Racism is on the rise, what has this Vietnamese professor experienced?

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in racism and hatred against Asian Americans.

A professor of Vietnamese cultural heritage working in Bogotá recounts his experience as a victim of two such incidents.

event one

I was teaching at a university in Bogotá, Colombia, and after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed, a student reported that I had a sick cough in class. Did I cough? I coughed. am i sick? No. None of this mattered to the management, they kept me at home without asking. I expressed concern that the student lied about my illness, and no one cared. I am the only Asian American professor on campus and, as far as I know, the only professor who has been asked to stay home.

On top of that, more and more "friends" joked about keeping their distance from me - and that was before the nationwide stay-at-home order.

Many friends have complained that the ban has caused a lot of disruption and inconvenience to their lives, but for me it was a peaceful relief.

event two

A few days ago, I was walking home from the grocery store with two large bags, and a man half a block ahead looked back and shouted something. He was clearly angry and looked like he was going to attack someone. I thought he got into a fight with the guy behind me, and to not get involved, I crossed the road. As I passed by on the other side of the road, he pointed at me and kept yelling "Hija de puta!", a swear word in Spanish that was too indecent to translate. I looked around, saw a few others nearby, and finally realized that it was me who was yelling at me. I left as fast as I could, and the shouting went on for a long time until I couldn't hear it.

On the way home, I was sobbing and didn't want to touch my face, but wearing a mask made me feel suffocated.

The people around didn't respond to it. They just went about their business as usual and when I looked at them they turned away. I think it may be because Colombians believe that one should not interfere in other people's affairs, "no seas sapo" is a Colombian slang term that literally means "don't be a toad" and actually means "mind your own business". I can't help but wonder if they see me the same way.

I believe these incidents have something to do with my ethnicity because I'm a Vietnamese - but when I talk to people about both of these things, they reply to me: "You made this out of nothing," or "Maybe you're paranoid."

It may be so. But as far as I know, since coming here, I've been often offended. In my opinion, people are just more courageous now to openly express their hatred of Asians.

I love Colombia and the life I've built here, but I'm terrified of being out of my house again. I could be ostracized, or lose my job. What scares me the most is that I might be attacked personally. And when that happens, people just look away.

It's hard enough to live in a place that reminds you of being different every day, and to be blamed for a global crisis is unacceptable.

Increase in hate crimes

Racism doesn't happen overnight

Because of the coronavirus, the world is changing rapidly in unprecedented ways—including the economy, the healthcare system, personal philosophies, and more.

But many people's perceptions of race have not changed. The history of racism against Asians goes back centuries. People are outraged by the virus and the uncertainty it brings, and it's easier to target a certain group of people than it is to try to understand what they can't see or fix.

But it's not just politicians who are to blame, but also teachers for forcing the coughing Asian boy choked on water to go to the nurse. Parents are also teaching their children derogatory words, which children continue to use to insult their Asian classmates.

Take action

Consider your behavior. Think about the people you can influence - your children, siblings, partner, friends, students, colleagues, voters - what information about their identities are you passing on to them, intentionally or not? Are you passively allowing the attack to happen? Around you? Will you act on it?

We should all be aware of racism related to COVID-19 and speak out against it. When we see an incident of discrimination, we should respond; when we see a victim being attacked in any way, help the victim, report the incident, so we can keep the perpetrator off the street and push policy makers to see these data and take serious action.

Ultimately, we need inclusive leadership that condemns racism. The first round of the epidemic has gotten out of control and must not be allowed to happen again.