'We've done nothing wrong' - Mother speaks out following alleged racial attack on young daughter

Earlier this week a 6-year-old girl from Waterford was allegedly attacked by a gang of youths who punched her, hurt her private parts, and shouted hurtful and racist remarks at her while she played in front of her home.

The horrifying incident was alleged to have happened on Monday evening when little Nia was playing outside her home with her friends. Her mother Anupa Achuthan, a nurse, had been outside watching her when she had to go back inside to tend to her 10-month-old baby, Nihan. Her husband was working a night shift at a nursing home at the time.

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"I told Nia that I would go inside for to feed him and I will be back out soon, she was so happy because she was playing with her five friends," said Anupa. 

Just a short time later, Anupa heard very loud banging on the door. When she went outside, she saw Nia looking visibly upset and scared and "crying like I had never seen her before".

Anupa said she could see some swelling and bruising on Nia's right cheek.

"She couldn't talk to me because she was so scared. One of her friends told me that a gang of teenagers, maybe five or six of them, came on their bikes, and hit Nia on her private parts with the bike and five of them punched her on the right cheek."

Anupa said Nia's friends didn't tell her anything about them saying racial comments but said Nia told her later that night.

"I asked her did they say anything to you before attacking her and she said that they used the F word and said go back to India you dirty b***ch. 

"Nia knows that we are from India but she didn't understand what they were saying to her. She doesn't know that it was a racial comment. We have never told her about these things or made her aware that this was even a thing.

"I was so upset, I couldn't protect my child in that moment it happened. I felt helpless."

Anupa said that she was talking to Nia's friends and some of their parents after the incident when she noticed that the gang that hurt Nia had returned to the estate and started to stare and laugh at them. Anupa said they must have known she was Nia's parent and that they were happy Nia was so upset.

"There was only two boys and one girl when I saw them and they looked to be about 12 or 13, that kind of age group.

"I was so upset because they didn't look bothered by the incident at all, and then they left."

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Anupa called one of her friends who lives in the same estate to come over. After going into the house, Anupa was looking out the window when she saw the gang come back.

"They were cycling close to the house and staring in the window. There was another older person with them who looked to be about 17 or 18 and they were all staring in our window...I was so afraid."

Anupa, who received her Irish citizenship last year, called her husband who came straight home. She then called the Gardaí and they were there within a half an hour.

When the Garda came they began asking questions about the incident. When they asked Anupa who was supervising Nia while she was outside, Anupa told them she stepped inside for a moment to feed her baby to which the Garda replied "that's why it happened".

Anupa said she was upset and she said to the guard that Nia should be safe right outside her own house with her friends.

"I would never expect something like this to happen right outside our home."

The Garda then said they couldn't do anything about it right then because they didn't know who was responsible for the attack, but Anupa says she knows that these kids live within her estate and one of Nia's friends also had a similar experience with one of these older kids in the past so she knew where they were living.

She suggested to the Garda that if they could find where they were living and talk to their parents because "after all it is the parents responsibility" but the Garda didn't respond to this. Instead they said that they would begin an investigation and left.

Anupa said she was so afraid after they left that her house would be targeted and that she mentioned this to the Garda but "they didn't take it on board". 

Anupa said she really "lost hope" in the justice system at that moment. 

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That night, six-year old Nia was complaining about pains in her private parts so Anupa brought her to the hospital. Luckily her injuries didn't require an extensive examination and they were told to give her some painkillers for the pain, but she is still complaining of the pain.

"We are so sad, we did nothing wrong. We came here to Ireland 8 years ago, we work hard and pay our taxes. We need a proper solution for this, this is not a matter of just one day," said Anupa.

Following similar racial attacks on Indian men in Clondalkin and Tallaght in recent weeks, the Indian community in Ireland has been rocked. It even prompted the Indian Embassy in Ireland to issue a statement warning Indian citizens to be careful here.

Anupa said she considers Ireland as her second home and wants to be here for a long time. Her daughter Nia goes to St John of God's school in Waterford and is the only Indian girl in the class but has never experienced racism before. 

"The Government has to address these issues, we are minorities who are coming here, who are working hard, paying our taxes and following all of the rules so that we can live a nice life and buy a home.

"This is the time for the Government to speak out and make awareness of what is happening. People have moved to different countries for 100s of years, we are all just humans.

"People think that we are getting handouts from the government and that we don't deserve to be here but it's not true, we are working hard every day and we deserve to have shelter and food for our families just like everyone else."

The Gardaí in Waterford have been contacted for a statement but no response was given by time of publication.