Ireland is in the midst of its own ‘George Floyd moment’. At least, that’s how a string of international headlines have portrayed the death of Yves Sakila, a Congolese shoplifter who was pronounced dead in hospital after being restrained by security guards, one of whom appeared to kneel on his head or neck. The circumstances of the 35-year-old’s death are being investigated, but, as yet, there is no evidence it resulted from racism or excessive force. Court records show Sakila had a history of theft, and a post-mortem reportedly found no signs of foul play or visible injuries on his body. That has not stopped activists and parts of the establishment from co-opting a personal tragedy to fuel a campaign of racial grievance.
It seems one of the few American imports still immune to tariffs are its racial psychodramas
Sakila’s body was barely cold when the vigils began along with the demands for racial justice. Addressing a large crowd in Merrion Square last week, Senator Eileen Flynn claimed that ‘seven men’ had ‘murdered a black man’ and that Sakila would not have died if he was white. ‘Yves died a hero, his name will live on in legacy in this country,’ Flynn concluded. Dr Ebun Joseph, Ireland’s racism tsar, held forth with impassioned non-sequiturs about immigration sceptics ‘abusing the tricolour’ and Ireland’s founding fathers. The Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, called for a thorough investigation into what he hastily deemed a ‘deeply concerning’ situation. It seems one of the few American imports still immune to tariffs are its racial psychodramas.
