Advertisement

Irish in San Francisco are rallying to repair the damage caused by J1 students

After the destruction of her house by Irish J1 students made headlines on both sides of the Atlan...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.08 23 Sep 2014


Share this article


Irish in San Francisco are ral...

Irish in San Francisco are rallying to repair the damage caused by J1 students

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.08 23 Sep 2014


Share this article


After the destruction of her house by Irish J1 students made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic, the Irish community in San Francisco has pledged support to landlady Ritu Vohra.

Speaking to IrishCentral yesterday, the Consul General Philip Grant said Irish representatives in the Californian city had been inundated with calls and emails offering help to Ms Vohra.

“A lot of those who have reached out are contractors and people working in the construction industry, and a large number of J1 students who also want to help with repairs or track down the people involved,” Mr Grant said.

Advertisement

The president of the San Francisco Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, Celine Kennelly, said that organisation has also received many offers of help.

She told IrishCentral that the Irish community has been appalled by the actions of the students, and that everyone there wants to repair the damaged reputation of the Irish in the city.

“A lot of the Irish living in San Francisco did the J1 programme themselves, or have relatives come over as part of it, or have rented to students," Ms Kennelly said. 

"The community does a lot to support them when they’re here, and when you have a group that does something like this obviously it affects everybody,” she added.

 

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

 

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

The news of the damage done to Ms Vohra’s house broke after she led a CBS news camera through the property.

Seven Irish students aged between 19 and 22 had leased the house from her, though Ms Vohra believes more than double that number actually stayed there. 

She offered to let the house to the seven after having a good experience with Irish students in the past, and after hearing that the group had encountered problems with the original house they had tried to rent for the summer.

Doors and windows were smashed, barrister supports broken, large holes left in plaster walls, and light fittings were pulled from the ceiling. In addition to the damage, rubbish and personal items were left lying all over the house.

Since the story broke, the actions of the students have been condemned, and that the damage done to the reputation of the Irish abroad was reprehensible.

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Charlie Flanagan tweeted that their actions were unacceptable.

IrishCentral reports that at least two of the seven renters have been in contact with Ms Vohra, to offer their apologies and compensation.

The Irish Immigration Pastora lCenter says Ms Vohra is appreciative of all the help the Irish community is offering, and called the outpouring of support a credit to the local community. 


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular