As hate crimes vs. Asians rise in the U.S., the PH Embassy sounds the alarm
The Philippine Embassy in the United States has expressed concern over the rise of attacks against Asian Americans, advising Filipinos to be extra careful in light of a growing, and troubling, trend.
“The Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in the United States appreciate the swift action taken by a number of local authorities to apprehend perpetrators of these attacks,” the embassy said in a Feb. 25 statement released today. “However, we call on federal, state, and local authorities to further ensure the protection of persons of Asian descent, including Filipinos.”
“Filipinos are advised to exercise utmost caution in view of these incidents,” the embassy said.
Yesterday, Feb. 25, Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to also take note of the “rising hate attacks against Asian-Americans.”
"I request the Department of Foreign Affairs to express to the United States authorities, through our embassy and consulates, the necessity of protecting our citizens and fellow Filipinos," Garbin said in a statement. "US authorities should undertake effective responses to the racially motivated hate crimes, including their root causes.”
Garbin cited the case of 61-year-old Noel Quintana, whose face was slashed by a man onboard the New York subway in an unprovoked attack. Quintana later had a hundred stitches to his face.
A ticket booth attendant reportedly helped Quintana, who was on his way to work, after he staggered off the train with nary a help from bystanders.
"I was scared because I thought I was gonna die and nobody helped me," Quintana said in an ABC7 interview.
Garbin also mentioned the case of an elderly Filipino woman in San Diego who was punched by a man for no seeming reason.
"We hope the DFA prods the authorities in the US to make sure future assaults are prevented and the person who attacked the lola [grandmother] is arrested and charged,” Garbin said.
In December last year, Fil-Am Navy veteran Angelo Quinto reportedly died after police officers knelt on his neck while trying to restrain him. His family has now filed a wrongful-death claim against the city as his loved ones demand justice.
The reported incidents against Filipinos in the United States forms part of a growing trend of attacks against Asians that reportedly heightened during the onset of the pandemic last year as xenophobia against the Chinese grew. Previous president Donald Trump's racist remarks against migrants and Black Americans, which he supposedly made as he pandered to his white blue-collar base, also didn't help.
The group Stop AAPI Hate, which was formed in response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry from the COVID-19 pandemic, has documented 2,583 reports of Anti-Asian attacks since March last year.
“We are in a moment of reckoning right now where we get to choose what kind of people we are,” Amanda Nguyen, a multi-awarded advocate who has been talking about the issue, said in an interview with CNN below.
