This week, a year after fatal shootings at three Georgia massage businesses, protests took place in cities around the country, including Albuquerque, calling for an end to anti-Asian violence.
Six women of Asian descent were among the eight killed in those shootings near Atlanta. Asian-American people, especially women, have suffered a rise in violence in recent years in part due to the previous administration blaming China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday evening, dozens of people holding signs battled gusty winds and called for an end to anti-Asian violence nationally and in Albuquerque, where two Chinese women were killed in spas and massage parlors in January and February.
Chunxia Fang lost her niece, Sihui Fang, when she was murdered in her business, Wonderful Massage, in January. She addressed the crowd in Mandarin.
“My niece was killed the night of January 24th by someone, and another sister from Taiwan was killed in February. We can never understand why things like this happen," she told the crowd. "Everyone has one and only one life, and we have to cherish our lives. Why do things like this happen in this society? Her death brought our family tremendous pain. We will never forget this.”
The protest, organized by ANSWER, an anti-racist organization, was held next to the Bernalillo County Courthouse, at the base of the towering golden sculpture “View from Gold Mountain.” It commemorates a landmark civil rights case from 1882, which challenged a ban on Chinese people testifying in court, removing their ability to be witnesses in criminal and civil cases. The case overturned the ban, but Asians still struggle with reporting hate crimes.
Chearie Alipat, an Asian immigrant who attended the protest, said anti-Asian violence is not new, but there are still fears about speaking out.
“It’s time for us to stand up and say something, and to be able to report. It’s enough of the violence, it’s enough of the hatred, we do not deserve that," Alipat said.
Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 150% in 2020 from 2019 according to a study releasedlast year by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino, which examined police records in 16 of the country’s largest cities.
Anti-Asian violence has a long history in the United States, from anti-Chinese racism against laborers in the 1800s, to Japanese internment during World War II, to the targeting of South Asians after the 9/11 attacks.
Satchi Watase, executive director of the New Mexico Asian Family Center, said the lack of visibility of anti-Asian violence before COVID has discouraged people from reporting crimes for many years, and policies related to hate crimes are complicated.
"The policies around hate crimes are very flawed because it has to reach a very specific type of qualification to be deemed a hate crime," Watase said. "And so oftentimes there isn't much that our law enforcement can do."
She added that many Asian immigrants are facing serious issues with housing and food security, so reporting less violent racially motivated crimes may not be a priority.
Jen Pack, who attended the protest with a traditional Korean drum called a yonggo, is mixed race Korean and Anglo-American. She said the Atlanta killings shook her, and forced her to reckon with her identity.
"I've had my own experiences and confusion growing up around being able to even claim being Asian," she said. "The pandemic and the tick of Asian hate definitely reminded me that I walk around with the Asian face, and I'm perceived as Asian here in the US."
Pack says she acknowledges her privileges as an American citizen and someone who speaks English, which would make things easier for her to report a hate crime. For Asian women who don’t speak English or who might be undocumented, reporting race and gender based hate crimes is even more challenging.
Mai, and her friend Ting, who asked to only be identified by their first names, say they have been afraid in their homes and businesses since former president Donald Trump blamed Chinese people for COVID-19, but they don’t want to move.
“We are not the enemy here," said Mai in Mandarin. "We all live here, we love this country, we love Albuquerque, so we live and work here. My son lives here, my grandchildren live here, we love it here so we hope we can stop the Asian hate.”
Ting says she sees Asian women are perceived as passive and weak, easy targets. She said gun ownership isn’t part of their culture, so they want more police protection.
Ting and Mai say they were happy to see that some people came out in solidarity, but would hope there is a bigger turnout next time there is a protest against anti-Asian hate.
"Chinese people (and) Asian people can go together. I noticed that not too many people here today. But I hope that next time we do the same thing we'll have more people join us," Ting said.
