Indian woman brutally beaten and called ‘foreign b****' while celebrating All-Ireland
Sonali Flynn has lived in Ireland since 1999 and never suffered racial abuse or a racist attack. This all changed when Sonali and her friends were out celebrating Kerry's All-Ireland victory in Tralee on July 27.
Sonali was viciously assaulted outside a takeaway and told she was a a 'f***ing foreign b****'. The attack has left Sonali mentally scarred and feeling afraid to leave her home.
She was repeatedly kicked and punched in the face while on the ground. Her hair was pulled and used to drag her along the floor. Sonali also had her head banged against the window of the takeaway.
She had watched the Kerry match at home earlier that day and decided to go out and savour the excitement and watch The Sunday Game.
'A friend of mine said let's go into town and see the excitement and happiness of the community. It was a very natural thing that I would have done on many previous occasions that Kerry won. I was looking forward to the homecoming the next day. I absolutely couldn't do that after what happened,' she said.
The incident happened when Sonali was trying to order food later that evening. She asked a man beside her if he was being served when a woman approached and started shouting, 'What is your problem you f***ing foreign b****'.
Sonali immediately went to leave the premises but the woman followed her and started attacking. The assault continued outside the takeaway for several minutes.
'From nowhere, this woman appeared and said 'what is your problem you f***ing foreign b****'. I got a fright and started walking out. She grabbed me by the hair from behind and shattered my head off the glass,' Sonali said.
"I was on the ground and she was kicking me in the head, she was punching me, she was tearing my head and body around. It was just horrible. All I was doing was calling for help and for people to call the guards,' she added.
I no longer feel safe enough to walk in my own town of Tralee
Sonali she she is still in a state of shock, upset, and traumatised. The days since the attack have been extremely difficult as fear has overtaken her. But she wants to highlight the issue and make people aware.
'I no longer feel safe enough to walk in my own town of Tralee where I have lived all these years. It's completely shocking and unbelievable,' she said.
The incident is further evidence of the kind of random attacks committed against Ireland's Asian community in recent weeks. The flip side of this is that Sonali considers herself more Kerry than Indian.
'I don't consider myself an Indian. I'm part of the Indian community but I consider myself a complete Irish woman. I've lived in Ireland for more years than I've lived in India. Kerry is home to me. I was married here and I have two beautiful children who were born in Tralee. I have long been involved in the community,' she said.
I'm not going to let this one incident make me think anything against my own Irish people
Sonali insists the traumatic attack has not caused her to lose faith in the Irish community, but she is 'extremely worried' for the future considering similar attacks will happen.
'I'm not going to let this one incident make me think anything against my own Irish people, my own county, and my own town of Tralee who are with me,' she said.
'There is a minority of the Irish society which I feel is extremely ignorant and are also spreading negative news through protests. That, in itself, is alluring the ignorance of the minority who believe this country belongs only to them. The whole world is a multicultural world. Skin colour should not be a cause for violence,' Sonali.
Gardaí said its investigations are ongoing.
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