Violent Attack in Funchal on 26-Year-Old Tourist Visiting Madeira
At the end of June, Rani, a 26-year-old tourist visiting Madeira, was violently attacked in public during a night out in Funchal. The attack was unprovoked and resulted in severe injuries that caused him to spend a night in the hospital. It happened after assaults on foreigners made headlines in Madeira.
Rani reached out to share his experience, and we decided to do an interview to give him the opportunity to tell his story. He has provided both his medical and police reports to support his account. These documents will not be made public, but they substantiate his claims and confirm what happened to him.
“It Is a Peaceful Island, but Some People Don’t Have Peace Inside” – Rani Shares Story of Random, Violent Assault in Funchal
Can you introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to Madeira?
Rani: I'm an architecture student from Jerusalem, currently studying in Germany. I am hugely interested in culture and nature and appreciate cultural exchange. My two friends and I went on a 7-day trip to Madeira to enjoy its nature and peaceful atmosphere, since I was having a stressful time at uni because I had an eye condition and got operated on my eyes a couple of times and wasn't doing so well with the progress. I wanted to go to Madeira to get some fresh air, be in nature, and enjoy good company. Also, I'm a football fan and always wondered what Ronaldo’s hometown is like, and I heard a lot of nice things about people in Madeira. This was my experience, besides the attack.
You reached out because you experienced a violent and unprovoked attack in Funchal on June 26. Can you walk us through exactly what happened that night, from your perspective, leading up to the attack?
Rani: On our 4th night, I went with a friend to try out the ponchas and meet new people and connect either with locals or other people visiting. We were 3 people, but a friend had a date, so the two of us went out and saw an open bar with other tourists who we grabbed a drink with and decided to go to another place after the current bar was closing. Someone suggested Amnesia Bar or something — I didn’t know where it was — but upon arriving there I had a bad feeling about the place at the Avenida do Mar. I never really interacted with anyone because I was hanging out with a girl who sadly felt bad, and I was taking care of her and bringing her water and snacks the whole night, so I wasn't really aware of what was going on around me. After we finally decided to go back to the hostel with them, I went out with the girl and her friends up to the street and we were thinking of ordering a Bolt back to their hostel, and her friends took over caring for her.
I looked up and was looking for a friend of mine and saw that he was running, so I went to him and asked what happened, and he said, “I got hit in my head and they pulled my sweater.” I asked him if he knew why they attacked him. He said he had no clue, but because I was away from them for a while, I had no clue what was going on. But I know for sure he wouldn’t provoke anyone. However, there was a girl that we met that night who was attacked first and didn’t attack anyone or say anything offensive, but she mentioned she was just merely attacked and she also didn’t know why. I didn’t know about any of this and just wanted to grab my friend’s sweater and go home.
Suddenly I got punched hard from the left, followed by a lot of them attacking me at once. I was buzzed and shocked and didn’t know what was going on and remembered ending up on the floor getting punched and kicked (…) I got hit a lot in my face, my eye, nose, my necklace was pulled and left a mark on my neck. I was hit badly. They stopped, and I was looking for my stuff, screaming “porque, porque,” and a guy was screaming in my face. Then they attacked again, and this time worse than before.
As I was going back to get his sweater, I told a Portuguese person, who I thought belonged to them (the attackers), and explained that I want the sweater and I really don’t want problems and it’s not worth it and that I wanted to grab our stuff and go. But I didn’t know how aggressive they were. I was walking with him like buddies while showing no intentions of any aggression, and then suddenly I got punched hard from the left, followed by a lot of them attacking me at once. I was buzzed and shocked and didn’t know what was going on and remembered ending up on the floor getting punched and kicked. I was outnumbered and didn’t have the chance to de-escalate because they didn’t have the intention to, and I got attacked. I got hit a lot in my face, my eye, nose, my necklace was pulled and left a mark on my neck. I was hit badly. They stopped, and I was looking for my stuff, screaming “porque, porque,” and a guy was screaming in my face. Then they attacked again, and this time worse than before.
Did you have any interaction with these individuals before the attack, or was it completely unprovoked and random?
Rani: I literally had zero interactions with them. I don't even know how they looked. I suddenly found myself being attacked by people I hadn't seen, who were hitting me aggressively for a pretty long time, until people from around removed them and the police came.
How would you describe the response from the police at the scene and afterward? Do you feel they took the matter seriously?
Rani: I honestly was still in shock when the police came, covered fully from top to bottom in my own blood. They asked some questions, but a friend of mine was telling them that we were just attacked for no reason. They didn’t take that seriously at first, but a Portuguese person spoke to them and explained what happened, and they took our information until the ambulance came.
After the attack, I was shivering, beaten up, covered fully in blood, and barely standing up (…) I did a CT scan there for any brain damage because I was hit a lot and aggressively on my head, and it was shown (…) My nose was fractured and dislocated and it had to be relocated in the hospital, but it wasn’t fully repositioned.
What happened after the attack? Did you go to the hospital?
Rani: After the attack, I was shivering, beaten up, covered fully in blood, and barely standing up. The ambulance came and assessed the situation and took me to the hospital, where I stayed all night. I did a CT scan there for any brain damage because I was hit a lot and aggressively on my head, and it was shown. Then I was left in the hall there, waiting to hear my diagnosis, freezing from the ice water that melted on me, smelling bad because of the blood and sweat. My nose was fractured and dislocated and it had to be relocated in the hospital, but it wasn’t fully repositioned and I left at 10 in the morning.
What has your experience been like since the incident - both physically, recovering from your injuries, and emotionally?
Rani: My vacation was basically ruined. With a fractured nose and a deformed face and swollen eyes and lots of bruises came a lot of pain, of course physically but also mentally. I was still thinking about how on earth this happened and feeling down the whole time and how I was defenseless in a foreign country. I was worried about my nose because I was breathing badly. Pain was everywhere I touched my head, my eye swollen and I still have some blood in my eyes from it. My neck was hurt badly from the necklace pull and was burning a lot. I did ice treatment and then applied warm compresses and took some pain medications, but I had zero energy to go out and felt weak the next few days, so I couldn’t properly enjoy the trip. Especially because I was thinking about going to the hospital back in Germany and how to make sure the attackers were caught. When I arrived in Germany, I went straight for another checkup. Until then I managed to recover a bit because I spent some time in nature but couldn’t give my all in the rest of the vacation and felt like I was a burden to my friends because I wasn’t feeling like doing anything anymore and just wanted to fly back. I got operated again in Germany to prevent any possible breathing issues and had my eyes checked. My doctor said that there is no sign of permanent damage, but I have to get it checked every now and then. I was also very worried about my thesis and that now I’ll fall behind and might not submit it in time. My thesis is about architecture and urbanism’s contribution to social healing in conflict zones.
Were you given any updates from the authorities on whether the attackers have been identified or caught?
Rani: The police came directly after the incident and they might have caught them at that moment. A local mentioned that they were caught, but I don't really know if they took them for investigation or not. Two days later I went to the police and they mentioned that two of them were identified and are in the report, but still I’m not sure whether they took them in to serve time or anything.
Incidents like this can change how people might think of Madeira, and I don’t want that. It is a peaceful island, but some people don’t have peace inside. I would like it if people were more aware of violence towards tourists, especially if they come with good intentions looking to relax.
Is there any message you would like to share, based on what you experienced?
Rani: Madeira is still an amazing place and I would really come back here. I would have had a really good time here if the incident didn’t happen. I was mesmerized by nature and the culture and actually how good the infrastructure is. So this didn’t change my opinion of Madeira - I still love it.
I really hope that the attackers get punished because they would do it again, and incidents like this can change how people might think of Madeira, and I don’t want that. It is a peaceful island, but some people don’t have peace inside. I would like it if people were more aware of violence towards tourists, especially if they come with good intentions, looking to relax.
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