San Diego, CA March 19, 2021
San Diego Asian Americans For Equality (SDAAFE), a local non-partisan organization advocating equality for Asian Americans and all Americans, in the strongest possible terms, condemns the recent unprovoked attacks, killings, and murders targeting innocent Asian Americans. We send our deepest condolences to the victims and their families of these egregious crimes out of pure hatred, bigotry and violence.
We, Asian Americans, have always been proud to be the law-abiding and hard working model citizens of our society. We are proud of our cultural roots, and also embrace the values of this land of the free and home of the brave with full heart. Although Asian Americans had our own history of being discriminated against systematically, we believe this country is on the right track to cure its past ails and have confidence in a bright future for all Americans. However, ever since the pandemic started last year, there has been a significant increase of racist violence against Asian Americans. An 84-year-old Thai grandpa was knocked down to the ground and lost his life while taking a morning walk in San Francisco. A 64-year-old Vietnamese grandma was assaulted and robbed in San Jose. The face of a 61-year-old Filipino man was slashed with a box cutter on a New York City subway. And a few days ago, the news of the cold-blooded murders of eight Atlanta spa workers hit and saddened all of us. All of these have to be stopped!
SDAAFE believes that at times like this, “there is no them, only us.” SDAAFE calls for all Americans, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or political affiliations, to stand together with our fellow Asian Americans, to bring justice and equality to all. SDAAFE also urges the law enforcement to strengthen their protection of Asian American communities, and advocates to prosecute the perpetrators to the full extend of the law. Shoulder to shoulder, we will fight together to rid this land of free of all hatred, bigotry and violence.