Story by Victoria Hernandez. Photo by Tabitha Novotny.
At the start of the pandemic, the FBI warned that hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities would rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic
A year later, awareness of Asian hate crimes has become heavily circulated through the media.
“Obviously, during the pandemic is when the AAPI community has seen an uptick in hate crimes and racist attacks on our community,” said Aysia Nguyen, president of the Arkansas Vietnamese Student Association.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic starting in China, a lot of people wanted someone to blame “for causing such a huge shift in our life,” and that perpetrated a lot of hate toward the AAPI community, Nguyen said.
Phrases such as “China virus” and “kung flu” didn’t help the situation. Many people didn’t see the harm in using them — including former President Trump.
“When you call the COVID-19 pandemic or COVID-19 virus itself kung flu or Chinese virus you’re just putting a blame on a group of people for something that they have no control over,” Nguyen said.
“When you call the COVID-19 pandemic or COVID-19 virus itself kung flu or Chinese virus you’re just putting a blame on a group of people for something that they have no control over,” Nguyen said.
A study done by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University released findings that between the years 2019 and 2020, hate crimes against Asian Americans increased by 149%.
The latest report of hate crimes against Asian Americans collected by the organization Stop AAPI Hate reported 9,081 incidents from March 19, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
“We’ve seen a lot of times that the majority of people who are being physically attacked and physically harmed are elderly people,” Nguyen said. “They are our parents or our grandparents, and if I am fearing for anyone’s safety in the community, it’s theirs.”
One of the attacks on the AAPI community occurred in Atlanta on March 16. Although authorities have not made an official conclusion that the attacks were racially motivated, of the eight people killed, six of them were women of Asian descent.
These attacks have brought a renewed sense of urgency to pay attention to hate crimes against the AAPI community across the country.
University of Arkansas leaders have come up with initiatives to stop AAPI hate in the campus community, according to a UA press release.
Several registered student organizations worked together to raise money for the AAPI Community Fund, put on by GoFundMe. The organizations involved were the Vietnamese Student Association, the Filipino Student Organization and the Chinese Language and Culture Club.
Another organization is the Asian Pacific American Employee Impact Group.
“The mission of the university — for employee impact groups — is to basically serve as an affinity group, as a resource for staff, anyone on campus faculty,” said Er-Gene Kahng, D. Mus, professor and president of the APA Employee Impact Group.
The group specifically addresses APA issues on campus through Zoom sessions and plans to host some social events in the future.
“It’s a way for [AAPI] people to build community,” Kahng said.
As for concerns at the university, Kahng said that there is “an anxiousness.”
“Arkansas is still one of three states that does not have hate crime legislation and so I think there’s always this idea or fear in the back of many AAPI folks who sort of think ‘well if something does happen to me, what are my resources that I can fall back on for protection or even support?’” Kahng said.
“Arkansas is still one of three states that does not have hate crime legislation and so I think there’s always this idea or fear in the back of many AAPI folks who sort of think ‘well if something does happen to me, what are my resources that I can fall back on for protection or even support?’” Kahng said.
Both Nguyen and Kahng suggested that staying educated is the best way to be an informed ally when it comes to the matters of the AAPI community.
If you’re looking for more resources on how to educate yourself regarding AAPI issues:
- Stop AAPI Hate: A Resource Guide to Support the Asian-American Community is a guide compiled by the Playbill Staff on methods to support and donate for the AAPI communities
- Self Evident: Asian American’s Stories is a podcast with the goal of challenging assumptions about Asian Americans
- Stop AAPI Hate Resource Page hosts links to get informed for safety tips, bystander intervention and local resources