Doctor Faces Racism In Ireland, Says Children Mocked Him In "Broken Indian Accent"

An Irish-born doctor of Pakistani origin was racially abused by a group of children, including one as young as 10 years old, outside a shopping complex last week. According to The Irish Independent, Dr Taimoor Salman, a medical registrar at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, claimed that a group of children shouted abusive remarks towards him in a "broken Indian accent". He also alleged that the children impersonated Apu, an Indian immigrant proprietor in the popular American series 'The Simpsons'. 

According to the outlet, the incident occurred when Dr Salman was leaving Blackcastle Shopping Centre after 9 pm last Thursday. As he stepped into his car, a young boy cycled in front of him and allegedly shouted "Mr Curry Man".

"I said he was being very rude and as I reversed an older boy, a young teen, came up and asked me if I had said something so I told him that his friend had been rude," Dr Salman said. "The older boy told me to shut up and then started doing impersonations of Apu, the Indian shopkeeper in The Simpsons. I just left. I didn't say anything more as they were children," he continued. 

Recalling his experience, Dr Salman said, "I was stunned and upset. I have seen racial abuse and throw away remarks first hand to me and my colleagues at the hospital but I would never expect this from children who are generally very accepting of other nationalities. There seems to be a horrible pack mentality and this incident was insidious."

According to The Irish Independent, Dr Salman was born in Ireland, and his parents were born in Pakistan. His father trained and practised as a surgeon and worked in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan before moving the family to work in the UK and Saudi Arabia.

"I lived in Navan and went to primary school here and have nothing but good memories of the town as a child. I never experienced any racism here. That's part of the reason I came back to live here with my wife and young daughter in 2017 and after I began working in the hospital in Drogheda," Dr Salman said. 

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However, he now believes that the locality has recently become too dangerous. "This wave of hatred to people of colour is quite recent and increasingly more open and brash. I've been back in Ireland for 15 years. In 2017, it was a peaceful and safe place and I could walk anywhere at any time without fear. Now it is too unsafe and I would only go to crowded places," the doctor said. 

"There is no invasion in this country. This is everyone's home and everyone has to be respectful to everyone else. Racism is ugly and it shouldn't be accepted or tolerated," he added.