CALGARY -- In the early stages of the pandemic, Rosalind Kang experienced what would become a growing problem among the Asian community this year.
In March, Kang was at a grocery store when a man came up to her and started berating and calling her racial slurs for wearing a mask.
Months later, Kang said the encounter is still traumatizing.
“It’s really hard because you’re not quite sure what to do,” she said. “You feel like you got a target on your back.”
Since the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Wuhan, China in late December, some have blamed Chinese and other Asian people for it.
A June Angus Reid poll of more than 500 Chinese-Canadians found half were called names or insulted because of the outbreak, while 43 per cent said they've been threatened or intimidated.
Racism and discrimination towards Asian people has been condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other top officials in Canada, but Teresa Woo-Paw, co-founder of a non-profit organization called Act2EndRacism, said hateful rhetoric from other powerful individuals like U.S. President Donald Trump has only added fuel to the issue.
“When we have high-profile figures and iconic personalities including people like Donald Trump calling this the China Virus and the Kung Flu virus it just becomes open season for the bullies,” she said.
A study done by various organizations, including the Toronto-based Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, found Canada has a higher number of anti-Asian racism reports per capita compared to the United States.
In another report, about 14 per cent of Canadians believe or were unsure if all Chinese or Asian people carry the virus.
The misconceptions have been damaging and are similar to anti-Asian sentiments during the SARS outbreak in 2003, as well as the "Yellow Peril" period in the 19th century, when diseases were sometimes associated with Asian people.
“In Canada during the migration it came up quite heavily because they wanted to shut the borders and not let Chinese bodies in,” said Irene Shankar, a sociologist with Mount Royal University in Calgary.
“There was a huge rhetoric that was used about how Chinese bodies are dangerous bodies and it will corrupt our culture and our people and bring disease in.”
Shankar said anti-Asian sentiments haven’t gone away, they’ve just been magnified during the pandemic.
Efforts have been made to quell fears and misconceptions about Asian people and COVID-19.
Amy Go, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, said her group held a press conference after the first two positive cases in Toronto were confirmed.
“We believe it’s important to do the little things. Even changing ones mind would be better than none,” said Go.
Go said her organization and others are calling on the federal government to include an anti-racism strategy in its post-pandemic recovery plan.
While various groups work to find ways to effect change and support those victimized during the pandemic, Kang is hoping that by telling her story she will help others understand the impact racist attacks have had on the Asian community.
“Racism can be quite traumatic for many people especially those who experience it because they feel a sense of isolation if no one intervenes or nobody says anything.”