A U.S. Census poll released earlier this month found that Asian American households were twice as likely as white households to admit they did not have enough food during the pandemic because they were afraid to go out, not because of trouble. of affordability or transportation. In contrast, households from other racial groups said they were experiencing food insecurity due to the pandemic. Asian American respondents did not specifically say whether it was fear of racial attacks that kept them at home.

Anni Chung, president and CEO of San Francisco-based Self-Help for the Elderly, says the seniors they help were affected by a “second virus which is a virus of hate.” The nonprofit organization provides food and programs to more than 40,000 seniors in the Bay Area, most of them Asians. The organization went from hauling a pre-pandemic load of 400 meals a day to more than 5,000 a day. Last year, they distributed 963,000 meals. overall compared to 436,000 typically.

“Sometimes when we talk to older people, they say that this hatred led to them being trapped in their home even worse than the pandemic,” Chung said.

For them, fear is more than a headline, but something in their own backyard.

“One of our clients was on the bus. Right before the man got off the bus, he just hit her, ”Chung said. “She said that no one, not the bus driver and several Chinese on the bus, were in her care.”

Hate crimes against Asian Americans have skyrocketed since the coronavirus entered the United States, and high-profile people like former President Trump dubbed it the “China virus.” But discrimination against the community has been a rampant but underreported problem long before COVID-19. Karthick Ramakrishnan of AAPI Data, joined LX News to talk about this painful story and what can be done about it.

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