It is saddening and infuriating  to hear about the increase of hate crimes and violence toward the Asian American community, and more specifically, our believed and respected elders. In the past week alone, the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thai man who was tackled and assaulted by a 19 year old man has rattled and shaken the entire Asian American community to its core, and raised battle cries for awareness in cities such as San Francisco and Oakland. However, it is important to note that the violence towards Asian Americans is not central to these particular two cities: in San Jose,  California, a 64-year old Vietnamese woman was robbed and assaulted. A Filipino man in New York City was slashed in the face. And it is even more important to note that these types of hate crimes and attacks are not a recent phenomenon; the hatred and racism against Asian Americans have persisted through decades and have only catalyzed since the pandemic has happened. Enough is enough.

We would like to raise our voices and help strengthen the community-based organizations on safety concerns needed to help our community overcome this horrible time of injustice, ignorance, and inequality. Being Asian-American means that we deeply value the customs and traditions of our heritage to unite our families, our communities, and our people as a whole. We place a huge importance on respecting our elders, the heart and integral perseverance of our traditions and cultures. We connect with our elders, we respect our elders, and most importantly in these times, we protect our elders.

Let’s come together and put all our efforts into helping our community. Please note that aid and activism, no matter how small or large, is all beneficial to the cause of spreading awareness and creating a more culturally intelligent and sensitive society. If you do not have the means to donate your money or your time, sharing this post may mean that someone in your following can donate whatever money or time they may have. To gain more information about how you can get involved, please swipe left to receive all the resources we have compiled to help and strengthen our community moving forward.