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By Lana For the past few months, it has become evident that hate crimes are being targeted toward the Asian demographic, particularly those who are elderly. Communities that have encapsulated decades of Asian culture and representation are now being muddled with harmful rhetoric and physical assaults that have led individuals to be in critical conditions. As I continue to see news articles circulating online and the overwhelming reactions from the #StopAAPIHate movement, I wanted to write a letter to my grandparents based upon these events.
To my grandparents, I wholeheartedly despise the reality where you are forced to fear of being hate-crimed and harassed in public. I hate the increased portrayal of xenophobia, where we are faulted and belittled as the ‘kung-flu’ or ‘Chinese virus,’ but I especially loathe how you are the physical targets due to being older and more incapable of defending yourselves from spiteful people. As immigrants who sought for better lives for the family, you have paved the path for me to comfortably express myself and my cultural identity. It simply feels unfair for me to now benefit from my surroundings, while you are continuing to face the lingering and despicable racism that I cannot eradicate from your lives. When watching the news, the crimes being sporadically done are within areas of our community. I am incredibly scared that you will be next. As you possess the soul to continue persevering, I now have the spirit to bring recognition against such injustice. Love, Lana Ever since the rise of assault cases toward AAPI (Asian and/or Pacific Islander) citizens amidst the pandemic, I have attempted to bring awareness to this issue within my community. For the past few months, I have created a collection of art pieces that expressed a lens of violence and prejudice against the AAPI demographic. My message was able to be recognized through school-wide art festivals and local coffee shop windows, which allowed my community to understand how my cultural identity drove me to vocalize my perspective on this social justice issue. Whether it is locally or globally, you may have the opportunity to become involved. Every bit of effort counts and will be recognized. For those who feel compelled to bring recognition and spread further awareness for AAPI hate crimes and the #StopAAPIHate movement, please check out their website; it consists of resources to report incidents, provides news and safety tips when going out in public, educates on what is considered as discrimination through a federal perspective, and contains organizations to donate to. It also contains multilingual translations for languages spoken among Asian communities, which will be useful for a larger demographic to understand the material. Furthermore, I will provide a series of resources and links below that promotes support against racism. It is vast, so please feel free to share or go through these resources and learn more on whether there are any organizations near your community.
Please feel free to use these resources! I hope that we all may one day feel protected and safe again as we unite through solidarity and strength during this difficult period of time.
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Teenagers With Experience is an online organisation created to provide teenagers worldwide with an online platform to share their own experiences to be able to help, inform and educate others on a variety of different topics. We aim to provide a safe space to all young people.
Please note that the content on this website is created by teenagers. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, it is important to remember that we are not professional experts. If you are experiencing a crisis or need professional advice, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional or a helpline. |