Racial abuse is a term a six-year-old girl doesn't understand, but she knows how hurtful it is. When Naveen K S, a healthcare assistant in Ireland, tells Onmanorama what his six-year-old went through while playing with her friends in the front yard, she chips in with details. Naveen pauses and listens to her. He pays attention and tells her, 'It's okay'.

Malayali couple—Naveen and Anupa Achuthan—who live in Waterford city in Ireland, do their best to make everything seem normal. They take their work shifts, try to cheer up their daughter, and all the while, they follow up with the police on the investigation.

Naveen was on night duty when he received a panicked call from his wife on Monday. Their daughter had come running to Anupa in tears. She wasn't even able to speak. Anupa was startled. A few moments ago, she had seen her daughter happily playing with three friends in the neighbourhood. It was a play date. They had a good time in the backyard, and then they wanted to do skateboarding and cycling. Anupa watched them from the doorstep when her younger one —  10-month-old son — started crying. She went inside. Her daughter was with four of her best friends outside, who included Irish natives and Malayali kids.

"It was one of the Irish girls who told Anupa what happened. A group of four boys and one girl came on a cycle. They ran the cycle towards our daughter. She was punched in the face. They grabbed her neck and said something like 'Dirty Indian, Go back'. The children were really scared," said Naveen, who hails from Vechoor, Vaikom. Naveen got off duty and rushed home. The guards were alerted, who came to advise them to monitor the children while they played. Initially, they didn't do much. We even showed them the boys who attacked her. Even after hurting our daughter, they roamed around the house and came to our doorstep," said Naveen. "We hoped the cops would at least talk to their parents, that didn't happen," he said.

Naveen and Anupa came to Ireland seven years ago. Anupa hails from Kaduthuruthy and is employed as a nurse in the University Hospital Waterford. She has acquired Irish citizenship. They bought a home in Waterford in 2025. "We have been living here happily for six years. It is the first time we have experienced an incident like this. Our daughter complains of pain in her private parts. She sustained a swelling on her right cheek. Last night, she woke up in fear and started saying, 'Bad boys are coming. We try to keep her calm," said Naveen.

The couple was told that a case has been registered, but the officer who recorded the case is on leave. In response to Onmanorama's request for comment, the Irish National Police and Security Service, Gardaí, said it 'responded to a report of an alleged assault in the Kilbarry area of Waterford city on the evening of Monday and that investigations are ongoing'. When asked if a case had been registered, Ciara Ahern, Deputy Gardai Press Officer, said it was private information. The police also did not divulge information on the nature of injuries sustained by the six-year-old girl.

The attack has rattled the Malayali community. "We have been living here for about 20 years. Incidents like these are really shocking. We are taking it up with the police and the ministry concerned. There should be an environment of peaceful co-existence," said Rajan Devasia, an office-bearer of a Malayali cultural association in Ireland. Devasia, a native of Changanassery, recently retired from health service and is settled in Ireland.

This is the third incident of racial assault on an Indian in the past two weeks in Ireland. A gang of six teenagers roughed up an Indian data scientist Santosh Yadav while he walked home after having dinner with a friend in Dublin on July 27. Two passengers recently attacked an Indian taxi driver, leaving him with physical injuries.

Naveen said that they would proceed with the case. "We can't let it go. Our children were born here. We want to live peacefully. This shouldn't happen to anyone else," he said.