Stop the hate: Anti-Asian discrimination amid COVID-19 crisis

As the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise around the globe, the portion of people who are being the subject of discrimination has also increased. (File photo: @victorhwn725/Unsplash)

At this moment, the whole world is facing one common enemy — the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Every country is focusing on saving the lives of its people as they heighten their defense against the deadly virus, but while they give their full attention to it, there are individuals who are actually dealing with their own battles.

As the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise around the globe, the portion of people who are being the subject of discrimination has also increased. Unbeknownst to others, there are some who are receiving unfair treatment because of their racial roots, particularly those with Asian blood as the new strain of coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China.

Let’s take the personal experience of Canadian actor Russell Yuen as an example of an Asian who became the target of discrimination.

In an interview with CTV News, Yuen shared that the incident happened while he was walking along the Lake Nipissing waterfront where there was a man and woman enjoying the view beside him.

The actor overheard the conversation of the two, where the man told his companion that it was nice to be away from Toronto and the “Chinese virus.” The words “Chinese virus” made Yuen react immediately by taking off his sunglasses, making the man realize that the actor was actually Asian.

The man then launched a racist tirade against Yuen, asking him why he was not wearing a mask and telling him to go away from them. He also told the actor to return from where he came from and bring the COVID-19 virus with him. Upon learning about the incident, citizens of the North Bay as well as its mayor, Al McDonald, condemned the attack and issued online apologies to Yuen for what he experienced in their area.

Another case involves the racial attacks experienced by people from northeastern India whose appearances can be similar to those of Chinese people, according to an article by DW. 

One of the victims of these discriminatory acts were Rippon Shanglai, a student from Manipur who was denied entry into a grocery store during the lockdown, and Rinzin Dorjee and his daughter, Tsering Yangzom, who were prohibited to go inside their apartment complex because they were accused of being infected with novel coronavirus by the building’s administration. Yangzom said they even presented medical documents to the guards as proof that they are not infected but the authorities did not listen to them.

Also sharing to DW his colleague’s experience of being “attacked and verbally abused” outside Delhi, Thokchom Singhajit, general secretary of Manipur Students Association, said they have always been facing racism even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the unjust behavior they got from other people was even much worse nowadays.

In San Francisco, the Filipino mother of writer and educator Rachelle Cruz also encountered a racist incident while she was riding the BART train along with her husband, heading back to their home in Hayward.

Cruz shared with HuffPost that her mother was called a “Chinese coronavirus b*tch” by a train passenger and that her parents were accused of being “bearers of the virus.”

Cruz said this was the third time her mother “personally experienced or witnessed” such incidents on the train. Her parents, who own a small remittance business servicing Filipino and migrant customers, are currently working from their home. She added that her mother “misses her clients but not the racists on the train.”

These discriminatory actions, however, did not end with just verbal attacks and unfair treatment as a teenager even resorted to violence.  

A 19-year-old boy was facing attempted murder charges after he stabbed three members of an Asian-American family, including two children ages two and six, in Midland, Texas, as reported by ABC News.

Based on an FBI analysis obtained by the news outlet, the suspect said he stabbed the family members because he thought they were Chinese and were “infecting people with coronavirus.”

The encounters these victims experienced were just among the many instances of discrimination against people with Asian heritage and even to those who had similarities in appearance, as they were being blamed for the global spread of COVID-19 virus that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and infected millions of people from all over the world.

Many individuals and organizations have decried these incidents and urged the public to refrain from being discriminatory. At this time of health emergency, people are not only strongly encouraged to follow the policies and health measures being implemented by various governments, but also to rise above hate, come together in solidarity, and lend a hand to each other, as blaming won’t contribute to their fight against COVID-19. So as we have yet to see the light at the end of this dark tunnel, let’s continue to support one another, especially the ones in need, in the best way we can.