WITH seven people now in custody in connection with Sunday’s vicious racist rampage in Ypsonas, shocking details of the incident yesterday begin to emerge, including the fact that more people had been attacked than initially thought.
Philip Dalby was one of the four victims who reported being attacked: “I think they were cowards,” he told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “They were attacking people who could not fight back with sticks and bars. They were smashing people’s cars and houses. When I fought back they all ran away,” the 48-year-old Briton said.
“These things don’t scare me, but I hate seeing people getting bullied like that. Cypriots living in the area were watching the incident and did nothing. There were people looking through garden walls and fences who did nothing to stop it. I had to do something,” he said.
Dalby was targeted by the gang of approximately 30 youths, after he intervened to stop them as they were attacking two Sri Lankan men passing through the street. “As I went into a shop I saw a group of young people attacking a car. First I thought they were playing with a friend. As I came out I saw the same group attacking two Sri Lankan men on a scooter. They were hitting them with sticks and metal bars on the head and calling them names. They surrounded the scooter and wouldn’t let them pass through.
“I told them to stop and they started calling me names. They asked where I’m from and I said Polemidia, which is where I grew up. They started punching me and hitting me with metal bars. There were about 30 of them. Two of my friends came to help me, and they started hitting my friends with the metal bars.”
According to eye-witness descriptions of the gang, their ages ranged from 14 to 28. The two Sri Lankan men Dalby saw getting attacked managed to flee, but did not report their assault to police.
As Dalby and his friends fought back, the gang fled to his house, where they caused considerable damage to his car, parked outside. “We fought back and managed to chase them off, but there were a lot of them so I got very hurt. I have injuries to the legs, arms, chest and head. They then went to my house and started throwing bricks at the house and at my car, which caused considerable damage to my car,” he explained.
Dalby has been living in Ypsonas for the last 18 months, and confirmed that he has never before felt targeted or unwanted. “I have never seen anything like this in Ypsonas before. It was the first time. People here are lovely, nice people. There are different nationalities living here: Bulgarians, Romanians. My neighbours are Cypriot and they are fantastic and friendly.”
Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou yesterday released a statement saying the Council of Ministers expressed the need for concerted action against racism in Cyprus.
“The government expresses its unreserved and strong condemnation of the racist attack at Ypsonas. Such phenomena and behaviour are dangerous and are a stigma and shame for our country and society. Let’s not forget that we are living in a multicultural country, which over the last years has developed from an immigration exit point to an immigration entry point and thousands of foreigners live and work here,” the statement read.
Stephanou said the Council of Ministers has authorised the Ministry of Education to strengthen the promotion of a culture of respect, social acceptance and humanism through education.
