Faced with the resurgence of attacks against people of Asian origin and the Atlanta murders of March 15, volunteers are mobilizing to protect them.
“We want to assert our presence, so that those who want to commit a crime think twice”: faced with the resurgence of attacks against people of Asian origin and the Atlanta murders of March 15, volunteers are mobilizing to protect them, in New York as in other American metropolises.
Richard Lee, a 42-year-old former police officer, is responsible for a “public security patrol” which has been crisscrossing the Flushing neighborhood at night, in the district of Queens, since Monday in order to reassure its many residents of Asian origin. Thanks to social networks and word of mouth, Kenny Li, appointed vice president of the patrol, quickly recruited more than 240 volunteers of all kinds – waiters, office workers, lawyers… Never trained in car techniques. – defense for the most part.
“Avoid all physical contact,” Richard Lee explains to them. “Our job is to be the eyes and ears of the New York police. »Volunteers are given leaflets in English and Chinese to distribute explaining their mission, walkie-talkie and whistles: the latter must, in case of a problem, attract the attention of the police, who have also stepped up their patrols. in neighborhoods with a high Asian population.
Put an end to “stereotypes”
Most of the volunteers have Asian origins, but not all of them. Witnessing the turmoil over the Atlanta murders, German Perez, a mechanic from Mexico, also joined the patrol. “Our skin color may not be the same, we don’t speak the same language, but I think we are all equal. Overall, we all came to this country for the same reasons ”.
Hua Tong, 42, a beauty salon employee like most Atlanta victims, says she is committed to ending stereotypes that portray Asian women as “submissive.”
Anti-Asian attacks nearly tripled in 2020, from 49 to 122 incidents, even as other hate crimes fell by 7%. Particularly at the origin of this outbreak, the words of former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called the coronavirus a “Chinese virus” or “Chinese plague”.
New York has more than a million inhabitants with Asian origins. Just last weekend, New York City police documented five new incidents suspected of being motivated by anti-Asian racism.
Several demonstrations have taken place in recent days to denounce the violence, in the presence in particular of candidates for the municipal election in November. Many denounced stereotypes aimed at a supposedly homogeneous community, often described as a “model of immigration” and discretion.
Beyond the patrols that have been set up in New York, Oakland or San Francisco, members of the Asian community are more and more numerous to mobilize to raise funds or create escort services to accompany the elderly during their outputs. “We can no longer remain silent,” says Richard Lee.
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