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Fiona Ryan, 33, her fiancé Jonathan Mathis, 32, and their son, 1, were hit with racist abuse after appearing in a Lidl advert (Picture: Lidl)
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A mixed-race
couple who appeared in a Lidl advert have fled Ireland after a death threat was
made against them and their one-year-old child.
The Lidl
campaign, which began appearing in early September, was criticised on Twitter
by an anti-immigration activist for showing a ‘multicultural version’ of an
Irish family.
Former
journalist Gemma O’Doherty wrote: ‘German dump @lidl_ireland gaslighting the
Irish people with their multicultural version of ‘The Ryans’.
Kidding
no-one! Resist the Great Replacement wherever you can by giving this kip a wide
berth. #ShopIrish #BuyIrish.’
A number of
people then inundated the family with racist and offensive comments which said
white people were being ‘replaced’, claimed the ad promoted ‘race/ancestor
betrayal’ and compared the ‘IQ of central Africans [with] the IQ of mentally
disabled’.
Others used
the n-word and called for a boycott of Lidl. After the couple reported it to
Garda, they were allegedly told it was a civil matter.
But after
taking advice from the European Network Against Racism Ireland (Enar), they
filed a report and have had a meeting with an investigating officer.
Ms Ryan told
RTE she was shocked by the ‘harrowing’ comments they’d received online, which
made her break down in tears and fear for her young son’s safety. She said: ‘I
was so shaken I broke down in tears.
It was the
last straw and, yes, we decided we really need to lay low, to leave.
‘We booked
flights. We just thought, could they actually find us if we stay where we are?’
She continued:
‘When I read through them all I kind of feared for my safety, for my son’s
safety straightaway.
‘It was
pretty harrowing to have to read through all that and I don’t think anybody
should be subjected to that kind of online abuse.’
Mr Mathis,
who grew up in Liverpool and the Cotswolds, said: ‘I got so upset and angry at
the same time. These people are looking at my child and saying all this hurtful
stuff. He’s a completely innocent child.’
He added
that racist abuse had been ‘a theme throughout my life’, saying: ‘These people
don’t care, they are filled with hate and ignorance.’
The couple
are now advocating for tougher regulation of social media platforms. After the
family was targeted online, Lidl released a statement that read: ‘After
offensive and racist tweets from Gemma O’Doherty we have decided to block and
report her to Twitter.
‘We are
proud of our multicultural & diverse team and our customers. We are proud
to work with, and serve, each and every one of them.
Everyone is
welcome in our store. ‘We are contacting the Ryan family regarding this online
abuse and will be providing support after this unprovoked attack. We thank
everyone for their kind words.’
After being
contacted by Metro.co.uk, Garda declined to comment on the case.
Source: Metro.co.uk
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