When the coronavirus pandemic shuttered Dublin, gangs of youths roved deserted streets and discovered a new, brutal form of entertainment: attacking food delivery riders.
They threw rocks and bottles and sticks and if they succeeded in knocking over the rider sometimes followed up with fists and knives and seized the bicycle as a trophy.
Assaults ranged from opportunistic and spontaneous to planned ambushes in which gangs asked for meals to be delivered to isolated areas and lay in wait. That the victims were usually foreigners, and that their fate could be recorded and shared on social media, appeared to add to the appeal.
Ireland’s capital is no longer in lockdown but the grisly sport continues. “Some guys attacked me four days ago,” Mohammed, a 23-year-old Afghan Deliveroo courier who did not want to use his last name, said. “I think they were drunk. They threw bottles, everything.” That was in Phibsborough, north Dublin. Six days before that attack he had been subject to a fusillade in the city centre.
A Bolivian courier, who also requested anonymity, said that while riding through an inner city area known as East Wall in July a heavy bottle filled with water hit him on the neck. “I got dizzy and vomited and was coughing up blood.” He visited two clinics and is still recovering. “I’m still not quite the same.”
Riders gathered in central Dublin in July to protest against the insecurity and their working conditions and pay.
At a bicycle rental and repair shop called Seven Bikes, which acts as a hub for delivery riders, the latest incidents – such as a female rider hit with a bottle of urine – were shared and parsed this week for insight into where the next attack may occur.
“Almost every day someone is attacked or robbed,” said Jean Fernando Schroeder, the owner. “Some gangs don’t care about getting the bike, they just want to attack. Maybe it’s racism – they see another person that is not from here and maybe don’t like that.”
Riders post alerts on WhatsApp groups and wear multiple layers of clothing, including motorcycle jackets, for protection. Some reportedly carry screwdrivers for defence. Last year, a jury cleared George Gonzaga Bento of any offence in relation to a fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy, Josh Dunne. The Brazilian said he had used a utility knife to defend himself when set upon by a group of youths.
Many of Ireland’s estimated 3,000 delivery riders are South Americans, especially Brazilians, who came to Ireland to study English and are allowed to work 20 hours a week.
Not all attacks on foreigners get the same attention. Assaults on tourists from the US, Britain and other countries recently dominated headlines and embarrassed the government. The US embassy advised visitors to avoid walking alone and to keep a “low profile”. The police force, Garda Síochána, announced the deployment of extra patrols and specialist units in central Dublin.
Assaults on delivery riders pre-date Covid and appeared to escalate during the pandemic. “Teenagers became emboldened to target delivery riders as a soft target,” said Fiachra Ó Luain, who co-founded the English Language Students’ Union of Ireland and works with delivery riders. “It can be gratuitous – some record the attacks for TikTok.”
Decades of neglect have left inner-city communities in Dublin alienated from a shadow economy based on apps and immigrant labour, said Ó Luain. “The shared space of the city is being fought over.”
Assaults in public places in Dublin dipped during the pandemic, when bars and clubs were shut, and have since returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 2,353 assaults in the first seven months of this year, compared with 2,535 for the same period in 2019, according to police figures. There were no statistics for attacks on delivery riders but every complaint to police was investigated professionally, said a Garda spokesperson.
Riders interviewed for this article said police often did not take bike theft and other incidents seriously and would quiz victims about their legal status. “Just a few cases of mistreatment can spread like wildfire and it’s hard to correct first impressions. Trust suffers,” said Ó Luain.
Brazil’s ambassador to Ireland, Marcel Biato, said there was no evidence of systemic discrimination but that many riders believed the police were “overwhelmed” and that attackers aged under 18 had impunity. “There is a need for more street patrolling. Security has become more in-your-face but I would not say at this stage that Brazilians are not coming because of the security.”
Deliveroo said its security app, Flare, let riders flag for emergency support and to report road risks. “We are working with riders to understand the issues they face in the city centre and have made representations to the Garda about working together to find solutions,” it said in a statement.
Many riders complained of poor pay and conditions. Those who are subcontracted and have no direct link with the app companies can earn as little as €1 (86p) a delivery. They continue to do the work and take the risks for want of alternatives, said Mohammad. He pointed to a darkening sky. “Night-time, not good.”
