As 2020 ensues, so have instability and crisis. Here’s a brief (but certainly not all-encompassing) recap of the last few months: We kickstarted the year with #WorldWar3 trending on twitter, alongside the raging bushfires from down under, and now, Covid-19 has officially entered pandemic mode. What a grand beginning to what we hoped would be a brighter decade.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been marked with more than just health concerns and toilet paper panic – it also seems to be the harbinger of racism and xenophobia, especially towards Asian communities. On February 24, Jonathan Mok received critical facial injuries after being assaulted by a group of men on Oxford street, who told him that they didn’t “want your coronavirus in my country.”(BBC). In NYC, only a week later, a video featuring a person spraying an Asian-New Yorker with Febreeze on a subway train circulated on social media (ABC7 New York). Here in Indonesia, historical anti-Chinese sentiment has resurfaced; this time, with posts on media outlets encouraging people to avoid areas where Chinese-Indonesians work and live, according to foreign policy (Walton). Prejudice towards Asians, has even extended to established journalism – one recent incident implicates the New York Times, in which an article was released, regarding the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Manhattan, that implemented a photograph of Chinatown as its headline image, despite the fact that Manhattan’s patient zero was really an Iranian woman.
(image credit: @diet_prade on Instagram)
The fact that Covid-19 has reached 114 countries, and yet, continues to be mapped onto certain nationalities, is nothing short of infuriating. Irresponsible journalism does nothing but feed into irrational hysteria, hate-crimes and the notion that Asians are more likely to be carriers of the virus. It seems to be that what originated as a public-health fear, has evolved to become a means to justify xenophobia and a scapegoat for already existing racist notions. It is also worth considering the perspective that this tide of fear doesn’t just stem from racist sentiments, but include genuine concerns for health, however, we can not simply discount the thousands of Asians and hyphenated identities out there, who feel unsafe, in the midst of all these microaggressions.
In Justin Trudeau’s words (which shouldn’t apply just to Canada but instead should extend to all communities), during a time of crisis, we need to “stick up for each other, lean on each other… check in with our neighbors and take care of our friends.” The Covid-19 pandemic is a world health problem – we are battling the virus, and the fear it perpetuates, NOT the Chinese. Resorting to racial slurs, irrational fear and telling hyphenated identities to return to “where they came from”, will do nothing but hinder progress. The best we can do as of this moment, is to appreciate the health-professionals at the front-line of this pandemic, filter the information that reaches us, and wash your hands! Since the Bubonic plague, humanity has persisted through about a dozen pandemics, so on a more optimistic note, perhaps we can push through this one too. Stay healthy and hopeful.
Bibliography
ABC7 New York."Coronavirus Fear? Suspected Hate Crime Targeting Asian Man Caught On Camera". ABC7 New York, 2020, https://abc7ny.com/coronavirus-fear-video-shows-suspected-hate-crime-on-subway/5989856/.
BBC."Teens Arrested Over Racist Coronavirus Attack". BBC News, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-51771355.
Walton, Kate. "Wuhan Virus Boosts Indonesian Anti-Chinese Conspiracies". Foreign Policy, 2020, https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/31/wuhan-coronavirus-boosts-indonesian-anti-chinese-conspiracies.
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