Visitors from abroad are facing a rising level of racist intimidation

Joceli Araujo, a Brazilian, is neither black nor an asylum-seeker but has received racist taunts and abuse since she first came to the State almost 18 months ago. She says her foreign friends working in Dublin also experience abuse.

While it is acknowledged that racism is a problem, asylum-seekers and refugees are not the only group suffering its effects.

Last Sunday, Christian Gebler (29), from Germany, was waiting for a Nitelink bus in Clondalkin when he was attacked by three men who kicked him unconscious. Before the attack, he said later, he told them he could not understand what they were saying to him and that he was German.

In June, David Richardson, a tourist from Britain, was stabbed on Pearse Street, Dublin, as he walked with his wife, who is black, and his mixed-race son. Tourist Victim Support recorded 11 attacks on people on short stays last year, although it is not known if any was racially motivated. While gardai say they do not think the attack on Christian Gebler was racially motivated, and while attacks are carried out against Irish people also, those who visit the State for work, study or pleasure are experiencing intimidation daily.

Joceli says on one occasion she and some Brazilian friends were talking together in the city centre when an Irish man approached and asked them what they were doing in Ireland. He said there were "too many foreigners" and they should go back home. When she tried to enter a nightclub with two Brazilian men, the bouncer at the door said they could not enter because of the dark complexions of her companions.

Once, while Joceli stood talking to a Chinese man who had just moved into her apartment block, an Irish man shouted abuse at them. When the Chinese man asked what he had said, Joceli told him she did not know. "I couldn't tell him. He had just arrived here."

The abuse is not always specifically racist and people can sometimes be rude just because of the language barrier. "But people in Dublin sometimes can't understand what people from other parts of Ireland say. Why do I have to understand?" she says.

Pat Guerin, an anti-racism campaigner, says the negative attitude towards asylum-seekers and refugees has created a climate of racism in the State. "It is worrying, with the general level of phobia on the increase. It's not an easy time to be a student, a tourist or an asylum-seeker in Ireland," he says.

People like Joceli and Christian, who are here to work on long stays, tend to suffer more intimidation than tourists because they are immersed in Irish life. Aside from the many thousands of EU citizens working here, more than 8,000 people from outside the EU have been issued work visas. The Government has said more visas will need to be issued to combat labour shortages.

Racism seems to be affecting, more and more, the lives of the almost 200,000 students who come here each year to learn English on shorter stays.

Jaci Joyce, of Marketing English in Ireland and the Recognised English-Language Schools' Association, the governing body for most English-language schools, says racism is becoming a major concern. "The problem has grown significantly. There has been a growth in verbal abuse in the city." Attacks on students, such as one on an Italian student in Fairview Park, Dublin, last summer, which has left him in a vegetable state, are very rare, she says. However, she notes examples of serious intimidation, such as one case last year where a student was intimidated by a gang on a train to Killiney and then followed when he got off.

But Ms Joyce adds that the image of the State among those who wish to visit is one largely free from violence. Verbal abuse has not yet had an effect on people wanting to travel here. "I don't think it is in any way big enough to have an effect. If it doesn't increase and if we can get a handle on it, then there will be no effect," she says.

Language students on short stays are generally very positive about their time here and those who do receive taunts do not take them seriously.

Lena Condon, an English teacher in a city centre language school, says some of her pupils have told her they have been called names on the bus such as "refugee".

Language students who stay for more than a few weeks tend to see another side to Irish life. "I know Irish people are polite, but when they get drunk. . .," says Fernando Segovia, a student from Paraguay who has been in Ireland since January. He says he is nervous when he goes out at night, particularly when he takes the Nitelink bus. "I look Spanish and people say bad words to me," he says. He has also had children throw things at him on the street and taunt him.

Third-level students also experience problems. A 1998 report by the Irish Council for International Students showed that three-quarters of a group of international students interviewed from three universities said they had experienced some form of discrimination. General verbal abuse and staring accounted for over 40 per cent of the discrimination and students said this occurred in everyday situations.

Rory McDaid, equality officer in the Union of Students in Ireland, says racism is a problem for some students who have distinct cultural habits, such as Muslim students, and those who appear different. However, he also says students from the US and other parts of Europe can receive verbal abuse because of different mannerisms, such as being more outspoken or loud.

USI is to campaign in colleges next year to raise awareness about intimidation and racism towards foreign students. But Mr McDaid believes there should be a Government-led initiative to combat discrimination. Given the increase in the numbers coming to the State, such a campaign is long overdue, he says.