Ashley Nguyen
What Is Xenophobia?
Xenophobia is a general term of discrimination against those with differences. Racism is a form of xenophobia - the discrimination based on race. Xenophobia has always been a crisis in the world, especially in the United States. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading over the past couple of months, xenophobia has widely increased throughout all 50 states with massive violence, bullying, and many other kinds of violations towards Asians and Asian Americans due to the virus’s origin.
Why Is This A Problem?
Coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, has become a global pandemic that affects everyone in our society regardless of their identities. This virus does not discriminate, it does not care about one’s race, ethnicity, or skin color. But if the virus itself is not biased, then why are we?
Our leaders call this virus the “Chinese Virus” or the “Kung Flu”. People started being more aware of Asians and Asian Americans. Asians are becoming targets for people to pick on and call them names. They are accused to be “the virus carriers,” and Asian American students are cyberbullied and bullied at school.
There have been numerous reported incidents in the U.S. where Asians have been seriously hurt just because other people assumed that they had COVID-19. And, this is not only occurring in the United States, but violence is happening in every continent around the world.
This has got to stop.
My Personal Experience With Xenophobia
My family and I moved to the United States four years ago in 2016 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We were so excited to choose Houston, Texas as the destination we wanted to start the next chapter of our lives. We thought that Texas was known for its cultural diversity and various communities. But, for the past four years, I have encountered racism, cultural shock, and language barriers. However, never in my life have I ever had to be afraid to simply go outside and get groceries with my mom.
Ever since the lockdown in Houston, I barely leave my house. I may go out to buy some skincare products at Target or go get Starbucks every once in a while. I have nothing to do, but my parents have been working all day, every day and go out every Wednesday to get groceries. One day, I decided to tag along.
Being well-aware of the increased cases in Houston, my whole family wore masks and gloves - we basically covered ourselves from top to bottom. Arriving at Walmart, I took a cart and sought for things on the grocery list mom gave me. Wandering down the frozen food aisle, I caught multiple people staring at me and my sister. I felt weird and awkward, but did not think much of it. At the time, I just thought people found our “ninja outfits'' funny. After getting everything we needed, my mom and I got our items checked out. I then saw the cashier looking at us strangely and got really uncomfortable, so I whispered to my mom: “Mom, hurry up! This lady probably doesn’t like us.” With that thought in mind, my mom rushed to take her card out of her purse and accidentally touched the cashier’s hand.
“OH MY GOD!,” she screamed.
We just stood there silently in shock.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I DON’T WANT TO GET SICK!,” she kept shouting.
I was stunned as my mom and I were both wearing gloves and were extremely cautious of public interactions.
But ladies and gentlemen, this is xenophobia, and this is racism. For the first time, I experienced racism in a public place other than at school. I was furious. Quickly, I took my mom’s card, slid it through the machine, and walked out as soon as possible.
I’ve always been an outgoing and sociable person. Going out has never been something that I hesitate to do. Nonetheless, I’ve developed the anxiety of going in public since the Walmart incident. It has become been difficult for me to go outside without feeling self-conscious and afraid of other people staring.
So, What Should We Do?
From my experience and reading countless other people’s stories, I have concluded that as COVID-19 cases rise, so does xenophobia. Every single one of us is being affected in ways that we could have never even imagined. I hope everyone that is reading this today keeps these things in mind, and please be kind to everyone, regardless of their origin, race, or any differences that set them apart. We are all human, after all.
This is an article from UNICEF USA that I recommend everyone to take a look at.
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