As we all know, in 2020, the world was put to a screeching halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus, which is believed to have stemmed from China, has killed over 7,000,000 people over the past 4 years. Throughout the pandemic, AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) has been the target of ethnic and racial discrimination, mostly due to the point zero of the virus.
Asian hate is nothing new, especially in the United States. There have been countless instances of hate and discrimination targeted directly at Asians. In 1871, a mob killed 19 residents of Chinatown, Los Angeles. Four years later, the country signed the Page Exclusion Act, which prohibited all Chinese women from entering the country and banned all Chinese women already in the country from becoming citizens due to brutal stereotyping of Asian women as sex workers. In 1882, the nation took it a step further, barring all Chinese men from entering the country as well. These laws were not repealed until 1943, almost 70 years ago. During World War ll, the United States implemented Japanese-American internment camps.
The numbers have skyrocketed since the pandemic started. Studies showed that in 2021, crime targeted towards Asians had risen 339% since the year prior. The trend hasn’t faded away. A series of surveys done by the PEW Research Center in Washington, D.C., were conducted in 2022 on Asian Americans and discrimination after COVID-19. The studies showed that one-third of English-speaking Asian Americans have been, or know, someone who has been subject to assault due to their Asian being. One-third of English-speaking Asian Americans have changed their daily schedule in fear of attack or assault. In “Asian Americans and discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic,” there is a quote that states, “Even when I was just getting on the bus, [people acted] as if I was carrying the virus. People would not sit with me, they would sit a bit far. It was because I look Chinese”. –Immigrant woman of Bhutanese origin in the early 30s (translated from Dzongkha)”
There have been many efforts to put an end to the discrimination. Including the Stop Asian Hate movement. A movement that has a series of protests and rallies against violence against Asians and Pacific islanders. The U.S. and Canadian-based non-profit organization has organized protests, raised friends, and brought many stories to light, highlighting the discrimination Asian people in America have faced.
The surge of Asian hate crimes is a stark reminder of the work that remains in our journey towards a better world, and with hard work, we can dismantle the barriers of race, discrimination, and intolerance.
