‘We need to open up people’s minds’

Having moved from Sudan 15 years ago and settled in New Ross, El Rashid Mohamed (45) is a familiar face to many as he drives for Bus Eireann on their busy route to Dublin airport. In 2008, he became a full Irish citizen and he, his wife and his two children have become part of the community in New Ross.

While he was previously worked as an accountant, he began working for Bus Eireann a couple of years ago and has come across both casual and overt racism in his role.

‘It has happened quite a few times,’ he explains. ‘A lot of the time, people have been drinking and they don’t understand. They’ll say something like “go back to Pakistan”. I would say that 80% of people are decent people, but in some ways I would agree that there is a problem. We need to change the mentality. It’s not really the younger generation either. It is more the older people, maybe because they are not experienced with meeting different ethnic groups. Maybe we just need to open people’s minds up a little bit and get a little stronger on the laws.’

In perhaps what is a sad indictment of the problem. El Rashid says that he would not be inclined to report incidents of casual racism that which he encounters when working with the general public. ‘Probably not, I think you get more experienced at dealing with a situation,’ he said.

Towards the end of last year, another bus driver, Bernadette Doyle, spoke out of the abuse she suffers on a regular basis as a result of her English accent, something which has even culminated in her being physically attacked.