The Rise of Anti-Asian Hate Crime: What is Happening?
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, our lives have massively changed. All of us had to face a new reality and were forced to accept a new normal. All of us struggled with loneliness, and all of us have been confined in our homes for months. But some people, unfortunately, had to face even bigger challenges, such as acts of racism and hate crimes, and these people are the Asian communities.
We all know by now that the new coronavirus found its origins in China, in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Central China’s Hubei region. This news brought along a lot of resentment towards Chinese people, and especially in the US, where former president Donald Trump and his supporters continuously tried and blame the whole pandemic on China, there has been a major rise in anti-Chinese feelings. But the US is not the only country in which this sentiment grew. This sentiment did not stop at Chinese communities, but expanded among all East and Southeast Asians. This resentment towards Asian communities soon resulted in acts moved by hate: in the US have been recorded 3,795 anti-Asian racist crimes, which included verbal harassment, discriminatory acts, and physical violence, all between March 2020 and February 2021. But what brought all the attention to this growing issue, has been the mass shooting that took place in the US city of Atlanta on the 16th of March 2021, where eight people were killed, including six Asian women. Three days later, American President Joe Biden, for the first time condemned hate crimes against Asian communities.
Anti-Asian hate is not a new phenomenon in the US. Historically, there have been many cases in which Asian communities have been exposed to deliberate racist acts. Asian Americans have always been considered a threat to a nation that promoted white-only immigration. In the late 19th century, white natives started to spread infamous anti-Chinese propaganda, stating that people from China were unclean, with this resulting in the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned immigration from China for ten years. However, this xenophobic behaviour did not stop at Chinese citizens but included different Asian countries like the Philippines, a former US colony, the people of which were considered politically and medically unfit, so that American officials could justify the continued application of their colonial rules to keep Filipinos at stake. In 2003, when the world faced the SARS outbreak, there has been a rise in anti-Asian racism in the US and North American countries. The racism did not spare Chinese and Filipino health workers, confirming that not even patriotism and being a front-line worker could stop the 'hate race' that was already in place.
But while the US is taking its first steps towards Asian communities, by recognising the problem and taking action against it, the United Kingdom seems to have bigger issues to review, as they are not acknowledging the problem yet. Truth is that Asian people are facing the same hate sentiment and consequent racist acts as their fellow countrymen/women who live in the United States. Since the coronavirus pandemic has started, the United Kingdom has seen a sharp rise in anti-Asian hate crimes among East and Southeast Asian people. However, in the UK also, racism towards these communities is not new. In the 1910s, when the first Chinatowns began to form in the biggest English cities, these centres were seen as highly dangerous places. More recently, after the Second World War, many Chinese people faced deportation, as they were considered a problem for British society. And even in this case, the fact that these people fought beside British forces during the war, did not stop the resentment and xenophobia.
All the xenophobic acts we are, unfortunately, witnessing nowadays, are just the tip of an iceberg that carries centuries of oppression, exclusion, and racism. And these are all consequences of propaganda that, through the years, created stereotypes that the times failed to get rid of. Instead, some of these stereotypes were even reinforced by various events that involved Asian countries. And the Covid-19 outbreak is surely one of those. These beliefs are so deeply rooted in our society, that does not leave space for alternative thinking, resulting in racist sentiments against the communities involved.
The stats about Asian people falling victims to hate crimes are way too high, and this confirms the deep ignorance some individuals still live in. Yes, because I do believe that the best way to defeat racism and xenophobia is knowledge: educating the members of society about other cultures and their uses and traditions can go a long way in helping people to feel closer to what they do not know, resulting in less fear for what is considered to be different. Thanks to the influence of social media, and the digital era we live in, where it is easy to record what happens so that people can see with their own eyes what these communities are facing, a light has been shed on this issue, raising awareness, and encouraging governments to act. It is important to keep in mind that these hate crimes do not happen in the US and the UK only, but that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Asian communities are considered scapegoats in many other countries.
All of us can do something to battle any form of racism, and it is necessary to be an active bystander, by boosting the voices of those who are being silenced, and calling out on xenophobia and hate, once for all. The Hollaback! organisation offers a free and virtual training to learn how to be an active bystander against racist acts. If you want to further educate yourself and keep track of what is being done to stop anti-Asian hate crimes, there are many educational resources available online. You can consider following and support on social media some of these platforms: Dear Asian Youth (they also have an Insta page that is all about London - @dearasianyouthlondon), Asian Leadership Collective, Stop AAPI Hate , Hate Is A Virus, Stop DiscriminAsian.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin
Written by Alessia Solipaca
I am a teaching assistant for autistic children and a journalism and media student. Still trying to find my place in the world. Usually found on the side of those who fight injustice.