March 27th saw another crucial rally, a march in New Zealand against Asian hate since the pandemic COVID-19’s outbreak in general and the Atlanta spa shooting, which began Tuesday evening on the 16th of March at Youngs Asian Massage parlor in Acworth, around 50 kilometres north of Atlanta.
In total, six of the people killed because of the shooting were Asian and two were white. The shootings have sparked outrage among Asian communities, who viewed the attacks as racially motivated.
According to the reports, an analysis of police department statistics has released the information that thousands of anti-Asian hate crimes were reported. The Asian American communities were subject to much of the blame for the pandemic, which was frequently referred to as the “China virus” by then-president Donald Trump.
The march last Saturday in Aotearoa square reflected how much hate and racial abuse is endured by the Asians in New Zealand as well. This event was bought together by Steph Tan, Julia Liu and Anu Kaloti.
“On behalf of Asians in New Zealand, we are deeply hurt, traumatised, and outraged by the recent Atlanta shootings on top of the 1900% rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes 2020 in the USA alone. We see those hurt in America as an extension of ourselves. When we see pain afflicted upon our Asian brothers and sisters purely based on their skin colour, we share a common pain. This aligns with the many awful instances of racist-fuelled hate during the COVID-19 pandemic here in NZ.” said the event post.
The aim of the #StopAsianHate peaceful advocacy event is not only to stand in solidarity with American Asians who have experienced extreme abuse and live in daily fear, but to also create awareness of the pain that Asians in New Zealand face.
“We are human beings – not a virus. Asians growing up in NZ have already endured too much racial abuse, whether subtle or direct.” detailed the event.
This peaceful and well-intentioned march was to educate and bring about equality in the community. The message was to move forward and achieve a more equal, kind community of Aotearoa and stand strong all together #WeAreOne. – TIN Bureau (Picture courtesy: Social Media handle)
