Mayor fears for the safety of her child af ter abuse by far-right mob
LORD Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu has admitted that racist abuse has left her worried about the safety of her child.
The Dublin woman, who was born to Chinese parents, was verbally attacked by a group of far-right protesters outside the Mansion House on Dawson Street on Thursday morning.
The Lord Mayor said that a planned protest of just four people was ‘hijacked’ by Ireland’s far-right movement. At one point, there were up to 30 people gathered.
One member of the group attempted to shake her hand, which Ms Chu refused to do due to current Covid-19 restrictions. The group then questioned why she was wearing a face covering during the height of the pandemic. One member of the group reportedly said: ‘Hazel Chu, you’re going to turn into a shapeshifting dragon some day and we’re going to catch it on camera.’
Speaking to Newstalk, Ms Chu said she was aware far-right groups were planning to target the Mansion House and that gardaí were already on the scene. While she did not feel unsafe, the situation made her deeply uncomfortable. ‘I didn’t feel like I was at risk or at danger. Gardaí were also here and they made an arrest. I didn’t feel unsafe.
‘When there are people out there that I know are specifically against me not for any particular reason than who I am, I worry for my child.
‘When there have been people outside your home and you’re bringing your child to the car or going outside for a walk and you’re looking over your shoulder, it is not a very comfortable feeling.’
She added that the three-year-old was at crèche at the time.
Following news of the incident, social media was flooded with support for her.
Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said it was ‘utterly unacceptable that such intimidation is being targeted at our Lord Mayor’. Aodhán Ó Ríordáin of the Labour Party, meanwhile, pledged ‘total solidarity’ while Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said Irish people must stand up to racism. Gardaí said that a woman in her 40s was arrested for ‘persistent lack of compliance with Public Health Regulations and directions from gardaí’. The Immigrant Council of Ireland said the treatment of Ms Chu was indicative of the racist abuse migrants and people of colour in Ireland experienced daily.
‘Such intimidation is utterly unacceptable’