A Dublin shopkeeper was forced to hide in his basement for "over two hours" as his store was looted during last week's riots.
Reji Yohannan is the co-owner of the Gala Express shop located on Lower Abbey Street in the city centre. And when last Thursday's riots broke out, Reji and his staff were trying to close up for the night.
He told RTE's Morning Ireland: "By 8 o'clock we closed, the glass shutter was fully closed and we were just about to leave from the shop. Myself and two staff were just going out when one big mob came in, they had hammers. They smashed the glass window by hammer and everyone came in.
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"We just went to the basement, we were trying to call the guards. We only got the help after two hours, we rang the guards minimum 20 times and I did not get any help."
When Reji did speak to gardai on the phone, he was told "they are coming" and to keep safe. Reji said his biggest fear was a fire breaking out in the shop.
He said: "It was really a [frightening] situation because we're three people in the small room. Suppose if something goes up, if they burn the shop there you know, we three people are down there, we were thinking of that also.
"I had to protect my staff also, we have to protect them as well. I was thinking of myself and my staff at that time.
"We couldn't [go upstairs] because all the people out there had hammers and knives, so we couldn't go up. If we go up, that's end of our life, you know," added Reji.
Eventually, Reji and his staff got in contact with another staff member at home who had a key to the shop. The worker rushed to the shop, finding a garda on the street, and they both arrived at the Gala Express.
Reiji added that the damage caused to his shop is around €80,000 and they only reopened today. The had recently spent €15,000 on a coffee machine two months ago which is now "completely ruined".
Reji said that the shop also sells cigarettes and alcohol, which were all stolen by looters last Thursday. Reiji has lived in Ireland for more than 20 years but is thinking now of leaving the country with his wife and two children.
He said: "We are really thinking; is it safe now to stay here. We need protection, from the Government side, from the guards' side, they never thought this would happen, but it cannot to happen again."
The Gala Express shop was one of 13 shops damaged during the Dublin riots last Thursday. Rathmines Glass has offered to fix the windows of stores at cost price and Temple Bar-based business Alternative Dublin has launched a fundraiser to help pay for the repairs.
During the unrest, 13 garda vehicles were burned or damaged and a bus and Luas tram were set on fire A number of gardai were injured and 34 arrests were made.
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