March represents the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic first overwhelming the U.S. But this month also signifies another ever-present pandemic, the rise of violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
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In March of 2020, Stop AAPI Hate was created to address street harassment and violence aimed at AAPI people. The coalition, a project started by the AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, tracks crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, creating a space for victims to share their stories.
Russell Jeung, chair and professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State and the co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, explained how these crimes lead to mental health issues among AAPI people during an interview with KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" on Tuesday.
"Because of the surge of racism against AAPIs, I see our community experience collective racial trauma," Jeung said. "One out of five Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have experienced racism in the past two years, and that’s over 5 million people."
Jeung said that Stop AAPI Hate recently conducted a study on racial trauma in the AAPI community, and they found that respondents who recently experienced racism were identified with three or more long-term symptoms of trauma.
"Issues like anxiety, depression, anger and avoidance of places. These are traumatized people," Jeung added. "The rest of us experience that trauma vicariously. If I see an elder attacked, I don't see that individual being attacked, I see he/her being attacked because she's Asian, and I think that my mom could just as easily be attacked."
Jeung emphasized that university students have reported increased mental health issues due to the stressors of racial trauma.
“At SF State, during finals week we held an open forum for Asian American students to address their mental health, and we got over 100 students to join," Jeung said. "This was busy finals week, but they were so stressed and concerned that they took the time. They aren't just concerned for their individual well-being, but they are also concerned about their family members and their elders."
Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a recent assault victim, added that it's important to report a crime to help identify the attacker and to keep the community safe.
"The feeling after I was attacked was kind of strange. The bad thing is I got hurt and it was tough, but I understood much better what the victims of crime are going through," Chan noted. "I have found that many victims are afraid to speak out, but with my own incident I was able to encourage others to report crimes. We have to go through the justice system. If we don't do anything, there might be no consequences."
To report a crime, or to share your story, you can file a report on the Stop AAPI Hate website.
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