Brazilian assault victim is now afraid of living in Limerick

A BRAZILIAN man who was attacked just metres from his home said he doesn’t feel safe living in Limerick anymore. 

On Saturday, April 13, Roberto Junior Leonardo Goncalves was with his brother on Bloodmill Road, coming home from work when he was attacked and his brother’s scooter was damaged. 

He said a man approached them, asked where they are from and they said “we are from Brazil”. He claims the man came closer to them, pulled out a club and hit Roberto hard. 

Roberto was brought to University Hospital Limerick with non-life-threatening injuries and had to get six stitches on his head. 

Speaking about the impact this attack has had on him, he said “this has completely changed my feelings for Ireland.”

He said he now wants to leave Ireland, but he can’t afford to. 

Roberto came to Ireland on December 28, 2021, and wanted to live here so that he could learn English. 

“I heard that Limerick was very safe, because it was a city in the countryside, that’s why I chose to come to Limerick and not Dublin,” he said. 

He said if he heard of Brazilians making plans to come to Limerick, he would tell them not to come here. 

“After the attack, I just want to go home and see my family, I’m afraid of living here,” he said. 

He added that he came from Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil’s most dangerous cities and nothing like this has ever happened to him before. 

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Roberto told Limerick Live that he doesn’t know if this attack would have happened if was Irish. 

He advises other Brazilians to “be careful when walking down the street at night and don’t stop to talk to anyone you don’t know.”

Following the attack, Roberto is looking for justice and for the Government to take better care of immigrants and he said this is very important. 

In a statement to Limerick Live, a garda spokesperson said that gardaí are investigating the assault, that no arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.