Canada has faced a rude awakening around the rise of anti-Asian racism. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a wave of attacks on Asian-Canadian seniors and vandalism of many Asian-Canadian companies. As a result, the Chinese-Canadian community continues to live quietly in fear, isolation and anger.
On the eve of the 44th Canadian federal election, they are now talking about what they are demanding of federal electoral candidates.
“Canada is a multicultural country with people from all over the world. Our politicians must strive to make it a vibrant nation where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, ”said Shiwei Mao, a Chinese-Canadian retiree, in Mandarin, the only language she speaks other than her native Shanghainese. “But what did they do? Almost two years have passed since COVID-19 and our politicians have made a mess. Our society and our economy have been profoundly altered, with chaos and racism everywhere!”
Mao has also faced racism. At the beginning of the pandemic, before the mask mandates, he wore a mask on public transportation. “As soon as I sat on the bus, the person next to me got up and changed seats. It made me feel very uncomfortable, ”she said. “We Chinese understood the importance of wearing masks when the pandemic began in our country. But everyone else looked at us strangely for wearing masks. “
In the late 1970s and living with her husband in Scarborough, Mao is angry that the pandemic has turned into a political problem and has changed her idea of security. She believes that the measures against the pandemic should have been led by experts and scientists rather than politicians who have “little knowledge and training in public health and epidemiology.”
As a direct result of COVID-19, Mao hasn’t been able to get out much. “My husband, who is 86 years old, has reduced mobility and uses a wheelchair. Every time we want to go out, it is a huge hassle, since we do not have a car and we use public transport, ”he explained. “It is extremely inconvenient for us that there is not enough public transportation and that their schedule is inconsistent. I want more accessible public transportation with a more regular and consistent schedule. “
Another problem is accessibility to medical care. Although Mao and her husband were able to find a Chinese-Canadian doctor who gave them information on how to protect themselves, she is aware that not everyone in the community is so lucky. “It is difficult for many Chinese to find a doctor who speaks their particular dialect. I think the percentage of doctors in Canada who have certain cultural backgrounds should match the percentage of Canadians who have the same origin, ”he said.
Amy Go, president of the Chinese-Canadian National Council (CCNC), believes that this pandemic has highlighted the wealth disparities in our society. “The pandemic really highlights the differential access to services for racialized seniors and seniors who don’t speak English,” he said. “In addition to an already scarce number of culturally adapted services, COVID-19 has disrupted the few services that were available. Chinese-Canadian seniors who depend on home care for their basic daily needs and who need regular medical care have been hit hard. “
Go has heard from many older people who have battled the pandemic. “They were very scared from all the assaults. Many of them made heartbreaking comments like ‘We moved to Canada to build a better life for our children. But now we are questioning that decision and hope that our children will not have to move again, ”he said. “Older people go out and see that people treat them differently. They know it’s wrong, but they don’t know what to say as they don’t have the English skills to say anything. ”
CCNC has sent questions to the federal parties on these matters, but has not received a response. The Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party also did not return requests for interviews.
Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy said that since its establishment in 2019, “the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat has been leading an entire government approach to addressing racism and discrimination in all its forms in Canada, including anti-Asian racism.” In March, they established a task force to work with “diverse government organizations and communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic … including Canadians of Asian descent, to ensure that our response to COVID-19 is based on lived experiences. “.
But for some, the lack of political representation leads to a lack of understanding about how to better care for diverse populations that require a more specific response.
“We need Chinese-Canadian politicians to represent us in the House of Commons so that our demands can be brought forward,” said Ru Xie, another Scarborough resident who lives with her husband and daughter. “I believe that in a multicultural country like Canada, it is the responsibility of the federal government to intervene when there is racism.”
Although COVID-19 has kept Xie at home largely due to security concerns, he ventured to participate in a protest against Asian racism after seeing reports of attacks circulating on WeChat, a Chinese social network.
Dr. Henry Yu, professor of Asian-Canadian and Asian migration studies, believes that this past year and a half has forced Canada to confront its history of anti-Asian racism. “Our communities seek a commitment from all party leaders that is not empty. Saying, ‘We are not racist in Canada’ is not enough, because you say that does not mean it is true. Because this is happening in Canada, ”he said. Dr. Yu firmly believes that Canada should be carefully examined and asked why this nation scapegoats the Asian-Canadian population to solve structural problems rather than simply enact superficial measures.
“What needs to be implemented across the board is to collect more disaggregated data, especially in the context of COVID-19, on who is being served in the mental health system and what access is like for people who are linguistically diverse or marginalized. and other ways, ”said Cindy Quan, a researcher at the University of Victoria. She believes that part of the solution lies in obtaining disaggregated data on anti-Asian racism, because historically Canada has not been attentive to data collection to address its problems with racism.
“We need greater accountability at various levels of government, stricter laws on hate crimes and discrimination, better-crafted legislation in that regard, and clear consequences for engaging in racist behavior,” he said.
Reference-www.thestar.com