Three men, asylum seekers from Afghanistan, were attacked yesterday afternoon in Brittas as they travelled from their accommodation at Citywest to Kilbride Camp. After stopping for petrol they were closely followed by two men on motorbikes. They stopped, as they thought there might be a misunderstanding, but were then attacked by the two men and by ten to twelve other men who emerged from two other vehicles. Two women who witnessed the attack shouted at the attackers and raised the alarm. The three Afghan men were taken to Tallaght University Hospital where they were treated for their injuries before being released.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said “Yesterday there was a vicious attack on three young men. This attack was unprovoked and appears to have been planned with more than a dozen attackers from two motorbikes, a car and a van.
“The attack on these asylum seekers from Afghanistan forms part of a growing pattern of premeditated racist, anit-immigrant attacks. The activities of racist and far right groups are regarded with disgust by most people and the groups behind these attacks must be faced down.
“The sharp increase in anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric from the Minister for Justice and others in Government are contributing to an increasingly hostile environment for asylum seekers and immigrants. The cynical attempts to divert blame for Government failures onto some of the most vulnerable in our society have serious and potentially deadly consequences for which Government Ministers using anti-immigrant rhetoric hold responsibility”.
“Trade unions, anti-racism groups and civil society must continue to mobilise against the far right and the Government must stop its dangerous scapegoating of immigrants and asylum seekers before there are more attacks and deaths”.