him say inter aliathewords black, taxi driver andheard street approach another, the taxi rank onGrafton ‘I observed ataxi driver at Then the incident took place.” Then theincidenttookplace.” didn’t realisethisuntilhalf waythroughajourney. py ablacktaxidriverwasdriving hewasdrunkand physically attackedhim.One passengerwasn’thap- “My husbandisataxidriver andhis3passengers an enjoyablenightout.” very upset and it left a bad taste after what had been shocked buttheydidn’tknowwhattodo.Theywere get intoataxiwithblackdriver.Myrelativeswere ed. Hesaidheespeciallywouldn’tletanyyounggirl with theBlacktaxidriversandtheycan’tbetrust- to pounce.Thatthereisamassivecriminalelement there isoftenonedrivingandinthebootready they shouldn’tgetinwithaBlacktaxidriver.Hesaid “He advisedthemthatwhentheyareinthecity, so disgustedbytheincident.”(SouthDublin,8am) off likealunaticblowinghishornandroaring.Iwas men. Subsequently,whentheroadcleared,hedrove shouted “youdirtyrottenblackbastards”atthetwo truck whichhadtwoblackmalesinthecab.[…]He white on a particular, hetookouthisanger In […] was attheheadofroadbecamequiteagitated was amomentarytrafficjamandtaxidriverwho trian crossingoppositeBeckyMorgan’spub.There “I waswalkingtoworkandhadarrivedatthepedes- taxi drivera“Monkey”.(SouthDublin,12.30pm) In thecourseofthisabuseheclearlycalledblack his windowandstartedtoabusetheothertaxidriver. ly (andunnecessarily),stoppedhiscar,rolleddown hind the othertaxi.He sounded his hornaggressive- The driverofanotherTaxiwasapproachingfrombe- A blacktaxidrivermadeaU-TurnonNassauStreet. companies hasencouraged this inDublin ers. Recentcampaignsincollaboration withthetransport whether theyarelikelytoreport allcasestotheiremploy- tempted assaultfrompassengers, althoughitisunclear Bus driversareparticularly vulnerabletoabuseandat- on publicbuses,trainsandtramsoratstations. cent ofreportsconcernedverbalabuseandharassment assault discussedearlierinthereport,justundertenper- both passengersandstaff.Aswellasthetwoincidentsof incidents continuingregularlyacrosstheperiod,against encountered onpublictransport.iReport.ieshowsthese organisations) havehighlightedtheproblemsofracism (including the Immigrant Council of Ireland and other Recent campaignsbyENAR Irelandnetworkmembers Racism andpublictransit en byAfricans. been overchargedasthereasonfornottakingtaxisdriv- in which Irish people describe a ‘feeling’ that they had at Blacktaxidrivers,andreportsdescribeconversations 27

Dublin, 9.30pm) Mandela, madefunofherforwearingawig.”(North to make monkeynoises,used the N-word,calledher that thekidswerebeingdisrespectful.Theybegan (25-35) complainedtothesecurityguardspresent bound traininBroombridge.AnAfricanwoman “A bunch ofdrunken teens boarded the Maynooth at 18-25yearolds) very uncomfortable.”(DublinSouth,5pm,targeted (we were starting to move off) but everybody was words at2blackgirlsonLuas.Nobodysaidanything Luas, thenfinallygotoffLuas.Beganshoutingracist “Group ofmales,under15.HarassingAsianson [18-25] ontheLuasbesideme.”(SouthDublin,5pm) he shoutedniggerandblackbitchatawoman loud andintrusiveontheLuasasonegotoff “ driver calledthem.”(Dublincitycentre,1.30am) curity intervenedonthesceneattimebecause and spongingoffthesocialwelfare.[…]TheLuasse- ing allowedintoIreland.And,theretakingtheirjobs Telling her they should be kissing their feet for be- racially abusingablackAfricanwomanontheLuas. “ had oncebeencheatedonajourney.”(Meath) she herselfwouldnot,followingafeelingthat Irish peoplenottotravelwithblacktaxidriversas tered byblacktaxidrivers,shedefendedtherightof organisation, about […] the levels of racism encoun- “ were being A groupofyoungmales[under15]werebeing Two what appeared to be white Irish addicts where When talkingwithawomanwhoworksintraining This includedaspecific campaigntoencourageincident re- 27 – wider efforts –widerefforts diversity”. ening notions of citizenship and celebrating values of moting thefeelingofbelongingtolocalareas,strength- of citizenship,andpublicbodiescanbeinvolvedin“pro- services heavilysymbolizewhoisentitledtothebenefits services 15 Racism andpublic umented inthemediaduringsametime-period. iReport.ie bywitnesses,althoughseveralmoreweredoc- Just twocasesofviolenceagainststaffwerereportedto try arenotknown. by employersandexperiencesofstaffaroundthecoun- state. Schoolsanduniversities,theHealthServiceExec - state, orcompanieswhicharemajorityownedbythe ities, aswellcharteredbodiesactingonbehalfofthe state departments,semi-statebodies,andlocalauthor - which willpromoteequality.Publicbodiesincludeall and proactivelyimplementpoliciesprocedures bodies mustgobeyondsimplyavoidingdiscrimination, role forpublicbodies,andadoptapositionthat Public sectordutiessetoutinlegislationrecognisethis is oftenreferredtoas‘place-shaping’” ply providersofservices,theyplayacentralroleinwhat As arecentreportdescribed,“Publicbodiesarenotsim- Irish HumanRightsandEqualityCommissionAct2014. equality and duty was introduced by the any othersector,toequalitylegislation.Apublicsector The provisionofpublicservicesaresubject,morethan vices Trust. at theRSA:Equality, CohesionandPublicServices,London:Ser - sion, HumanRightsandPublicServices’, in2020PublicServicesTrust 29 lic%20Sector%20Duty%20March%202015.pdf able at:http://www.eracampaign.org/uploads/A%20New%20Pub- Irish EqualityandHumanRightsInfrastructure. March2015.Avail- ity &HumanRightsDuty.Paper3ofseries:SettingStandards forthe 28 ti-racism-receives-interest-at-european-level/ www.bitc.ie/2015/06/transdev-ireland-action-on-diversity-and-an- included here.Thishasbeengivenawiderlaunchin2015.http:// porting totheImmigrantCouncil,whosereportingstatisticsarenot Dublin, 5pm). Dublin, 5pm). to ringtheguards.Theladsthenranoff.”(South bus driverwouldn’tletthemon,andcalledthebase nigger” and“f**koffbacktoyourowncountry”.The had gottenon.Theythenstartedcallinghima“dirty driver toldthemtowaituntilthewheelchairuser The groupofladswantedtogetonfirst,butthebus had tolowertherampletawheelchairuseron. the buspulledup,driver(whowasblack) waiting at the bus stop too, and being rowdy. When re. Therewasagroupof[whiteIrish25-35yrs]lads “I was waitingtogetthebusintotownfromInchico- Z. Haque(2010)‘TheChangingLandscape ofEqualities,Cohe- EqualityandRightsAlliance(2015) ANewPublicSectorEqual- 29

28 , because public , becausepublic 29 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 30 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland dictions erly respondtotheirhealthneeds,asithasinotherjuris - cant over-policingofthosepeopleandafailuretoprop - the perceptionofaggression.Thiscanresultinsignifi - of stereotypingpeopleAfricandescent,however, is aggression inconditionsofstress.Oneimportantaspect more likely,asaresult,tocallpolicewhentheyperceive at ahighriskofaggressionandviolence emergency public services have long been known to be subjected topolicingduringroutineactivities.Staff in way inwhichpeopleofAfricandescentarerepeatedly This exampleisworthconsidering,becauseitreflectsthe lessly involvedGardaí.Theassaultchargesarecontested. response totheproblemwasoverlyaggressiveandneed- assault chargesagainsther.Witnessesreportthatthe severity ofthesymptoms,staffcalledGardaíandfiled refused toleavewithoutaccessingtreatmentduethe available, staff turned the patient away. When the patient considered to bean emergency. Withnoappointments the onsite medical centre with severe pains, which she AfemaleresidentofaDirectProvisioncentrewentto and wasreportedbyawitnesstotheevent. lates totheprovisionofmedicalcareonbehalfHSE, need toaddressAfrophobiainpublicservices.Thefirstre- There arethreefurtherexampleswhichdemonstratethe ensuring safeenvironmentsareimportantfirststeps. evidence tosuggestthateliminatingdiscriminationand cluded intheduty.Aswehaveseenabove,thereismuch utive, RTE,andstate-ownedtransportbodiesareallin- Institute of Race Relations of UK deaths in custody, available at for BMEpeopleis exemplifiedwellbythedocumentation bythe 31 land’, departments: asurveyofconsultants intheUKandRepublicofIre- ‘Violence andverbalabuseagainst staffinaccidentandemergency 30 they were not Nigerian delay whenhediscovered while apologisingfor the discrimination to thefamily later andadmitted his treated theboy some hours to beNigerian.The doctor because hewas believed A&E by adoctor onduty medical treatment in A young boy was denied J AccidEmergMed,15(4),262-5. 31 Theconnectionbetweenhealthproblems andoverpolicing M.G.Jenkins,L.G.Rocke,B.P.McNicholl andD.M.Hughes(1998) . 30 . They may be . Theymaybe

eliminating discrimination. eliminating discrimination. the cases indicate thechallenges faced by public bodiesin three ofthesecasesfollowthe2014Act,butasawhole, three againsttheDepartmentofSocialProtection.Just against ajudge,fourpublichealthprovidersand against theCoroner’soffice,fourschools,one ports againstGardaí,onealocalauthority, the Gardaí,andtransport.Intotal,therewereeightre - contained withinthisreportinthesectionsonschools, Further examplesrelevanttothepublicsectordutyare social protection. ry treatmentofpeopleAfricandescentwhileaccessing The secondandthirdexamplerelatetothediscriminato- hospital securitydescribedearlierinthereport. ethnicity, inadditiontotheassaultonahospitalvisitorby inating againstpatientsonthegroundsoftheirperceived There arefurthercasesofmedicalstaffexplicitlydiscrim- tice system,London:NACRO. CRO (2007)Blackcommunities, mentalhealthandthecriminal jus- http://www.irr.org.uk/news/black-deaths-in-custody/ SeealsoNA- case it impacted on his own case. case itimpactedonhisowncase. of theincident,butwasafraidtoreportofficerin ‘Physically ill,angry,upsetandpowerless’asaresult country’. Thewitnesswhoreportedtheincidentfelt member told him that he should consider ‘moving since itwaslaterdeemedunnecessary).Thestaff fortable andunnecessary(whichitprovedtobe, he wasCatholic,butstillfoundthequestionuncom- was ina‘Catholiccountry’now.Heexplainedthat ‘culturally offensive’.Thestaffmembertoldhimhe tions whichhecouldnotanswerasfoundthem ceive benefits,staffinsistedonhimansweringques- When a man ofAfrican origin was signing on to re- ed’ and‘ashamed’asaresultoftheencounter. with thepayment.Theapplicantleftfeeling‘reject- sued bytheDepartmentofJusticebeforeproceeding know thebasisuponwhichStamp4hadbeenis- by sea,orbicycleplane”.Hedemandedto get toIrelandfromyourcountry-didyouwalkor officer askedhiminasarcasticvoice,“howdidyou 4 afteranasylumprocesslastingeightyears.The A manattendedtheWelfareofficewithhisStamp cerns ofasupportworkerpresentwiththepatient. room for awomanand her babydespitethecon- A nurserefusedtoprovideaconfidentialtreatment were notNigerian. apologising forthedelaywhenhediscoveredthey and admittedhisdiscriminationtothefamilywhile gerian. Thedoctortreatedtheboysomehourslater by adoctorondutybecausehewasbelievedtobeNi- A youngboywasdeniedmedicaltreatmentinA&E alongside other ethnic and national groups. alongside otherethnicandnationalgroups. cluded specificreferencestopeopleofAfricandescent member organisationswerealsoreportedandthesein - ments postedtotheFacebookpagesofENAR Ireland’s by witnesses.Inaddition,racistandxenophobiccom- basis. Thesearereportedbothbytheaccountownersand media accounts(e.g.TwitterandYouTube)onafrequent scent inIrelandreceiveracistcommentsontheirsocial ism onthewebandinsocialmedia.PeopleofAfricande- Below areasampleofthe98reportsreceivedaboutrac- ment tohatredinthiscontext. track ofthefrequencyracistexpressionandincite- al, andparticularindividuals,makesitdifficulttokeep racist commentsbothaboutracialisedgroupsingener- The easewithwhichsocialmediacanbeusedtomake supremacist groupswerealsoreported. African descentinIreland.Otherwebsitesofestablished tained contentsubmittedbyforumusersaboutpeopleof Both wereeasilyfoundbyinternetusers,and both con- can descentincallingforthemtobeseenasinhuman. more extremeracialisingcommentaboutpeopleofAfri- its kindbeforeitwasclosedin2015.Thiscontainedmuch descent as‘chimps’,wasoneofthemostpopularsites courses. Thesecond,whichreferredtopeopleofAfrican alist intone,andfeaturesarangeofdiscriminatorydis- and treatthemaccordingly”.Itislargelywhitenation- “correctly understandthat[blackpeople]arenothuman African descent describes its membership as people who The first,whichfeaturesjokesand‘rants’aboutpeopleof Two openlyracistwebsitesarecitedinseveralreports. Web andSocial Media undesirability ascitizensandneighbours. presence ofpeopleAfricandescentinIrelandandtheir highly visiblemessagestoawideaudienceaboutthe media, andgraffiti.Bothformsofcommunicationsend submissions madetoiReport.ie.Theserelatesocial Two keyarenasforincitementtohatredappearinthe 16 Incitement to hatred grants tobeshot, maimed,murderedandsent home.” some ofthepost weresosevereastocall forimmi- derogatory commentsabout immigrantsingeneral- of thesewereracistinnature. Therewerealsomany 1,600 commentsonthisvideo altogetherandmany Facebook groupcalled‘Spotted: Louth”.Therewere “A videoaboutanAfricanwoman waspostedona of whichareracistnature.“ age hasover1,649sharesand1,305comments,most Ireland, OrNigeria...Whoknowsanymore””.Thisim- side aSubwaywithcaptionstating“”Welcometo First’ postedanimageofnumerousBlackmenout- “A Social Media Group on Facebook called ‘British Social MediaGrouponFacebookcalled‘British from Cork. from Cork. Cork, andLimerick,withthehighestnumberofreports Graffiti appeared in central and south Dublin, Kildare, tres), aswellhightrafficareas(likepublictransport). sensitive places(includingschoolsandcommunitycen - descent appearsiniReport.iesubmissionsavariety of containing racist expressions againstpeopleofAfrican seen infrequentlyandisnottobecondoned.Graffiti The promptremovalofgraffitiiskeytoensuringthatit tion andriskofdiscriminationorviolenceinthevicinity. suggests alevelofintoleranceamongthepresentpopula- whole neighbourhoodorlocalcommunity.Itspresence public spaces can cause an increase in tension across a sistent harassers,racistexpressionwhichisdisplayedin spaces, andthedifficultyofreportingblockingper- because ofourengagementwithsocialmediainprivate Although racismonsocialmediacanfeelmoreinvasive Graffiti inpublicandprivate spaces African descent. descent. African vertising andreviewingbusinessesbelongingtopeopleof hostility. forum withawideaudiencefortheexpressionofracist Comment sectionsonpopularwebsitesalsoprovidea Cork city. It says “Cork says no blacks” and has a Cork city.Itsays “Corksaysnoblacks” and hasa “I noticednew racistgraffitiatHorgan’s Quayin see itastheygotoschool.” Gaelscoil Nationalschools also wherechildrencan church islocatedbesideboth EducateTogetherand in Kildare Town. The words were “No Blacks”. This side aDivineHopeofMercyInternationalChurch “Racist graffitiwasspraypaintedontoasignout- ethnic minorities.) ethnic minorities.) gal immigration, “cockroaches” andsterilisationof laziness as a trait in people of African descent, ille- gusting.” (Theaccountregularlyrefersto‘niggers’, Hitler. The remarks are extremist, violent and dis- ent historyofracistcommentaryandidolization on totheaccountandsawuserhadaconsist- [name removed]wasmakingracistremarks.Iclicked “I sawaconversationonTwitterwhereanaccount person, whichisverywrong!” suggests thatthemonkeywasreplacedwithablack ises andthrownintotheriver.Thetweetedimage to adisplaymonkeywasremovedfromtheprem- moved afterafewmins.Thereasonforthisisdue was inmyopinionveryracist.Thetweetre- “[Nameremoved],apubincork,postedtweetthat be executed” running cottonpickingcunt.Niggerslikeyoushould big lippedtreeswingingbananaeatingmarathon a ladbasedinIreland.“@stancollymoreDirtyblack “A tweetatawellknowBritishfootballplayerfrom Racist commentsarealsopostedonwebsitesad- 31 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 32 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland windows. windows. More temporarygraffitiwasalsoreportedonvehiclesand the public. the public. efforts andto demonstrate fairnessintheir dealingswith Síochána intrainingstaffto recognisetheneedforthese forces forhelp.Thereareclear challengesforAnGarda backgrounds mayalreadybe reluctanttocalluponpolice tic andculturalreasonswhy peoplefromminorityethnic sational drivetowardsrecognising theadditionallinguis- with them for whatever reason. This requires an organi- with personsofethnicminoritieswhocomeintocontact there isaparticularneedforpoliceofficerstobuildtrust senior membersofanypoliceforcesmustrecognisethat organisations toprocessracistincidentsappropriately, where racismisconcerned.Aswellasequippingpolicing da Síochána. Policing is a contentious area of politics which mentionreasonsforreluctancetoinvolveAnGar - are numerousquotespresentedfromincidentreports In reviewingotherthemesthroughoutthisreport,there Discriminatory anddisproportionate policing descent inIreland. the waytheyperceiveandrespondtopeopleofAfrican ees in state institutions as well as other citizens, affecting gration andundeservingrefugees.Theseaffectemploy- clearly influencedbypublicdiscoursesofillegalimmi- Garda Síochána.Manyoftheincidentsdescribedhereare denced inpublicservicesincludingSocialWelfareandAn Racism againstpeopleofAfricandescentisalsoevi- discrimination 17 Policing and window and‘packies’[sic]wasscribbledontheother.” the car where the words ‘Nigger’ was scribbled on one unsure whathadbeenwrittensoIdrovebackupby marks wroteonthetwopassengerwindows.Iwas “I drove past a parked car where I spotted racist re- Limerick city.” “The offensivegraffitiwasfoundondockroadin ‘Nigga Out’,‘BlacksOut’” and 6thApril2015‘IslamoutofEire’,Out’, “Racist graffitinearKentStation-photostaken4th Out ofEire’.” Road /YorkHillarea.‘BlacksOut’‘Islam “Racist graffitipaintedonstreetsaroundWellington Black womanwithracistgraffitionit.” “While waitingataLuasstopIsawanimageof cross inacirclesymbolbesideit.” the incident. the incident. are morelikelytobeconsidered suspectedofinstigating should theycalloutthebehaviour oftheperpetrator,they where theracistincidentisperpetratedagainstthemand, perience worseoutcomesfromGardainvolvementeven dent intheabovereports,however,ethnicminoritiesex - a racistincidentisperpetratedagainstthem.Asevi - ethnic minoritiestocalluponAnGardaSíochánawhen through familiesorfriends,reducesthelikelihoodof all dents amongstethnicminoritygroups,asaccountstold tion tobedetrimentalthem.Knowledgeoftheseinci - they should expectany interactions with theorganisa- to equalprotectionfromAnGardaSíochána,butthat to ethnicminoritiesnotonlythattheyareentitled on thepartofGardaítopolicedifferenceandsignify Incidents likethesedemonstrateamarkeddetermination the BlackSomalianfamilyweretreatedsodifferently. ing behaviour,andherownchildhadaskedwhythey iour becauseitwasapparenttoherthatthisamock- She describedhowshewaspromptedtoreportthebehav- also stampedtheirchild’shandseveraltimesjokingly. for aBlackSomalianfamilyinherlocalGardastation, haviour ofaGardawho,whilestampingdocumentation white foreignnational)describedtheinappropriatebe- nificant impactonthosewitnessingthem.Onewoman(a Other events with less serious consequences still had sig- attempt tointimidatehim. Gaelic fromthesame, which the victim interpreted as an Superintendent receivedaresponsewrittenentirelyin lover’, causingdeepdistress.Awrittencomplainttothe she visitedthestation,calleda‘nigger’and‘crackhead His heavilypregnantwifewasalsoraciallyabusedwhen daí duringtheincident.Hewaslatertakentohospital. as well as verbally abused. A Nazi sign was made by Gar- tion. Whileincustody,hewasseverelyphysicallyabused arrested whiledrivinghercar,andbroughttoaGardasta- A BlackAfricanmanmarriedtoawhiteIrishwomanwas her. the Gardacartopullupatrestaurantandapproach responded. Shewasnotawareofanyincidentthatcaused of futuresurveillanceandthreatenedwitharrestifshe and askedforpublicidentification.Shewasthenwarned ty, accused of public drunkenness (despite notdrinking), crowd outsidearestaurantduringprivatebirthdaypar- One youngwomanreportedbeingsingledoutofasmall street withoutjustcauseincludedthefollowingtwocases. of GardaíthreateningtoarrestBlackindividualsonthe are necessaryforpeacefulandorderlypolicing.Reports will haveasignificantimpactonthetrustlevelswhich recognise that aggressive policing of ethnic minorities At amuchmorebasiclevel,however,policeforcesmust the mosque. the mosque. tion 5above)onamanandhiswifewalkinghomefrom prosecution, as with the violent attack (described in Sec- no response was possible, or that it was unwise to seek several cases,thevictimwaspersuadedatscenethat tims, andtoupdatethevictimoninvestigation.In to appropriatelygatherevidencefromwitnessesandvic- cases, therearefailurestoattendthesceneofanassault, few positivecommentsaboutGardaresponses.Inthese Of theassaultsdescribedearlyinthisreport,thereare racist bythevictimoranyotherperson.” as a racist incident “Any incident which is perceived to be adopted in2001byAnGardaSíochanawhichdescribes There isevidencethatGardaídonotapplythedefinition take cognisanceoftherealimpactracistincidents. Irish norBlack-AfricanethnicitytrustthattheGardaí It isclearfromthereportsthatneitherpeopleofwhite against peopleof African descent Failure to respond to racist incidents and%20intercultural%20english.pdf cultural Ireland’, http://www.garda.ie/Documents/User/racial%20 32 and thewomanwalkedoff bus.“ ing someonetoaddressthe issue, butnoonearrived “Iphonedthe Guards and they said they were send- they wantedtoknow.” ing toknowifI’mstillaresidentofIreland.Thatall “My wifereceivedsomecallsfromthepoliceenquir- road. Theydidn’t.” “I rangtheguards,theysaidwouldcometo den) he willbeondutyfrom6pm.”(Assaultinbackgar- phone andhedidnotreturnmycallsbutIwastold daí stationyesterdaywhenIcannotreachhimon him have been unsuccessful, I went to[another]Gar- contact [local]communityGardaí,allefforttoreach “The Gardaíthatattendedthesceneadvisedmeto sault onbus) attack tomewasexaggerated and everseen.”(As- attack toforeigners.HesaidtheGardathather and thathehadwitnessmanytimesofherracism known to[local]policeforherracismbehaviours on thebustoldGardathatwomanwaswell nothing thatcouldbedone.Oneofthemalewitness a junkywhichwasliketellingmeifshewas,thereis was puttingthingsasthewomanmightbedrunkor the Garda,Idonotexpectmuchfromthemashe But whatIcansayisthatfromthebehaviourofone me. Unfortunately Ihaven’t heard back from them. CCTV fortheirinvestigationandtheywillgetbackto tails andpromisetheywillbelookingatthebus “The Gardatookmydetailsandfewwitnesses’de- AnGardaSíochána(nodate)‘Your PoliceServiceinInter- 32 fence. fence. dence in the willingness of Gardaí to investigate the of- damage, andarson.Justthree oftheseexpressedconfi- These includedpersistentharassment, assaults,criminal 24 involvedcriminaloffences exceedingverbalabuse. Twenty eightcasesincluded reportstoGardaí,ofwhich to reportfutureincidents. significant evidence of under-reporting and reluctance by Gardaí.Thereisnoevidenceofover-reporting,and all appeartohavewarrantedrecordingorinvestigation Gardaí bythemorwitnesseshavebeenreviewedand can descentreportedtoiReport.iewhichwerenotified to calating cases.AlloftheincidentsagainstpeopleAfri - nal offences,butwhichshouldberecordedtomonitores - as otherincidentsthatdonotreachthecriteriaforcrimi - incidents whichdoconstitutecriminaloffences,aswell impression thatGardaíareunwillingtodealwithracist curing updatesontherelevantcases.Thisreinforces Gardaí is also repeatedly described asunsuccessfulinse- ceived nocalls.Callingthestationstocontactrelevant they wouldbecalledbackwitharesponse,buthavere- petrated againstthem describe beingtoldbyGardaíthat Repeatedly, personswhohavehadracistincidentsper- pointing. harassment andcriminaldamagearesimilarlydisap- Responses tootherkindsofcases including repeated against them racist incident isperpetrated Garda Síochánawhena minorities to call uponAn the likelihood of allethnic minority groups .reduces incidents amongst ethnic Knowledge of these ever happen. Same things with the eggs throwing.” ever happen.Samethingswiththeeggsthrowing.” were broke,thepolicesaidtheywilllookatitnothing ond timewhenmymeandneighbour’smirrors saying “nigga”,meanstheyknewwhowewere.Sec- When myneighbourheardthem,theyshoutedather the factisitonlyhappento2carswithblackowners. it wasagangofboysandtheydidtoothercars.But First timewhenmycarwasbroken,theGardasaid ing soortopunishthebodyhisrelatives... as wearewonderingifthereisanythinggainindo- rather thanfacilitatingthematter.Sodisappointing have beenmakingthingsupandcomplicating “Very contradictoryandveryuncooperative.They 33 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 34 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland to Gardaí: to Gardaí: the law.Amongstincidentswhichwerenotreported manner mayallbeconsideredascriminaloffencesunder ening language, or following a person in a threatening them (whetherornottheyproduceinjury)usingthreat - Person Act,1997.Spittingataperson,throwingitems at duce prosecutionsunderNon-FatalOffencesagainstthe includes fear of violence, and harassment can both pro- intention of causing a breach of the peace. Assault, which ening, abusiveorinsultingwordsbehaviourwiththe an offenceforanypersoninapublicplacetousethreat- Criminal Justice(PublicOrder)Act1994,whichmakesit be addressedthroughtheapplicationofSection6 apply inthesesituations.Racistspeechorgesturescould are anumberofsectionsthecriminallawwhichcould absence ofexplicitlegislationonracistincidents,there ed reportingtoGardaíwhichwerenotreported.Inthe However, thereweremultipleincidentswhichwarrant- actioned uponbyGardaí. were recognisedbythereportingpartyasunlikelytobe that noneoftheseincidentswerereportedtoGardaíand are rarelyactionable.Thisreviewofthereportsshows group of people. Acts of racist speech against individuals daí, unless they take the form of speech directed at a large Acts ofracistspeechorgesturearerarelyreportedtoGar- offences to AnGarda Síochána Understanding of non-reporting racist occurrence to report’ incident istoo common an experiences’, and‘The and have hadnegative previously to police inIreland it’, ‘Ihave reported incidents talking to thepolice about think Iwould feel comfortable would doanything’, ‘Ididn’t not thinkthepolice could or for not reporting were ‘Idid The most common reasons their 40s. The lady was standing just behind me and their 40s.The lady wasstandingjustbehind meand lia wascalled niggaandspatbytwoIrish ladiesin bus andanAfricanyounggirl originallyfromSoma- “I was atabusstopMountjoyStreet waiting for a approx. 40yearsold.” “My 11yearoldsonwasspat inthefacebyamanage did so) which mayhaveconstitutedcriminaloffences(11clearly ports ofracistincidentsreportedinthe6monthperiod cidents toAnGardaSíochana(seeAppendix1).Of29re- influence victimsorwitnessestoreportnotin- specifically includeaquestionaboutfactorsthatwould In January2015,theiReport.iesurveywasamendedto reported toGardaí. over aBlackBrazilianwomaninDublinbar,shouldbe dents describedabove,suchasthethrowingofadrink In additiontotheseincidents,itisclearthatotherinci- olence or harassment to drugs and alcohol (as in the case olence orharassmenttodrugs andalcohol(asinthecase ing futurereportingofracistincidents.Attribution vi- Advice fromAnGardaSíochánaissignificantininfluenc - who identifiedasamemberofthetargetedsocialgroup. report offencesanonymouslyortoapoliceofficer give support to thevictim. A smaller numberwished to officers who could pass the information on to police and police, andbytheavailabilityofpeopleotherthanpolice availability ofself-reportingformswhichcouldbesent to fences feltthattheywouldbeencouragedtoreportbythe Most oftherespondentswhodidnotreportcriminal - police inanothercountry. embarrassment, and one by negative experiences with with disclosingpersonaldetails.Justonewasdeterredby of notbeingtakenseriouslyorbelieved,anddiscomfort about reprisalsorretributionfromtheperpetrator(s),fear incident andimpactonthevictimofdoingso,concern Other reasonsgivenincludedthetimetakentoreport assault withoutinjury. to reporthadexperiencedmainlyverbalabuseandone report”. Thosewhofeltthattheincidentwastoocommon ences”, and“Theincidentistoocommonanoccurrenceto ously topoliceinIrelandandhavehadnegativeexperi- to thepoliceaboutit”,“Ihavereportedincidentsprevi- anything”, “Ididn’tthinkIwouldfeelcomfortabletalking porting were “I did not think the police could or would do not reporttoGardaí,themostcommonreasonsforre- 33 cluded violence and damage which are more easily evidenced. cluded violenceand damagewhicharemoreeasilyevidenced. the law,andlower figureisprovidedtodistinguish thosewhichin- relation tothosewhichpotentiallyconstitute acriminaloffenceunder ly in relation to threatening behaviour. Analysis is provided here in judgement aboutwhetheraracistincident isprosecutable,particular-

country.” give youfoodbecausethatwhatcameforinour me andsayyoubitchwillnotdoitforfree.I had sexwithablackwomanandstartedfollowing to me about having sex with me because he never “He parkedhiscarinfrontofmeandstartedtalking tion.” heard the abusivelanguagewhich called myatten- the twoIrishladieswerepassingbyandsuddenlyI 33 , only 8 were reported to Gardaí. Of those who did , only8werereportedtoGardaí.Ofthosewhodid The level of detail in the survey does not always permit a clear The levelofdetailinthesurveydoes notalwayspermitaclear could be reasonably foreseen. Exposure to racism over could bereasonably foreseen.Exposure toracismover dependent on theindividual,butmostof theseimpacts of thetargetedpeopleinavariety ofways.Thisispartly Racism, regardlessofitsform orseverity,affectedeach sequences oftheincidentsreported inthesecases. physical symptoms.Thereare seriousmentalhealthcon- recurring nauseatoextremefearwithsimilarly symptoms, from sleeplessness, anxiety, depression and phobic racismincludedavarietyofhealthproblemsand scent inIreland.PhysicalillhealthresultingfromAfro - the qualityoflifeexperienced by peopleofAfricande- There isevidenceinthesecasesofsignificantimpacton Impacts onpeople targeted by Afrophobia Afrophobic racism 18 The impacts of or multipleperpetrators. willingness todealwithongoingharassmentbyasingle taken. ThisunderminesconfidenceinGardaíabilityor prosecution, theassumptionisthatnofurtheractionwas tims ofcrimeaboutthenextactionsininvestigationor cases, whenthereisnofurtherinformationgiventovic- ther actionwastakenbyGardaíinthiscase.Aswithother It isunclearfromthereportsubmittedwhetheranyfur- number ofincidentswouldnotbereportedinfuture. perpetrators undertheageof18,meansthatasignificant of abusassault),anddiscouragingcomplaintsagainst no contactwiththePolicesincethen.” This wasprovided the followingday.Therehasbeen and anapplicationtocoversomeoftherepaircosts. applying totheLocalAuthorityforahousetransfer letter fromthePoliceasevidenceofincidentwhen was providedbythevictim.[Thevictim]requesteda Officer the previousnight, so another incident report could notfindarecordoftheincidentrecordedby 2pm thefollowingday.ThePoliceOfficerhespoketo happen sothevictimattended[the]GardaStationat contact againat9amthefollowingday.Thisdidnot The Police Officers said Community Police would be in No otheradvicewasprovidedtothevictim. family appliedforatransferwiththeLocalAuthority. of thesefrompreviousoccasionstheysuggestedthe previously andwhenthevictimoutlinedextent about whetherornotsimilarincidentshadoccurred design fromotherhousesinthearea.Theyinquired fact thatthevictims’househasadistinctlydifferent behaviour byyoungpeopleandwasmotivatedthe tails. They suggestedthat the incident was anti-social female Officers arrived within 25 minutes to take de- “The victimreportedtheincidenttoPoliceand2 Three people also referred to the way in which the impact Three peoplealso referredtothewayinwhich theimpact assment intheworkplace. ilar responseswerereportedbypeopleexperiencedhar - chronic sleeplessnessandseverephysicalillhealth.Sim - and children,includingseverepsychologicalproblems, some oftheworstongoingsymptomsamongstadults Families experiencingongoingharassmentreported much higherthanthenumbersreported. severe shockresultinginpersistenthealthproblems, is that thenumberofpeopleexperiencingshock,including serve inthetargetedperson.Weshouldexpecttherefore injuries orcriminaloffencestheycouldobjectivelyob - er thanthatofthetargetedperson,andtodescribeonly other ethnicitiestendedtoreporttheirownshockrath- have includedshock.Inaddition,witnesseswhowereof ed nottodescribetheimmediateimpactwhichislikely Those thatreportedinjuriesoravoidancebehaviourtend- event. ongoing mentalhealthproblemsasadirectresultofthe and afurther33percentreportedphysicalsymptomsor Of those targeted byracism,21 percent reportedshock porting ofoverallillhealthandstress. time reduced the reporting of shock, but increased the re- could feelthehatredeveryday” undermined, threatened, hopeless and defenceless. I “I feltisolated,damaged,belittled, tearful,depressed, ised racisminIreland” someone inorder to bring attention to institutional- “ other customerswatchingmytreatment.” shop. Iwasparticularlyembarrassedastherewere something likethistohappenme,especiallyina “ but youcan’tfightskinthatGodgaveyou” “ anoid toanyonelookingatme” “ the night.” he left.Ibeencryingandshakingforthebestpartof “I feltsoscaredthatIbeencryingandshakingafter meaning anymore” having panicattacksasIfeelmylifedoesnothavea left sodevastatedandunabletosleephavebeen the bus or sit even close to someone else. I have been nights headachesandnowsoscarytoevengeton astated. Since,Ihavebeendealingwithdaysand shaken, humiliated,shockedandcompletelydev- “I feelsobadtowhathappenedme,Iamleft Traumatized, angry and desperate to kill myself or Traumatized, angryanddesperatetokillmyselfor I felthumiliatedandhelplessneverexpected Scared alone,helpless.Youcanfightotherthings Agitated, scaredtocomeoutofmyownhouse,par- 35 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 36 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland these incidents, although there are multiple similar cases. these incidents,althoughtherearemultiplesimilarcases. A singlequoteisselectedheretohighlighttheimpactof riences ofeducation,workandcommunityparticipation. dren toschoolorshopping,withfurtherimpactsonexpe- self-restriction inroutineactivitiessuchaswalkingchil- ance leadingtonon-participationinlocalsociallifeand enced. Thereisevidenceofsignificantpatternsavoid- a directresultoftheAfrophobicracismthattheyexperi- ty about goingto new places orjoining new groups, all as strangers, fear for their children and partners, and anxie- of confidenceinoccupyingpublicspaces,engagingwith On topofhealthimpacts,targetedpeoplereportedlack Everyday fear od oftime. led tothemsuppressingtheirresponsesoveralongperi- the frequencywithwhichtheyexperienceracistevents sometimes moreviolentandabusive.Forseveralothers, of theeventintensifiedimpactpreviousincidents, for thatpoorchildtoday’ granddaughter). I’m so angry year olddaughter (my they have abeautiful 3 is withablackguyand to behonest, my daughter ‘I felt sickto my stomach people who might not like me, but they at least let people whomight notlikeme,butthey at leastlet I know I should not generalize, and that there are open withforeigners,butit is just“thelandofhate”. country, whichhasthefame ofbeingsowarmand friend ofmine.Ifeelconstantly threatenedinthis threw atmeonce,andaniron barwasthrownata tomatoes, eggs,onions,potatoes, evenaHaribowas young peoplewholovetothrowthingsatpeople,like ket, because the area nearby where I livehas a lotof cause I’mdifferent.Ican’tevengotothesupermar- people who look down on me in all places, just be- work at the building I live.Peoplewho ignore me, in severaloccasions,includingbythepeoplewho ly, soafraidandhumiliated.Iwascallednigger entering thebus,wascry.Ihaveneverfeltsolone- threw therockatme,onlythingIcoulddo,after “Ifeltworthlessthanahuman.Thedaytheguy tell myselftherearesickpeopleinthisworld.” will beeverydaybutIjustblockitfrommymindand abuse. Ifwehavetoreporteverysingleincidentit “This is notthe first time we have encountered such are used. used. are ents. Thiswasparticularlythecasewhenracialepithets duced asharpfeelingofisolationinmanytherespond - from otherpeoplebytheracismtheyencounteredpro - of angerandhumiliation.Thesensebeingalienated stand. Otherformsofdiscriminationpromptedfeelings their childwasexposedtoracismthattheydidnotunder - ination infrontoftheirchildrenreportedsadnessthat and disgust.However,parentswhoexperienceddiscrim - or violencewereincludedinthosethatreportedshock Those whoexperienceddiscriminationratherthanabuse and therighttosafetydignityinpublicplaces. es, workplaces,schoolsandcommunityorganisations, treatment inpublicservices and private sector business- protection fromAnGardaSíochána,non-discriminatory ports. Thisincludedtherighttoexpectdueprocessand sense of outrage and disappointment evident in some re- by theseexperiences.Citizenshipwasmadecentraltothe assertions ofthelegalrightswhicharemademeaningless Repeated throughoutthereportsreceivedatiReport.ieare Assertions of rights for people of African descent to encounter racism in their for peopleofAfrican descenttoencounter racismintheir of the‘immigrant’ isalsostrong.Itcanbe verysurprising The impactofracismonthose whodonotfitthestereotype Western Afrophobia came outatonce.”(EUNational,NorthDublin) was holdingthesethingsforsolong,thateverything I wanted.amsorryfortheoutburst,itisjustthat so much easier and I would be able to live wherever get from theIrish government, thenmylifewouldbe pay. Iwishwasgettingeverythingpeoplethink neighbourhood, but,unfortunately,itiswhatIcan my apartment. I am constantly afraid living inthis I wasfeelingsoscaredthatdidn’twanttoleave chologist, because,ontopofalltheproblemsIhad, things couldn’tbeworse.Ievenstartedtoseeapsy- me be; nevertheless, especially where I live, Dublin 7, this tous.” put theretobeprotectingusaretheonesthatdid “We don’tfeelsafeatallbecausethepeoplewhoare what.” have therighttorainracialabusesonmenomatter abuses andshutup,thecouplewereIrishthey “I supposedtheyexpectedmetoaccepttheracial “I feltlikeasecondclasscitizeninmyowncountry.” been treated.Feltshockedatthisbehaviour.” were Nigerianandseriouslysickhowwouldwehave period ofwaitingunnecessarily.Wewonderedifwe African and the child could have gotten worse in the “I feltlikewewerebeingpunishedbecause So wellestablishedistheideaof‘rightkind’Black students ortouristsfromnon-Africancountries. case forpeopleofAfricandescentwhoareprofessionals, some timewithoutencounteringit.Thisisfrequentlythe professional role,orwhentheyhavelivedinIrelandfor These experiences,although relativelyfewinthecon- they represented‘therightkind’ofBlackness. which todefendagainstanyaccusations.Inshort,that having theprotectivecharacteristicsofnationalitywith spaces theymovedin),orthatlessvulnerableto it, of encounteringracismatallinIreland(orleastthe dividuals assumedeitherthattherewaslittlelikelihood terpretation thatwecandrawfromthisisthesein - An Americanvisitorlikewisenotedhissurprise.Thein - consideration in his interactions. consideration inhisinteractions. was hisnationalidentitywhichwas,forhim,ofprimary One reportfromaBlackstudentinCorksuggestedthatit in theirinteractionsIrishsociety. acting alsofromnational,genderedandclassidentities forefront oftheirinteractionswithothers,sincetheyare ing thattheirBlackidentitiesarenotnecessarilyatthe in Ireland’sdiversecityspaces.Itisalsoworthremember- lic spaces,allowsthemtoexpectsimilareasymovement moving easilybetweencountriesandininterracial/pub- tities withinWesternnations,andtheirexperiencesof able termstoo.Theirself-perceptionoftheirBlackiden- imagining contemporary African migrants in unfavour- professionals, students or tourists) are no lessproneto for Africans.BlackAmericansorEuropeans(whomaybe Africa, andthereforetheydonotexpecttobemistaken distinct fromtheexperienceofbeingamigrant For them,theexperienceofbeingAfricandescentis prising toEuropeanandAmerican visitors who are Black. that beingabusedforAfricancanbedeeplysur- tion themselves vis-à-vis other people of African descent. tion themselvesvis-à-vis otherpeopleofAfricandescent. migrants. Thishas deeplyaffectedhowpeopleofAfrican descentposi- the descendantsofslavesinEurope andAmericafromotherAfrican glo-American lines,influencedby a politicsofassimilationdividing 34 way.” is thefirstinstancehehasbeentreatedinaracist in Wexfordfor3yearsoriginallyfromAmerica.This refrain fromhittinganoldman.Myfriendhaslived my friendwereshockedandittookalotformeto can doisleavethecountry,yaf**kingblack”.Iand led ontototheoldermansaying“thebestthingyou man beganconversingwithhimanditeventually ter heplayedagiginlocalpubWexford.Theold “An oldmanapproachedmyfriend,whoisblack,af- 2014.” skinned wouldhavebeenaproblem,especiallyin cause ofthisorthatbutIneverthoughtbeingdark “I knowthatnoteverybodylikeFrenchpeoplebe- TheconceptofBlacknesshasdeveloped alongparticularlyAn- (Reported bywhiteIrishwitness,Wexford)

34 , national higher education study. national highereducationstudy. from theUSA andEurope,asadestinationforinter- context ofIreland’spositionasadestinationfortourism text of the overall number of reports, areimportantin the events. events. not offeranypromptsoroptionstothesedescriptionsof witnesses isremarkablesincethesurveyquestiondid Thesimilarityofresponsesfrom this selectionshows. the incidentmadethemfeel,answersvariedlittle,as apologising thattheincidenthadoccurred.Askedhow trator wasnotsupportedbyothersaroundhim/her,and speaking to thevictim, reassuring themthattheperpe- ter theevent.Someattemptedtoaddresssituationby Many peoplereportedfeelingphysicallyillduringoraf- and sevenpercentreportedsignificantfear. sponse. Fifteenpercentexperiencedsignificantshock, of disgust.Almostathirdwitnessesdescribedthisre- The overwhelmingfeelingreportedbywitnesseswasthat Impact onwitnesses to Afrophobia violence would beuseful of racist verbal abuse or on whatto dointhecase guidance for witnesses could bemadeeasier, and racism by publicservants suggest that reporting of aspect of Afrophobia The findingsonthis before andIstill can’tbelieveit.” “I wassoshocked, I’veneverseenanyone dothat acting outtheattitudeof parents.” “I was shocked and horrified, I felt that the child was that poorchildtoday.” old daughter(mygranddaughter).I’msoangryfor is withablackguyandtheyhavebeautiful3year “I feltsicktomystomachbehonest,daughter dren.” racism anddisrespect coming from such young chil- “Disgusted. Iwasgenuinely stunned at the level of “Disgusted, shockedandangry.” “I feltsicktobehonest.Iwasinshock.”

37 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 38 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland public servants for their racist behaviour, but felt that public servants fortheirracistbehaviour, butfeltthat The impactwas greateronthosewhowanted toreport they wereanintermediaryintheevent. particularly uncomfortable,iftheyfeltthat provision by state employees described themselves as Those whowitnesseddiscriminatorybehaviourinservice made bytheperpetrators. Irish hadbeenverydamagedbytheclaimstoIrishness rassed orhumiliated.Somefeltthattheirsenseoffeeling Fifteen percent of witnesses reported feeling embar- for guidanceonhowtorespondinfuture. vent orstalltheracistbehaviourtheysawandsomeasked port thattheyregrettedtheirfailuretointervenepre- However, inasignificantnumberofcases,witnessesre- described earlier. some cases, those fears are reasonable, given the events abuse orviolence,andevendiscriminatorypractices.In safety wheninterveningtheywitnessedverbal powerless. Manyreportedbeinganxiousabouttheirown to theevent,andaquarterreportedfeelingfrustratedor A quarterofwitnessesreportedfeelingangryinresponse and shockedbythenegative attitudeofthenurse». «I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable in the situation black people?” asked me,whydidhetreatusdifferentlythanthe “Embarrassed asmy12yearoldalsopickeditupand cerned forthevictim.” “Shocked, upset,sickened,ashamedtobeIrish.Con- saying something.” down. However,Iammoreupsetatmyselffornot the girl’sfriendsstickupforher,andnotquietenher - being subject to such abuse. I was horrified to see to seeaman-regardlessofhiscolourorbirthplace “I amstillquiteshakenaftertheevent.Iwasrepulsed the racistabuse.” “I feltashamedbecauseIdidn’tdoanythingtostop ok asdid afraid to.AftertheincidentIaskedthemiftheywere “Very angry,Iwantedtochallengethembutwas “Anxious, causeIthoughtmayhavetointervene” ble fortheboy” “Helpless. Icouldnotdoanythingtohelp.Felthorri- “Ashamed butdidn’tfeellikegettingstabbed.” didn’t knowwhattodo.Thenannoyed.” “Powerless astheracistwomanseemedsoviolentI other peopleonthebus.” and assaultofminorityethnic peopleinthecitycentre lighted theconnectionbetween StPatrick’sDayevents idence frompreviousiReport analysis reports have high - the sense of pride citizens feel in their Irish identity. Ev- nected toexpressionsofnationalismactuallyundermine centenary celebrationsof2016ifracistincidentscon - also interesting.Itmayprovesignificantinthecoming The senseofembarrassmentwhichwitnessesreport is intervene. interpreted by onlookers and how they choose when to and produces valuable data about how racist events are has beensignificantinproducingdatawithiReport.ie and energyinaccuratelyreportingracismtheysee.This factor whichencouragesthemtoinvesttheirowntime anger whichwitnessesfeelisan important motivating of racistverbalabuseorviolencewouldbeuseful.The ier, andguidanceforwitnessesonwhattodointhecase reporting ofracismbypublicservantscouldbemadeeas- that The findingsonthisaspectofAfrophobiasuggest quences forthemselves,likethisDublinman. they werenotabletoreportbecauseofthepossibleconse- 35 3rd QuarterlyReport ofiReport.ie.Dublin:ENAR Ireland. people inthecity centre assault of minority ethnic Patrick’s Day events and the connection between St reports have highlighted previous iReport analysis Irish identity. Evidence from of pridecitizens feel intheir actually underminethesense expressions of nationalism incidents connected to celebrations of 2016 ifracist in thecoming centenary It may prove significant

have triedtoofferhimsupportbuthewasgone.” it happenedto,ifIhadseenhimafterwardswould to theSocialWelfareOffice.Ifeltupsetforman I amsigningon,afraidtoreportthisdirectly “Physically ill,angry,upsetandpowerless.Because Reports of racism in Ireland: L. MichaelandS. O’Curry (2014)Reportsofracism inIreland: 35 . housing, health and schools. housing, healthandschools. es reportedconcerningimmigration,socialprotection, witness interventionisstrongest.Thisreflectedincas- tivities isevidenttowitnessesandtheareainwhich descent andthedifficultiesthiscauseswithroutineac- The overpolicingandsurveillanceofpeopleAfrican discriminated againstasaresult. where witnesseswereconfidentthattheywouldnotbe crimination bypublicbodiesweremoreeasilydealtwith, other witnessesmadethismoredifficult.Casesofdis- to stoptheincident.Supportforperpetratorfrom likelihood ofviolencefromtheperpetrator,ratherthan though usuallytoprotectthetargetedpersonfromany of aggression,witnesseswerealsoabletointervene,al- a strongdeterrenttoperpetratorsinmostcases.Incases report racistabusemaynotalwaysbesuccessful,butitis in theperpetratorleavingarea.Callingpoliceto cidents bychallengingtheperpetrators,usuallyresulting In casesofverbalabuse,witnessessuccessfullyhaltedin- and peopleknowntothetargetedperson(s). abuse andharassment,butisequallyofferedbystrangers ed event.Thisismostlikelytooccurinincidentsofverbal offered informallybywitnessesatthetimeofreport- We turnourattentionheretointerventionsandsupport es nottointerveneduringracistincidents. scent ispresent).Overall,thereatendencyforwitness- third partyexperiences(wherenopersonofAfricande- frequency ofracisminthemedia,socialand reports during orafterracistexperiencesinjustoverafifthof An GardaSíochána.Helpofanykindwasofferedeither witnesses, orbyprofessionalorganisationslikeNGOs tion atthetimeofeventtosupportafterby Help canbeofferedinavarietyofforms,frominterven- Interventions by witnesses 19 The role of witnesses yes, with a quarter being informal means of support. yes, withaquarter beinginformalmeansofsupport. cal stafforNGO)’, and‘No’.Thirty-fourpercentofresponses indicated (witness, friend,neighbour,community)’, ‘Yes,formally(Garda,medi- The revised survey in 2015,added options to answer ‘Yes,informally ybody trytohelp?’,andtheyresponded yesin18percentofanswers. 36 that the children did not have the same surname as that the children did not have the same surname as you heard of Madeline McCann’. He went on to say birth certsastheyallhadIrishpassports.Hesaid‘have tion officer. I asked him why she had to produce the her at this stage in her discussion with the immigra- the birthcertsforherchildren.Sheaskedmetoassist going throughimmigrationshewasaskedtoproduce was onherownandhadaheavybag.Whenwewere and hertwocitizenchildrentogetofftheplane.She “IwasassistinganIrishcitizenoriginallyfromAfrica 36 People reportingracism in 2013 and 2014 were asked ‘Did an- . The low figure is only partly attributable to the . Thelowfigureisonlypartlyattributabletothe 20 the youngmaleperpetrators. in threatstowardsanoldermalewitnesswhochallenged case ofverbalabuseagainstaDublinbusdriverresulted the assaultofafemalewitnesswhointervened.Athird sault ofamalevictimbyfemaleperpetrator,andthen has beendescribedearlierinthereport,andinvolvedas- who wasassaultedanoldermale.Thesecondcase case ofverbalabuseagainstayoungwoman,thewitness assault againstwitnesses,bothonDublinbuses.Inone that ismentionedinthereports.Thereweretwocasesof sequences isthelargestdeterringfactorforwitnesses Fear fortheirownsafetyorfearofothernegativecon- public shaming of people of African descent, which is public shaming ofpeopleAfricandescent, whichis What isremarkable aboutAfrophobiain Irelandisthe against andbymen,women andchildrenofallages. taxis, stateofficesandneighbourhoods, atalltimesofday, social situations,includingon buses,inschools,takeaways, ti. Inthesereports,ithasbeen observedinawiderangeof repeated verbalabuse,bullying,offensivejokesandgraffi - familiar patternsofdiscriminationandviolence,including quaintances, andisrecognisablethroughtherepetition of ing ofpeopleAfricandescentbybothstrangersandac - of everydayracism.Itismarkedbytheconstanttarget - Afrophobia inIrelandishighlyconsistentwithotherforms mal andinhumaneexperienceoflifeinIreland. which itoccursrepeatedly,producesadistinctlyabnor - sense thatthereareroutinesituationsineverydaylife in live. Whileracismofthiskindbecomes‘everyday’,inthe lating themfromthewidercommunitiesinwhichthey being out-of-placeinIrishworkandleisurespaces,iso- African descenthastheeffectofmarkingthemoutas addition totheseharms,racistharassmentofpeople of people ofAfricandescent are noted in this report. In Significant impactsonthehealthandqualityoflife The impact of Afrophobia residents ofIreland,andtheirchildren. are bothrecentmigrantsandrefugees,long-time are perpetratedagainstpeopleofAfricandescentwho ture andimpactofdiscriminationhatecrimeswhich Afrophobia, thisreporthassoughttoinvestigatethena- Ireland today.Inpresentingthesedetailedaccountsof es toracismheretestifythecurrencyofAfrophobiain The narrativesofpeopleAfricandescentandwitness- by witness) duced. Hethenwaveduson.”(DublinAirport,reported was thelawthatstatedbirthcertshavetobepro- we were never asked for birth certs. I asked him where my ownchildrenwhohaveadifferentsurnametome the mother.Itoldhimthatanytimetravelledwith Conclusion 39 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 40 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland be, these are apparent in too few of the incidents reported be, theseareapparent intoofewoftheincidents reported spite howeffective reportedwitnessinterventions can supportive witnessesandcooperation oftheGardaí.De- for victimstoaddresssafely withouttheinterventionof violence orharassmentinpublic spacesaremoredifficult assment andviolenceifthey cannot.Singleincidentsof if theycanaffordtodoso,or continueexperiencinghar- the burdenofhavingtomovetheirhomesandfamilies, hood patterns of escalating harassment,andvictimsbear ty. Toofewsolutionsareavailabletoaddressneighbour - which isAfrophobic,therebothfrustrationandanxie - For mostpeopletargetedandvictimisedbyharassment partment ofSocialProtectionorAnGardaSíochána. ticularly withinpublicbodieslikealocalauthority,De - the expertiseofthosetowhomtheyreportracism,par - identify availableandappropriateremediesrely on from theseexperiences.Victimsarenotalwaysable to not appropriatelysensitisedtothewiderimpactsarising stresses, particularlywherestaffreceivingreportsare for thosewrongs.Forsome,reportingproducesfurther feel basedontheirexperiencesoftryingtoseekjustice ence criminalvictimisation,andthefrustrationthatthey of Africandescentencounterdiscriminationandexperi- porting isrelatedbothtothefrequencywithwhichpeople rather impactthe level of reporting.Significantunder-re- not appeartolessenthenegativeimpactsofevent,but son(s) torationalisetheracismthattheyencounterdoes periences areinformative.Theabilityofthetargetedper- The waysinwhichvictimsofharassmentrelatetheirex- spaces. shopping, visitingfamilyorfriends,andenjoyingpublic affect dailyroutinessuchasgoingtoworkorschool, few incidentsconnectedtointoxicatedperpetrators,and here takeplaceinthedaytimeratherthanatnight,with alcohol ordrugs,butthemajorityofincidentsreported assment aresometimesdismissedasbeingtheresultof it impingesonroutineactivities.Racialconflictandhar- most frequentlyreportedtoiReport.ieisthewayinwhich A particularlydifficultaspectoftheformsharassment Making sense of Afrophobic harassment in everydaylife. widespread thatwebecomeaccustomedtoseeingthem they are frequently ignored or denied because they are so behaviour towards them are learned in our society, and towards peopleofAfricandescentanddiscriminatory Afrophobia, inthesereports,illustratesthatattitudes es), andanimalisticsoundsorgestures. ziness (representingbodiesallegednotfitforpublicspac- against women,referencestodirt,disease,pollution,la- sphere ingeneral,throughaccusationsofbirthtourism to justifytheexclusionofBlackcitizensfrompublic es. TheconstructionofBlacknessasout-of-placeisused ously withovertsurveillanceofBlacknessinpublicspac- both frequentandhighlyvisible,operatessimultane- and illnessforthetargetedperson(s). here, andunsurprisinglyleadlatertoheightenedanxiety wider setofreports submittedtoiReport.ie theapplica- can peopleand theirIrishfamilies.Wesee, too,fromthe African-Americans andBlack EuropeansaswellAfri- land andBlackpopulations, withracistharassmentof the distinctionbetweenBlack culturalinfluencesinIre- The natureofAfrophobia in Irelandishighlightedby for theinequalitythatfacesthem. dignity inpublicspacesandtheirhomes,blamed when they query discrimination, deprived of privacy and surveillance, constructedasaggressiveandchallenging bution ofblackness,aresubjectedtoformalandinformal It isclearthatpeopleofAfricandescent,throughtheattri - whiteness by perpetrators in the reports reflects this well. construction of Irish identity as an established form of Racism is not, however, newtoIreland, and the strong and abuseagainstthem. women orchildreninIreland,andtojustifyharassment continue tobeusedinterpretthepresenceofAfrican circulating intherunupto2004referendum,which groups reflectthelongevityofAfrophobicdiscourses Incidents ofracismagainstwomenandfamily report offersusaglimpseofparticularlyIrishanxiety. The victimisationofwomenandchildrenasseeninthis and underpinssomeharassmentofthosefamilies. This toohoweverhasbeenframedinAfrophobicterms employment overseastosupporttheirfamiliesinIreland. fected bytherecession,andsomehavesoughttemporary widespread Afrophobia.Theyhavealsobeenseverelyaf- tunities commensuratewiththeireducationbecauseof statistically, areofferedfarfeweremploymentoppor- having muchhigherqualificationsthanothermigrants people. Yet people of African descent in Ireland, despite on thejobsmarketandemigrationofyoungIrish of Africandescentisrelatedtotheimpactrecession by perpetratorsfortheirracistbehaviourtowardspeople Leaving thoseaside,oneofthekeyjustificationsoffered acist websites. highly reflectiveofAmericanandBritishwhitesuprem- contain contributions using racist language which is see, forexample,thewayinwhichIrishmediaforums circulate incontemporaryIrishsociety.Itispossibleto the wayinwhichideasabout‘race’andtargetedgroups analysis ofracistlanguagenonethelessallowsustotrace disposition oftheindividualtowardsthosemessages, While thecauseof the hostilityismediatedby the pre- ing particularhostilitiestowardsthetargetedgroup. and betterunderstandthewayinwhichtheyarereflect- lence helpsustosituatethemvis-à-visthetargetedgroup tors ofracistabuseduringactsdiscriminationorvio- Understanding thelanguageofracismusedbyperpetra- Afrophobia inanIrishdialect they areusuallydefinedin other jurisdictions,asacrim- iReport.ie thatwouldmeetthe criteriaforhatecrimesas evidence ofarangeoffenceswithinthesecasesfrom Incitement toHatredAct1989 date inIreland,withtheexceptionofoffencesunder There is currently no legal definition of ahatecrimeto Hate Crimes racism. reducing theisolationfeltbypersonexperiencing the targetedpersons,facilitatingnewrelationshipsand cilitating greatercommunicationbetweenwitnessesand addressing thispointmightwellprovesuccessfulinfa- effective andsafeformsofintervention,campaigns of guiltandregret.Severalreportsaskedforeducationin where theydidnotintervene,experiencedfeelings were sometimesnervousfortheirownsafety,andthat es feltamoralcompulsiontointerveneevenwherethey witnessed theincidentinstead.Itisnotablethatwitness- not reportedbytheperson(s)targeted,butpeoplewho number oftheincidentsdescribedinthisreportwere ident throughthereportingprocessitself.Asignificant racism inIrelandandsympathywithvictimswhichisev- However, thereisalsoevidenceforapublicaversionto fluence todaythroughavarietyofformsmedia. influenced by wider global racistideologiesandtheirin- tions intermsmoresimilarto‘oldracism’isclosely the framingofAfricanandotherminorityethnicpopula- recent migrationsandthepoliticaldebatesaroundthose, tisation ofAfricansinIrelandisinitiallyassociatedwith negotiation ofBlackidentities.Thuswhiletheproblema- supported byglobaldiscoursesofracismwhichpermitno discrimination basedonnationalstereotypes,withboth discrimination isbasedonappearance,andsecondary ethnic andnationalgroupsasracialabuse.Theprimary tion ofspecificallyAfrophobictermstootherminority HHRG/ICCL. HHRG/ICCL. ‘Out oftheShandows: LegislatingforHateCrimeinIreland’, Limerick: ing ofhatecrimelegislation.J.Schweppe, A.HaynesandJ.Carr(2015) hate crimeshasbeenrecentlyreviewed inordertofacilitatethedraft- 37 experience of life inIreland abnormal andinhumane it produces adistinctly which itoccurs repeatedly, situations ineveryday life in sense thatthere are routine becomes ‘everyday’, inthe While racism of thiskind

The effectiveness of current legislation in Ireland to address The effectiveness of current legislation in Ireland to address 37 . There is however clear . Thereishoweverclear population fect oncommunities,thatistheyterrorisethetarget or hostilityforaparticulargrouphaveanin terrorem ef- for differences which communicates to perpetrators for differenceswhichcommunicates toperpetrators They establishabenchmark fortoleranceandrespect by thetargetedcommunityasaresultofthosecrimes. the widercommunityandinreducingisolationfelt sending messagesofdisapprovaltoperpetratorsand Hate crimelawsareausefulandimportantmeans of ‘race’ orotheridentitygrounds. lation directly addressing hatred and hostility based on of HatredAct,whichisthesolepiececriminallegis - there havebeenfewprosecutionsundertheIncitement circumstances, arelikelytostiruphatred.Despitethis, or insultingandareintended,or,havingregardtoallthe tion ofwrittenmaterialwhicharethreatening,abusive addressed directly. There are clear examples of publica- remarkable, thelanguagewhichjustifiesthemmustbe ety, andbecomeignoredordeniedbecausetheyareun- attitudes andbehavioursareclearlylearnedinoursoci- culate isanothersignificantchallenge.WhenAfrophobic The impunitywithwhichspeechincitinghatredcancir- of crimes levels ofdepression,anxietyandangerthanothertypes ity toagroupisexcessivelybrutal,andproduceshigher cause theviolencethatisperformedoutofhateorhostil- These kindsof crimes are unique amongst offences be- adults theyencounterinpublicspaces. violence directedatIrishchildrenofAfricandescentby A numberofreportssurprisinglyrevealracistabuseand discrimination aswellbeingsubjecttoitthemselves. day incidents,seeingtheirparentssubjecttoabuseand nerable tothemessagesofexclusionsentbytheseevery- are outofplaceinIreland.Childrenparticularlyvul- default, reinforcestheideathatpeopleofAfricandescent communities, schools,workplacesandleisurespaces,asa built networksoffamilyandfriends,engaginginlocal fear orstrategicrehousing),wheretheyhavesettledand in theirhomesfromownneighbourhoods(through ful fortheirownlives.Theremovalofpeoplevictimised African descentinIrelandexposedtoviolenceandfear- es ofrepeatandescalatingharassment,leavepeople to date,andtheineffectivemeasuresavailableincas- The failureoflegislatorstoaddressthisissueeffectively son(s) onaccountoftheirethnicity. all factorsindicatinghostilitytowardsthetargetedper- Where reported,evidencehasbeenprovidedaboveof have clearevidenceattachedofthebiasmotivations. offences ofassault,arson,andcriminaldamagewhich inal act motivated by or prejudice. These include the 71. effects ofhatecrimes’, InternationalReview ofVictimology, 39 ral Scientist, 38 B. Perry & S Alvi (2012) ‘We are all vulnerable’: The in terrorem B.Perry&SAlvi(2012)‘Weareallvulnerable’: Theinterrorem P. Iganski (2001)‘Hate crimes hurt more’, 38 39 . Crimes which are perpetrated out of hatred . Crimeswhichareperpetratedoutofhatred . 45(4), 626-638. American Behavio- 18(1), 57- 41 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland 42 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland are reliant on accessing particular services. The report are reliantonaccessingparticular services.Thereport standards, butinsomecases areafraidtodosoifthey intervening toinsistthatpublic officialsapplythesame given poorservice.Witnesses toincidentslikethisreport Irish citizensofAfricandescentbeingrefusedservice or nation bypublicinstitutionsiscommonlyreported,with and procedures which will promote equality. Discrimi- oblige publicbodiestoproactivelyimplementpolicies ly because of the additional duties in legislation which (including healthandpolicing)isnotablehere,especial - Direct discriminationintheprovisionofpublicservices nicities particularlywhiteIrish. even wheretherearewitnessestoitwhoofothereth - descent andreportsshowthatthisdiscriminationoccurs refusal ofentrytolicensedpremisespeopleAfrican of legalaction.Discriminationalsoclearlyoperatesinthe Irish clients,leadingthemtobelievethatthereisnofear policies arecommunicatedeasilyandfrequentlytowhite reports fromwitnessesdemonstratethatthoseinformal tate agentsagainstpeopleofAfricandescent,andseveral and repeated acts of discrimination by landlords and es- ted to iReport.ie in relation to housing reference multiple descent arediscriminatedagainst.Mostreportssubmit- this, thereportsshowhowfrequentlypeopleofAfrican ered aserviceundertheEqualStatusActs,butdespite The provisionofrentedaccommodationisalsoconsid- sault ofcustomers,whicharemoredifficulttoaddress. to thedisproportionatesurveillanceandinsomecasesas- fusal ofservice,whichisillegalifonthegrounds‘race’, their consumersorclients.Incidentsrangefromthere- crimination againstpeopleofAfricandescentwhoare and servicebypublicbodies all appearinreportsondis- Private housing,serviceinshops,restaurantsandbars, and services nation bothinemploymentandtheprovisionofgoods islation inIrelandondiscriminationprohibitsdiscrimi- ing qualityoflife,inbothprivateandpublicsectors.Leg- Discrimination isreportedhereinarangeofareasaffect- Discrimination the basisoftheirracialisedidentityorethnicity. properly address the victimisation of people in Ireland on a singlestepinrangeofactionsthatneedtobetaken nors, suggeststhat the introduction of hatecrimelaws is from pressingchargesbecausetheperpetratorsweremi- case, anattempttodissuadeavictimofbrutalassault willingness ofvictimstocorroborateaccounts,andinone is clearlymotivatedbyracism,despitethepresenceand prosecute inincidentsofharassmentandviolencewhich on thepartofAnGardaSíochánatoinvestigateand securing justiceforvictimsofAfrophobicracism.Failure challenges, however,forcreatinganeffectiveprocess and victimsthatwhichisunacceptable.Therearefurther Acts 2000–2012. 40 Employment Equality Acts 1998–2011 and the Equal Status EmploymentEquality Acts1998–2011andtheEqual Status 40 . harassment by both customers/clients and by colleagues. harassment bybothcustomers/clients andbycolleagues. scent are,therefore,particularlyvulnerabletoworkplace to acquirenewemploymenteasily.PeopleofAfricande - racialised identitywillmakeitmoredifficultforthem this isparticularlythecasewhentheyperceivethattheir that theiremploymentwouldbeatriskasaresult,and ever are unlikely to report harassment if they perceive ty, HealthandWelfareatWorkAct2005.Employeeshow - safety oftheiremployeesintheworkplaceunderSafe - 1998-2011 andalsohaveadutytoensurethehealth in the workplaceunder Employment Equality Acts are obligedtoprotectemployeesfromracistharassment ents duringtheirnormalworkingactivities.Employers they maybevulnerabletoabusefromcustomersandcli- ately employedinthesecurityandhealthsectors,where employees. PeopleofAfricandescentaredisproportion- making workpaysignificantlylessinrealtermsforthose creased workloads,aswell as resulting health problems, in redundancy,lackofpromotionopportunitiesand- ployment inIreland.Inseveralreports,thishadresulted of Africandescenttoparticipatefullyandequallyinem- and customersisalsoimpacting on the ability of people Discrimination intheworkplacebyemployers,colleagues reduce isolationandvulnerability. lations withinthoselocalcommunitieswhichinturnwill has animportantimmediateeffectinbuildingstrongre- discrimination andviolence in future, but moreover it building acohesivesocietywhichwillnottolerateracist in schoolswithlocalcommunitiesisanimportantstepto that process.Addressingracistattitudesandbehaviours and properlysupportingpupils,teachersparentsin the risksofescalation,stemmingpersistentharassment produce effectiveresponsestoracistbullying,identifying Anti-racist workalsoneedstobedonewithinschools with staffoftenunawareofwhatprocedurestofollow. organisational responsestoracistincidentsandabuse, also exposestheslownessandineffectivenessofmany areas highlighted by the United Nations Programme of areas highlighted bytheUnitedNations Programmeof This reportpointsclearlyto theneedforactionin6key Meeting thechallengeto address Afrophobia which have beenlong-lasting African women inIreland local discourses around have produced particular Referendum oncitizenship the 2004 Constitutional data thatthedebates around It isclear from theiReport.ie Decade forPeopleofAfricanDescent. activities fortheimplementationofInternational their isolation. isolation. their to individualsandthewider Irishsocietyasaresultof agenda bothrequireaseriousassessmentoftheserisks Strong futuresocial cohesion anda truly inclusive withurgency. cern, andpointtoaneedaddressthesegroundsforsocial dren aresubjecttosuchrisksmustbeofparticularcon - health problemsandisolation.Thattheytheirchil - much greaterrisksofharassment,violenceandresulting deprived oftheirdignityandprivacyexposed to en of African descent aresubject to greater surveillance, citizens asillegitimateparticipantsinIrishsociety.Wom - and continuetoinfluencetheperceptionofAfrican-Irish African womeninIrelandwhichhavebeenlong-lasting ship haveproducedparticularlocaldiscoursesaround around the2004ConstitutionalReferendumoncitizen- agenda, itisclearfromtheiReport.iedatathatdebates In relationtogenderinparticular,asafocusoftheUN withtheirethnicity. litical orotheropinion,socialorigin,property,birth,and arises fromtheintersectionofsex,language,religion,po- tiple oraggravateddiscriminationandviolencewhich way inwhichpeopleofAfricandescentexperiencemul- Finally, thereissignificantworktobedoneaddressthe to addressdiscriminationpractices. plication ofexistinglegislationandmediationprocesses reports suggeststhatthisarisesoutofthefailureap- vices, andtosecurehousingconditions,further,our secure accesstoworkplaceremedies,qualityhealthser- and Housing(A/RES/69/16:23-25)pointstoaneed dence fromiReport.ieintheareasofEmployment,Health rect andindirectdiscrimination(A/RES/69/16:22b).Evi- provide effectivetrainingandsensitizationtocombatdi- of Africandescentinschoolsbypeersorteachers,and must confront discriminationandexclusionofchildren Evidence intheareaofEducationsuggeststhatstate of ideasbasedonracialsuperiorityorhatred(17e). (17f) andcombatingincitementtohatredthespread human rightsviolationsincludingthosebystateofficials protection andremedies(17d),preventingpunishing ing (17c),ensuringaccesstojusticeincludingeffective forcement officialswhoactonthebasisofracialprofil- 17a, 17h),applyingappropriatesanctionsagainstlawen- right tothepresumptionofinnocence(A/RES/69/16: whichsupportprofilingandunderminethe racial profilingandtheeliminationofinstitutionalised Challenges intheareaofJusticeincludeaneedtoaddress available fromundocs.org/A/RES/69/16. ade forPeopleof African Descent,A/RES/69/16(18 November2014), gramme ofactivitiesfortheimplementation oftheInternationalDec- 41 United Nations General Assemblyresolution69/16, 41

Pro- 3. 2. 1. 2013-2014 ment of reporting systems withinpublicbodies inIreland. develop- the aid to analysed is data This incidents. future factors as which might persuade well victims or witnesses as to report reporting not for given reasons of analysis the was revised from January 2015. The new question facilitates survey iReport.ie the bodies, other and Síochána Garda An to reporting of patterns on data bettercapture to order In other organisations toreporting police and Survey questions on Appendix 1 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. New questions from 2015 January

al) Police),option- (thisis Number wereCrime youa given wasincident the If reported toGarda(The An Síochana What was theirresponse? (The Police) orany other organisation orauthority? Síochana Garda An to reported been incident the Has authority? or organisation another to incident the report you Did this? was why Please select asmany asapply. police, the to this report didn’t you If optional) is (this Number Síochana Crime a Gardagiven you werePolice), (The An to reported was incident the If dent? (tick allthatapply): inci- this report to you encouraged have would What What was theresponse of thepolice? (The Police) orany other organisation orauthority? Síochana Garda An to reported been incident the Has a. a. If other, please specify here: If other, please specify here:

43 Afrophobia in Ireland | ENAR Ireland Afrophobia in Ireland This timely and essential report by Dr Lucy Michael of Ulster University interrogates the nature and extent of racism against people of African descent in Ireland. It is the first of a series of thematic reports published by ENAR Ireland using data from the iReport.ie racist incident reporting system. Neighbourhood harassment, violence, abuse and discrimination in the public and private sectors are each explored to help understand the key challenges today for Irish government and society. About iReport.ie “iReport.ie is very well done. It gives a thorough insight into the current situation and challenges and on top of that it is well written and accessible. I look forward to see how the project develops further and seeing its impact.” Morten Kjaerum, Director, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) European Network Against Racism Ireland 37 Dame Street Dublin 2

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