I Am Not a Virus

Other than a health pandemic, a social pandemic involving racism has started to emerge. With most countries reporting the dire verbal and physical attacks against Asians, it’s time to speak up about their experiences. 

BY: CANDICE ZHANG

To Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and other politicians out there: 

The act of associating race with a contagious virus is ultimately despicable. Not only will it lead to misinterpretation, but it will also contribute to a social pandemic as well. Ever since the outbreak started, I have experienced strangers, colleagues, and even teachers labelling me based on the virus. 

My first shocking experience happened along the aisles of Walmart. After a busy day of stressful classes, I made a trip to Scarborough Town Centre. This was on the day when my school announced the cancellation of in-class delivery modes. Before the lockdown, I knew that my plan was to try out a new hobby or learn a vital skill. I knew I loved photography, so I decided to purchase a disposable camera to document life under quarantine. 

After spending five minutes searching for a camera, I heard two employees giggling.  At first, I decided to focus on shopping instead of eavesdropping their noisy conversation.  However, my gut feeling told me that something terrible was about to happen. 

Unfortunately, it did. 

Before I exited the store, I heard one of the employees yell: “HEY CORONA HEY!” 

Little did I know that similar experiences would reoccur. 

One month before the incident happened, I remember scrolling through Facebook and other social media platforms. I do not recall the other articles, but I do remember seeing an article written by blogTO about the discrimination that Chinese Canadians faced pertaining to the virus outbreak. Interested in the situation, I decided to pause my activities and read the article. 

Unbeknownst to me, parents who enrolled their children in the York Region district school board have signed petitions suggesting the cancellation of school programs.  Many of their reasons are related to parents and children of Chinese descent–stereotyping them as ‘animal eaters.’ 

The members of the Chinese Canadian community are aware of racism as well. During a late dinner in early February, my parents asked me if anyone had emotionally or verbally assaulted me and called me names. Remembering the articles I read and the experiences I heard about, I asked them if it was related to the increase of discrimination against the Asian-Canadian community. 

“Yes,” they answered. 

Although the experiences I mentioned above were from Canada, Asians living across the world have faced discrimination disrupting their daily activities. According to San Francisco State University, written reports of Asian discrimination due to the coronavirus have increased by 50% between February and March. Some of the reoccurring discrimination methods were systematic and indirect, while others were physically abusive. 

In the United States, a coalition of Asian-American rights advocacy groups received over 1100 reports of racism based on COVID-19. After Donald Trump labelled the virus as the ‘Chinese virus,’ multiple Asian Americans experienced violent attacks. In New York, a woman suffered a planned acid attack while taking out her garbage last month. Travelling outdoors and going grocery shopping is difficult for any Asian American in New York as they regularly are spat on, kicked, and pushed. 

The situation worsened to the point that Eddie Song, a businessman from Manhattan, started to bring his GoPro everywhere whenever he leaves the house. The reason behind the usage of a mobile camera is to record interactions pertaining to the virus and race. Other Asian Americans are following in his footsteps, as many are now relying on guns and video cameras to minimize the amount of discrimination they face. 

Other than the situations in North America, Asians are regularly attacked in Europe as well. Businesses owned by individuals of Asian descent have witnessed a decrease in revenue. In France, the manager of Pascal Corlier’s Vietnamese Restaurant told Reuters that the revenue was down by 40% compared to last year.  He added that customers would question nervously about his ethnicity before they order meals.

In addition, reporters from Germany visited Bonn to examine the discrimination faced by the Asian-German community. One surprising circumstance they noticed is that fewer customers entered the stores. Phuong Minh Hoang from Vietnam owns a food store near the train station and confirmed that fewer customers are visiting the shop. With the increase of panic followed by the virus, businesses are also starting to experience severe negative effects. 

Despite the negative experiences faced by individuals of Asian descent, some people decided to take initiative to change the perception of discrimination. According to Limam, a professor from Portugal addressed the misinformation of race and COVID-19 to his students. Joan Velosa first noticed the tense interactions that Chinese students faced and felt appalled by the treatment they received. Therefore, he took the initiative to break the barrier by creating a video to support Chinese health officials and citizens when tackling the outbreak. 

People from all over the world have also stepped in to cease physical attacks against Asians. In Italy, musician Francesco Facchinetti stopped two men from attacking an older Asian man in Brianza. He later emphasized on social media that people should be apologizing for their actions towards the Chinese community. 

Furthermore, the Chinese diaspora in France have addressed their experiences with racism on social media. The Twitter hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus voices their opinions and actions during a rough period. Due to the increase of globalization, individuals of Asian descent from across the world are now starting campaigns to address the situation. The Instagram page ‘#IAmNotAVirus’ was created by Asian Americans with the goal of strengthening the Asian community. Starting from a small movement, the page now aims to help Asian Americans speak up about their incidents. 

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the world economically and socially. Some of the social aspects include the discrimination that Asians from all over the world face. Other than a health pandemic, a social pandemic involving racism has started to emerge. Examining news articles from every region, most countries have reported the dire verbal and physical attacks against Asians. However, with the increased usage of social media, more people are now speaking up about their experiences. 

And that is why I am here to write an article for The Underground. 

This is my way of speaking about the ongoing social discrimination towards my culture, and I hope whoever faces racism will speak up as well.