The violence at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin over the past couple of days will do nothing for the young victim of sexual assault. The man who has been arrested for it is in custody and wasn’t even living in Citywest Hotel when he was arrested.
People are absolutely right to be angry at the perpetrator and the state which failed this young girl so badly. It is horrendous that a vulnerable 10-year-old girl in state care would not be protected. Our thoughts remain with the victim and her family.
That justified anger is being abused by those who want to cause violence and spread hate and division against other vulnerable people in our community. The far right are disgustingly seeking to use this horrendous assault to whip up racism. English fascist Tommy Robinson, who supports the murders by British paratroopers on Bloody Sunday, was promoting and egging it on online last night.
The people living in Citywest Hotel are no more responsible for the actions of a former resident than people in a housing estate are for the actions of one of their former neighbours. The children who live in the hotel must have been terrified last night, fearing what would happen if the crowd succeeded in breaking through.
Instead of division and violence, we need to stand together in our community against sexual assault and the repeated failures of children by Tusla and the state.