Already-struggling businesses vandalized in Chinatowns across the United States. A racist tweet from a Brazilian politician claiming that COVID-19 is part of China’s “plan for world domination.” The homes of Japanese families in Germany, covered in broken raw eggs thrown by pedestrians.
These incidents are part of a long and growing list of anti-Asian xenophobia that has intensified since COVID-19 began to spread outside the borders of mainland China. This is a curve that needs to be flattened, too.
And as new theories begin to emerge about the Chinese government’s involvement in the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re worried that incidents of Anti-Asian racism and xenophobia will rise as debates over the morality of actions by governments of Asian countries inevitably morph into an incredibly dangerous debate about the morality of Asian people in general.
This moment brings to mind other times groups were scapegoated and aliented, whether it’s the Muslim community after 9/11 or the LGBT+ community during the peak of the AIDS crisis. In this case, a mythical “model minority” is suddenly considered a threat.
Regardless of the extent to which theories about the Chinese government’s handling of COVID-19 are accurate or not, 2 things remain true. First, civilians should not be held accountable for the actions of their governments. And second, the actions of a few should not reflect the intentions of an entire group of people — especially the largest group of people in the entire world!
Now more than ever, it is time for solidarity of the strongest kind with a community that will become all the more vulnerable to harassment and violence – and young people need to be on the frontlines of this fight.
That’s why we started Quaranteens Against Xenophobia, a campaign working to bring together youth-led, Asian and progressive organizations from around the world, to stand in solidarity against increased levels of discrimination targeted at the Asian community following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quaranteens Against Xenophobia is a digital organizing effort by Hong-Kong based, student-run organization Inclusivity Hong Kong, with the goal of using social media as a platform to work towards organizing to inform a larger audience about xenophobia, and how it can be reported to the relevant authorities, fought, and prevented.
That said, in order to be effective in combating xenophobia, we have to address it at its root cause. That’s why we’re organizing to inform not just those with preexisting knowledge of the dangers and negative implications of xenophobia, but also to inform those who may hold xenophobic beliefs. Xenophobia compounds, and the best way to stop it is through the proliferation of information that is accessible and accurate. That’s not to say that education stops at simply knowing that xenophobia is bad – there’s a lot more to learn about. Whether it’s the role of class as a vector in experiencing xenophobia, or how to be a good ally to the Asian community in light of xenophobia, we’re aiming to delve deeper into issues of anti-Asian xenophobia through our educational materials.
That’s why we’re launching our social media weekend of action on April 25 and 26 – to educate beyond the surface level. Partnering with youth-led, Asian-America and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and progressive organizations ranging from the young and rapidly growing U.S. Youth Climate Strike to the Japanese American League of Citizens, the oldest AAPI civil rights organization in the US, we want to amplify a diverse range of perspectives, so that we’re able to bring more people into this conversation and movement.
The rise of COVID-19 has highlighted even further the need for and the benefits of solidarity transcending race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation. Inspired by the collaborative efforts of mutual aid programs and the digital organizing of climate justice and racial justice movements, Quaranteens Against Xenophobia has built a coalition of organizations and individuals from diverse backgrounds and causes, united in our common goal and fight against bigotry, discrimination, and racism against the Asian community.
Solidarity is the concept of showing support to others who may be experiencing a struggle different to yours. In other words, it’s the practice of fighting for someone you don’t know. And as the going gets tough for members of the Asian community, it’s on each and every one of us to do our part.
You can find “Quaranteens Against Xenophobia” on Instagram and Twitter.