During the pandemic, there has been a steady rise in prejudice and hate crimes against the Asian community. Racial slurs encouraged by the likes of Donald Trump in calling coronavirus ‘Wuhan virus’, etc. have only escalated it. Now while, it has been branded as an ‘American problem’, we in the UK are no less to blame.
These articles written by British-Asian journalists give an inside into how this has affected the British Asian Community:
- Tom Matsuda, It’s Time To Talk About Anti-Racism in the UK
- Alex Smith, Stark Reality of Anti-Asian Racism in the UK
This recent surge in Asian-directed hate crime has also been highlighted by Asian celebrities such as Killing Eve‘s Sandra Oh and Crazy Rich Asian‘s Emma Chan:
“What’s even more concerning is that the recorded figures are likely an underestimation because many incidents go unreported, both to the police and in the media”
-Emma Chan, Actress
Emma Chan has publicly endorsed the ESEA Community Fund shown below, and encourages others to do so to fight against discrimination and support those who suffer due to it.
Support:
- AKT – supports lgbtq+ young people aged 16-25 in the UK who are facing or experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile environment
- Stop Hate UK – one of the leading national organisations working to challenge all forms of Hate Crime and discrimination, based on any aspect of an individual’s identity. Stop Hate UK provides independent, confidential and accessible reporting and support for victims, witnesses and third parties
- ESEA Community Fund – will issue grants to grassroots organisations supporting ESEA and broader communities. It is raising funds through GOFUNDME and has so far raised £38,300 of its stated £50,000 goal.
Raise awareness of this by either reporting hate crimes or by donating to the fund to support ESEA communities.
