N Irish town pools in to buy car for arson victim

They did not ask her to go back to India. Instead, the residents of County Antrim in Northern Ireland came in droves, led by its mayor, local legislator and the county councilors, with flowers and cards to meet Subi Philip. They apologised to the Keralite cardiac nurse at Antrim Area hospital for the attack on her house in which her car and part of the house were burnt. They collected £6,823 against target of £5,000 in less than 48 hours through a website to replace her car. Two days after the November 26 attack which the BBC quoted the local police as saying a racial crime, Ms Philip, 38, her family and the 60-strong Indian families in the town stand reassured about their safety in the land of their living. “The attack rattled us all; we have not gone back home and are staying with a friend,” Ms Philip, who has been working in the Irish town for the last 11 years, said over phone from Antrim. “But I am overwhelmed by the support of the local community. They all condemned the attack and assured us that it’s a one-off incident,” Ms Philip, who hails from Kattanam in Alappuzha district, said. Ms Philp and her two young daughters were at home when the attack took place as her husband, also a nurse at the same hospital, was on his way to Kerala to meet his father who had a medical emergency. His father died later in the day. She said there has been no information from the police about the culprits.

“I hope they will be caught.” She said.

Local councilors Jonathan McCarthy and Michael Wilkinson took the lead to set up crowd funding website with an appeal for raising money to replace her car.

In an appeal on the site, Mr McCarthy and Mr Wilkinson said: “Northern Ireland is indebted to people like Mrs Philip, who bring valuable, and in her own case, life-saving skills to our country. We need to make it known loudly and clearly, that immigrants are welcome in Northern Ireland, that this place is a country where people can bring their ideas, their investment, and most importantly, their families, knowing that that they will be welcomed.

“The actions of Thursday night are not representative of the Northern Ireland we know, but a place and a time we want to leave in our history books. Our Northern Ireland is an open and forward thinking society, where people are judged on the strength of their character, the work they do, and the contribution they make.

“In short, this campaign is not about replacing a car, in spite of the title.”