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Kids hurl abuse at Ireland-born doctor in ‘broken Indian accent’, impersonate Simpsons’ Apu
Dr Taimoor Salman was born in Ireland, where he attended primary school before moving to the UK and later to Saudi Arabia.
An Irish-born doctor was left shocked after a group of kids, including one as young as 10-year-old, hurled racist remarks at him. According to reports, the group of children shouted abusive remarks towards the Pakistani-origin doctor in “broken Indian accent.” They went on to impersonate Apu, an Indian immigrant proprietor in the popular American animated series The Simpsons.
The Irish Mirror reported that Dr Taimoor Salman was on his way home from work when he stopped at a shopping centre to pick up groceries. When he stepped into his car, a young boy allegedly hurled a slur at him.
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"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," Salman said.
The doctor continued, “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.”
“Horrible pack mentality”
Recalling his experience, he 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.”
Did the doctor face racism as a kid?
Salman, who was born in Ireland, attended primary school there before relocating to the UK and later to Saudi Arabia with his family. He is currently working with Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. He said he never faced racism as a kid. His parents were born in Pakistan.
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"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,” he said, adding, “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." 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."
