Shootings put local AAPI communities on edge
When Thu Nguyen heard about the deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area spas, she thought first of her mother, a Vietnamese refugee and longtime owner of a Montrose nail salon.
“That could’ve been my mom,” said Nguyen, the 25-year-old director of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates. “Our community, my family, they’re incredibly shaken up. They’ve been living in fear the past year or so — heightened fear because of everything that’s going on — but this is truly something so deadly that it’s really shaken our community.”
Nguyen’s mother went to work Wednesday, as always, but she and other employees are practicing vigilance: locking doors, turning on lights, opening and closing the salon in groups, coming and going from work together.
The mass shooting has reverberated throughout Asian American communities in the Houston area, community members and leaders said. The tragedy has created more anxiety among a population that throughout the pandemic has been targeted by politicians and people espousing racist language, spewing verbal harassment and launching physical assaults.
“What happened in Atlanta yesterday has created a high fear among the local AAPI community,” said Chi-mei Lin, chief executive officer of the Chinese Community Center in Houston. “Asian women should never be targeted hate crime victims. No woman should.”
The organization is working with the Houston Police Department to arrange a town hall meeting, she said.
Houston police are increasing patrols “in the concerned areas,” the agency said Wednesday. They also encouraged residents to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior to law enforcement.
Meanwhile, authorities are stepping up patrols in Asian American communities across the region, according to the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office.
“We’ve asked our patrol deputies to pay close attention to our Asian community in light of yesterday’s shootings in Atlanta,” said Jason Spencer, spokesman for the agency.
Houston and Harris County officials have recorded no increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans, or any group, in the last year, the agencies said. Still, discrimination and verbal harassment against the population is rampant and national incidents of violence spark worry across the country.
There have been nearly 3,800 hate incidents nationwide reported between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021, to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization founded last year in response to xenophobia surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Verbal harassment and shunning made up the majority of incidents, while more than 11 percent were physical assaults. People from all 50 states reported incidents. Women reported hate incidents 2.3 times more often than men, the organization said.
In response to the rise in anti-Asian racism during the pandemic, the Houston Coalition Against Hate and OCA-Greater Houston are hosting free virtual bystander intervention trainings via Zoom to educate people and teach them practical skills to stand up to racism. Trainings will take place the first Thursday of each month between March and September.