JACKSON HOLE – In this idyllic valley located in far northwest Wyoming, between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges, I met a Filipino American whose work involves promoting the welfare of Filipinos in the US and fighting Asian hate and other racial crimes.
It is good that most Filipinos here in the mountain region of Wyoming work as nurses or are in the healthcare industry and, therefore, are usually spared from attacks by the perpetrators of such racial crimes, says Ben Menor, a political consultant and member of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).
But for the rest of America, the overall picture for Asians and Pacific Islanders isn’t exactly comforting because of the rising incidence of hate crimes, he says.
It’s sad to hear things like this, especially because, as it is, our fellow Filipinos are already enduring difficulties of living and working in distant lands, far away from home.
American dream
To this day, tens of thousands of Filipinos leave the Philippines every day to migrate here or elsewhere because of the lack of gainful opportunities in our country.
They want that better life, that great American dream – a life that is full, prosperous, and plenty. There are roughly 4.2 million Filipinos in the US as of end-2019, according to government data.
For many overseas Filipinos, building a life in a foreign country isn’t the easiest thing to do. You leave the warmth of home and end up in the coldness of a strange land.
The prevalence of Asian hate crimes certainly doesn’t make life any better.
Another victim
In New York last week, another Filipina became the victim of an unprovoked attack.
According to the New York Police Department, on Aug. 24, an unknown Black woman punched an elderly Filipina in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, ABS-CBN News reported. The attacker fled the scene. The victim was brought to a hospital in stable condition, according to the NYPD, the ABS-CBN report also said.
After last week’s incident, the Philippine Consul General in New York sent out an advisory warning Filipinos living or visiting New York City to remain vigilant and to exercise necessary precautions when walking the streets or taking the subway.
Raising awareness
Ben said this is also what his group is doing. NaFFAA is raising awareness among its members and the greater Filipino-American community and teaching safety measures to avoid being targeted by Asian hate.
These include not becoming a soft target; always being aware of one’s situation or surroundings, especially when out in the streets at odd hours; not neglecting one’s reality or situation; and giving the impression that he or she can handle himself so as not to be an easy target.
In all, NaFFAA, which has 3,000 member organizations, strives to encourage national and local officials to collectively denounce such acts.
Racial crimes saw an uptick since the start of the pandemic. Many attribute this to the xenophobic rhetoric of former US president Trump who has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as “the China virus.”
In doing so, Trump continued a long American history of using diseases to justify anti-Asian xenophobia.
Community solidarity
It’s good that groups such as NaFFAA and community leaders like Ben are working to help prevent more crimes from happening.
The Philippine Embassy in Washington, led by Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babes” Romualdez has also been in close coordination with US authorities. It also constantly issues advisories to Filipinos in the US regarding the problem.
For Russell Jeung, a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, community efforts and solidarity are the only ways to curb racist attacks, he said, as quoted by Time magazine in a February 2021 article.
Stop AAPI Hate is a reporting database created at the beginning of the pandemic as a response to the increase in racial violence.
“This is an issue that affects all our communities, and we have to break the cycle of violence. And we’re calling not necessarily for more punitive measures, but restorative justice models that break the cycle of violence, ethnic studies to teach people about racial solidarity, community mediation efforts to not only hold people accountable, but to work together to resolve issues,” he said in the article.
Being here in the US now, I realized the severity of the problem. Asian hate crimes is a serious issue indeed and I hope authorities and communities work together to step up security measures.
Over the long-term, I believe that restorative justice, as Jeung said, would help break the cycle of violence.
America prides itself as the land of the free. There should never be a place for xenophobia, hate or racism here. Or elsewhere.
I wish my fellow Filipinos here in the US a safe and secure life. Their great American dream must never turn into a nightmare.
Iris Gonzales’ email address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com.
Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com