COVID19
An infectious disease caused by respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, first identified in Wuhan, China December, 2019 and has spread globally resulting in an ongoing pandemic. It is a type of corona virus thats part of a large family of viruses, named for the crown-like spikes that cover them. Previous viruses such as SARS and MERS emerged through the coronavirus as well. As of 11th of March 2020, the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced COVID19 as a global pandemic.
Following, media outlets and first and second hand experiences I've become interested in people's reactions towards people of Asian decent because of the pandemic. Like in my previous research some of my friends of Asian decent are afraid of wearing masks in public because of repercussions that they might face from other people. I've also further talked about the subject with friends in casual conversations and they have experienced it firsthand, like getting shouted at in the supermarket or walking home form uni.
There also have been numerous hate crimes that have happened to people of Asian decent not just locally but also internationally. Specifically news website NextShark mapped the crimes that have happened and has a daily statistic on the incidents that are happening in America where their has been 1,497 reports made with 9% targeting AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) Seniors and 69% reports coming from women. It's also been further amplified as President Donald Trump has called COVID19 the "Chinese virus" in one of his public speeches and after being asked by a reported why he keeps using the term he answers "because it comes from China..."; being such an influential and powerful person of power saying that has enraged people and fuelled more discrimination against AAPI's. WHO also said in 2015 after using "swine flue" and "Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome" that naming diseases after geographical locations can have "...unintended impacts by stigmatising certain communities or economic sectors..." and the Secretary of Health and Human Services in America, Alex Azar has said he would avoid using the term "Chinese virus" to "...ensure nobody's discriminated against base on ethnicity" and that "Ethnicity is not what cause the novel coronavirus." , as well as the Director-General of WHO saying that the "pandemic does not respect borders" The FBI has also warned about the potential increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans.
In the UK, around 267 incidents have been reported in the first 3 months of the year and victims such as university students have been targeted of hate crimes. David Tse an actor/director, who moved from Hongkong when he was young, spoke to SKY News about his experience of racial slurs in a London street from a woman, "F*** your F***** virus, take it home with you".
All around the world, not just western countries but also countries in Asia displayed discrimination towards Chinese immigrants, tourists etc. In particular, such as anti-chinese sentiment on the Internet and prejudice views towards people of Chinese decent.
People have connected this the pandemic with Chinese people and people of Asian decent due to the first cases being reported in Wuhan, China, which in turn fuelled people's prejudice and stereotypes towards Asians into hatred. Misinformations on the origin of the COVID19 have also triggered people reactions towards Asians. Stereotypes like eating exotic food and connecting it to the place and country where the pandemic was first reported people have sadly used these ideas and further fuelled their discriminations towards Chinese people and people of Asian decent.
Thoughts & Reflection:
Looking more into these reports and incidents it's really sad to think that people are experiencing these kind of attacks and are constantly fearing it daily during this situation, sometimes getting in the way of people's daily lives. It's also disheartening that people are using the pandemic as an excuse to be discriminatory and xenophobic, and also basing their attacks on prejudice and stereotypes, and turning their fear of the pandemic into fear of people to racism.
Delving deeper into the topic it is not in anyway an 'irrational fear' but something that has been rooted deep in society. It is such a heavy topic that it can be very sensitive to a lot of people and reading more into it theres also a lot of views and experiences that are happening all around the world that vary in severity, and even for me I think it is also a very sensitive topic to approach. I do not want to undermine anyones experiences of views on this topic, rather I'd like to offer my view, understanding and respond to it in my own way. Understanding, such incidents I think that they happened and accumulated through preconceived ideas and stereotypes against people of a certain ethnicity and with these stereotypes people form and add on certain associations with certain events, things, people etc. further intensifying discriminations and hatred crimes. Such stereotypes have been produced in our society and culture that I think it won't ever be diminished or at least we have a very long long long way to go.
I have delved into the results of these stereotypes and racial prejudice but why do we have them, especially the differences between the western and eastern responses towards these sentiments and why do we have different perspectives against various events and objects in particular. I personally don't want to centre this around race as it's such a heavy topic and I am definitely not qualified to speak on behalf of the people who have been affected by it, but I know that race will definitely be a part and referenced the response regardless - it's inevitable.
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