FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2021
WASHINGTON D.C. — The Afghan Diaspora for Equality and Progress (ADEP) issues the following statement in response to the gruesome murders in Atlanta, Georgia:
We are distraught and angered by the news coming out of Atlanta, Georgia, where at least 8 people were shot to death in a murdering spree that targeted women of Asian descent. We are dismayed and condemn the hatred that led to this gruesome and painful tragedy. The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has been experiencing a new wave in anti-AAPI hate incidents in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Stop AAPI Hate noted in their report released yesterday, “there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic, but not for AAPIs.”
Right-wing hate and rhetoric against the AAPI community is a persistent and ever-present issue in the US. This country has a long, violent history of white supremacy, and anti-Asian racism and imperialism that continues today. Racist laws targeting Chinese people form the foundation of the U.S. immigration system, and the state’s internment of families of Japanese descent is the precursor to modern refugee camps at the southern border. The Biden administration has perpetuated this historic targeting of Asian immigrants—ICE deported 33 people to Vietnam just this past Monday.
For us to prevent this from happening again, we must all take part in confronting this history whilst also recommitting ourselves to do the work of anti-racism in our families, friend groups, workplaces, and schools. That work must center on working-class Asian folks, elderly Asians, and Asian women, who are the most common targets of white supremacist anti-Asian violence. Furthermore, we support a vision of justice that protects the AAPI community without involving the police. Policing and carceral approaches in the past have been used as a pretext for increased police and surveillance, which is counter to our vision of justice and would harm the same communities targeted in yesterday’s attack.
We stand in solidarity and commit to fighting for our friends and neighbors in the AAPI community. Please click on the resources below to learn more.
READ:
Stop AAPI Hate’s report on anti-Asian attacks
Violence against Asian Americans is part of a troubling pattern
Asian American Communities Organize Against Rise in Hate Crimes, Say More Policing Is Not the Answer
As Chinese Exclusion Act Turns 135, Experts Point To Parallels Today
We Want Cop-Free Communities: Against the Creation of an Asian Hate Crime Task Force by the NYPD
DONATE:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice: Atlanta
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