A Brazilian delivery worker had brain surgery after he was attacked and robbed in Dublin by a large group that included teenagers.
André Oliveira (26) was cycling on Royal Canal Way, Phibsboro, when he was assaulted and hit in the head with a piece of wood.
“I was attacked by a group. There were about 10 people, some children, some older than me. They surged from nowhere, hitting me. They attacked me with a piece of wood, hitting my head on the right side,” he said.
Mr Oliveira fell off his bicycle “then they hit me again on my head with the wood”. He said was also punched in the face, before the group stole his bike and phone. Some members of the group filmed the incident, which happened at around 6.30pm on November 24th.
RM Block
“I was desperate. They were recording, laughing,” Mr Oliveira said.
He said the assailants had their faces covered, so he did not get a clear view of what they looked like.
He was lying on the ground for some time before a fellow Brazilian delivery rider, Gustavo Alves, passed by.
Mr Alves said: “He was lying there, kind of half-awake, and then I said in Portuguese, ‘Hey, man, are you okay?’”
The 29-year-old went to get help on the nearby Phibsboro Road. He and others called the Garda and an ambulance.
Gardaí arrived within minutes and took a statement, before taking Mr Oliveira to the Mater hospital, Dublin.
Mr Oliveira’s wife, Camila Oliveira Barreto (30), met them at the hospital. Mr Oliveira and his wife had only married two weeks ago.
She said: “We were both crying in the hospital, desperate, not knowing what to do. André spent the night moaning in pain in the hospital, crying.”
A tomography scan was carried out on Tuesday and showed Mr Oliveira was having a brain haemorrhage.
“My head had a giant haematoma, the size of my hand,” he said. A haematoma is a pool of mostly clotted blood.
“I was bleeding and I needed surgery. I felt a lot of pain, all over my body.”
He was transferred to the city’s Beaumont Hospital on Tuesday for brain surgery.
“Thankfully, the surgery went well without complications. I am gradually improving,” he said.
“I fractured my left shoulder and left foot. I am unable to move my left toes, so I must undergo physiotherapy.”
His wife is taking time off work as a carer so she can look after him. A friend has set up an online fundraiser to raise money for the couple.
Mr Oliveira had bought a new bike for €1,300 just a few days before the assault.
“We don’t know when André will be able to work. We have rent, we have bills. I’m also not working these days,” Ms Oliveira Barreto said.
Izabele Schroeder, who set up the fundraiser, said she and other members of the Brazilian community in Ireland were concerned at the number of delivery drivers being attacked.
Several workers, often travelling on bicycles, have been assaulted or robbed in recent years.
Ms Schroeder set up a GoFundMe page on Wednesday, and it had raised more than €8,500 by Sunday.
She thought the initial goal of €8,000 might have been “too big”, but was “so happy” to see the level of support.
Ms Schroeder said “a lot of different people” had donated, including members of the Brazilian community here, Irish people and others from different countries.
The Irish Times has contacted An Garda Síochána for comment.
