A WOMAN who was racially abused before being pushed into a Dublin canal has spoken out about her ordeal, and thanked people for the support she has received.
Xueden (Shelley) Xiong has lived in Ireland for 14 years, and was subjected to horrific racially motivated attack over the weekend when she was surrounded, abused and thrown into the river by teenage thugs.
A video of the incident was posted to video sharing platform TikTok, and quickly went viral-- but not for the reason those who took the video might expect.
Instead, it sparked a wave of fury, outrage and support for Ms Xiong- and a campaign has been launched to identify those in the video.
Ma Xiong has spoken out about her ordeal, which she admitted left her too angry and shaken to sleep that night, but said the huge support she received from others in Ireland who were appalled at the video left her 'moved'.
Ms Xiang appeared on RTÉ's Six One news yesterday evening where she said she was approached by three groups as she walked along the Royal Dublin canal.
Investigation after woman pushed into canal in alleged racial attack | Read more: https://t.co/drniF8HlHl pic.twitter.com/mqlm5mx8jG
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 16, 2020
"There was one who started insulting me verbally and then they started to shout-- 'Chinese noodles', 'fried noodles'-- I was quite angry."
"Friday night I couldn't sleep.
"It just goes on and on in my mind. I went into the water-- how could these people do that?"
This is not the first time Ms Xiong has been subjected to racist abuse since she moved to Ireland 14 years ago, and over the weekend admitted she fears her 10-year-old son may receive the same treatment.
"That's why I asked them to stop," Ms Xiong told RTÉ News yesterday. "Clearly, for me, it's racism."
However she also thanked the any people who have stood by her since the video gained traction online.
"I feel moved by people's response, really," she said.
"I feel angry, but I also feel very moved the way people gave me support."
A group of Irish celebrities have started a campaign to identify the thugs who pushed Ms Xiong into the river, with singer Gavin James sharing the video with the caption "The f*** is this s***? Who are these lads? Please let's find the scum who did this."
The fuck is this shit? Who are these lads ?
Please let’s find the scum who did this. https://t.co/iviSBnsncS— Gavin James (@gavinjames) August 15, 2020
Gardaí are continuing to investigate the assault, which is being treated as a racially motivated attack.
Anyone with information, particularly any eye witnesses or those who may have video footage of the assault, is urged to contact Gardaí.
