A Muslim schoolboy in Galway, Ireland, was filmed being beaten and slapped by a group of students in an attack now under investigation as a potential hate crime, causing shock within the local Bangladeshi community from which the victim came.
A video showing 13-year-old Irfan Uddin Gazi from Tuam, County Galway, being struck multiple times in the face went viral on 9 November.
The incident allegedly occurred on 16 October, but the footage only gained mainstream attention after spreading online over the weekend.
The video shows Gazi cornered in an alleyway, begging his two older attackers to stop hitting him. The clip ends after he is struck in the jaw one final time and collapses to the ground clutching his face in pain.
The assault took place on Shop Street in Tuam, County Galway.
Reaction from the Bangladeshi community
Irfan and his family are members of the small Bangladeshi community in Galway. Many locals expressed shock and sadness online, noting that the boy regularly participates in Qur’an competitions.
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“The son of respected brother Gias Uddin Gazi, living in Tuam town of Galway county, our community’s beloved child, our dear nephew, and a regular participant of the DWS Qur’an competition, Irfan Uddin Gazi, was subjected to a cruel and heartbreaking physical attack by racist classmates at his school,” a community member wrote on Facebook.
Gazi was later taken to hospital for treatment, having sustained significant bruising and damage to his jaw.
His father, Gias Uddin Gazi, told Irish outlet The Journal that the “violent” attack left the family feeling unsafe. He said: “We want to feel safe and Ireland has been great for us, but I just want my son and all children to be able to safely go to and from school.”
He added that his son has since returned to lessons and that the school “is acting on this” and providing counselling.
5Pillars contacted both the Gardaí (Irish police) and the school for comment but received no response.
Authorities respond
A meeting was held in Tuam last week to discuss the impact of the attack on the local Bangladeshi community, who said they felt targeted for their race and religion as Irish-Bengalis.
Councillors from Galway, Fine Gael TDs Pete Roche and Hildegarde Naughton, as well as other local officials, Gardaí, and around 80 members of the wider Bangladeshi community, including the Gazi family, attended the event.
Roche, who organised the meeting, described the family as “absolutely brilliant people.”
A Garda spokesperson said the two teenage boys involved in the attack were “referred to the Youth Diversion Programme as a result” and that “investigations are ongoing.”
Under Ireland’s Children Act 2001, young offenders brought before An Garda Síochána must be considered for the diversion programme. Participants are appointed a Juvenile Liaison Officer and placed on an action plan to prevent further offences.
It remains unclear whether the attack was racially or Islamically motivated, though many online have suggested so.
In recent months, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant incidents in Ireland have surged. Just last month, around 1,000 protesters clashed with police in Dublin during an anti-immigrant demonstration following an alleged “immigrant attack” on a young girl.
