>>510883448A UNIFIED 200 marched through the main thoroughfare in Limerick City today (Sunday April 21) to hit home one simple message – racism and racist attacks have no place on Shannonside.
Demonstrators gathered under an uncharacteristically warm Limerick sun in response to a number of seemingly racially-motivated attacks on Brazilian men in the city in recent days.
On Saturday April 13, Roberto Leonardo Gonçalves Jnr and his brother Leonardo, from Rio Janeiro, were approached by a man who asked them where they are from. When they responded “we are from Brazil”, the man produced a bat and attacked them.
The attack left 33-year-old Roberto with six stitches and Leonardo’s e-scooter broken.
The same weekend, two other Brazilian men, Frederico de Lima Costa (34) and Mateus Gonzalez Serafim (21), were filmed while being assaulted by a man – believed to be unconnected to Roberto’s attacker – on Cruises Street and Little Catherine Street in the city. The video, captioned “#prank”, was circulated widely online.
In a show of solidarity against the violent attacks, up to 200 people turned out on Bedford Row in Limerick City – from every corner of the city and the world, from Deliveroo drivers to local councillors – chanting “hey hey, ho ho, xenophobia has to go”.
https://www.limerickpost.ie/2024/04/21/200-strong-demonstration-against-recent-attacks-on-brazilian-migrants-in-limerick/