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With violence on the rise, Asian Americans form support groups for help – Global Issues

Asian Americans influenced by anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes supported each other. From left to right from top: Dr Boyung Lee, Dr Russell Jeung, Cynthia Choi, Myleen Hollero and Dr Bryant Lin. Credit: Myleen Hollero
  • by Seimi Chu (california)
  • Joint press service

However, in May 2020, this small but significant daily ritual came to an abrupt end.

Lee was driving when she noticed a dirty white van but didn’t think much of it. She continued walking, then heard something. The noise continued, and when she looked back, she noticed the driver inside the truck shouting at her.

Listening carefully, Lee realized that he was making fun of her – including using one of the common taunts aimed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community: Come back to your country.”

Slightly shaken by this hostile confrontation, Lee continued walking. However, the driver followed her. Thankfully, Lee acted quickly and ran into the door of a neighbor’s apartment, so the driver couldn’t keep up with her.

The incident made her feel uneasy. She even worries about grocery shopping. The verbal attack turned a Korean-American independent feminist into a dependent.

Lee currently covers herself with a mask and hat to prevent others from realizing that she is Asian.

She began to feel safe when her peers offered to accompany her on hikes. Outside of that, however, Lee was terrified. It took Lee over a year to feel comfortable going out to work alone.

Angered that her experience had made her a dependent, Lee thought about how she could educate the public about the beauty of Asian culture.

By collaborating with several Asian colleagues, she attracted Asian-American artists. She has organized lectures and seminars to educate the community about the intersection of Asian culture and art. Through this experience, Lee felt empowered and returned to the independent feminist she used to be.

Lee is not alone in her experience of being persecuted by Asian hatred. Many in the AAPI community have faced harassment, discrimination, and abuse.

When a Pacific Islander spoke to Chamorro at a mall in Dallas, Texas, a passer-by coughed at her and scoffed: “You and your people are the reason why we are. I have aura. Let’s sail back to your island”.

A mother was trying to enroll her daughter for a gymnastics class in Tustin, California. However, the owner refused because the mother’s name was ‘Asian’. These are two out of countless incidents report by Stop AAPI Hate, a support group that works to end racism.

From March 19, 2020, when the pandemic emerged, until December 31, 2021, there were more than 10,000 incidents reported for AAPI Hate Prevention, of which 4,632 occurred in 2020 and 6,273 in 2021. Based on the Center for the Study of Hatred and Extremism. data, There was a 339% increase in Asian hate crimes in 2021 compared to the previous year.

The rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans stems from the origins of the virus. COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan province, China. Due to its origins, hateful fallacies have been used to refer to the coronavirus, such as “Kung Flu”, “Chinese virus”, and “Wuhan virus”. Viral racism has led to an increase in resistance to racism, prejudice, discrimination and crimes against Asians. Common verbal harassment includes: “Go back to China” and “Bring your virus, you Chinks!”

Most recent report released by Stop AAPI Hate shows that 63% of hate crimes involve verbal harassment, 16.2% involve physical assault, 11.5% involve civil rights violations, and 8, 6% related to online harassment. Most occur in public spaces, such as public streets and transit.

Asian Americans are blamed for “bringing the virus” to the US.

Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, worked with Cynthia Choi, Co-CEO of China Affirmative Action, along with other leaders, to lead the mission. against Asian racism. Jung wants to provide resources to Asian-American communities, so that this kind of harassment doesn’t happen again.

Together with Choi and Manjusha Kulkarni, Directors of AAPI Equity Alliance, Jeung founded Stop AAPI Hate to find solutions to the underlying causes of discrimination and hatred. He formed a research team of San Francisco State University students to collect data to create reports posted on the Stop AAPI website. Jung and his students have found that hate crimes against Asian Americans occur most frequently in California.

Jung also noticed that Asian Americans are taking a stand against racism.

Asian Americans took to their social media platforms and used hashtags, such as #Racismisavirus, to ensure their posts went viral. Another trend Jeung sees is that Asian-American elected officials will speak out against xenophobia.

As a result, Asian Americans went to the polls in 2020. As Jeung explained, Asian Americans voted for candidates who would support their beliefs and promise to fight anti-Semitism. foreign.

Chinese Affirmative Action, a community-based civil rights organization that supports Asian-American and Asian-American rights, and Stop AAPI Hate, collected first-hand accounts of people reporting what was happening. and what was said to them.

The two organizations have been working to promote racial equality by addressing racial tensions between Asian and other communities. These reports helped them understand the nature of the violent attacks. To date, more than 3,700 cases have been reported to these organizations. They also work with the media to share information.

“Certainly, in my lifetime, we haven’t seen the level of hatred directed at our community,” Choi lamented.

Bryant Lin, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Asian Center for Health Education and Research, led a project to research people’s perceptions on the relationship between COVID-19 and discrimination. They surveyed nearly 2,000 people across the country.

Lin explains the results of her research. “Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and other Asia Pacific island nations show a 3.9-fold increase in the rate of self-reported racism due to COVID-19 due to COVID-19 and the rate of anxiety Fear of physical attack due to COVID-19 increased by nearly 5.4 times. ”

Although Asians are diverse and heterogeneous—there are six major subgroups in the United States—they are considered a monolithic group. Lin revealed that East Asians tend to be discriminated against more than South and Southeast Asians. The highest rates of self-reported discrimination were from Chinese-Americans.

“Our research also shows that people are very concerned about physical attacks and that people are also considering buying guns,” Lin said. He added that they will likely do a more in-depth study of how perceptions have changed.

Report of the United Nations Office IPS


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© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service

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