Jessica Algie

It’s a common misconception that because of how diverse London is, racism and xenophobia doesn’t exist within the city’s walls. Living in London as a mixed-race woman (my mother is from Hong Kong, and my father is white), I’ve never experienced racism to an aggressive degree other than the occasional stereotypical remarks of “Ni Hao,” or “want some fried rice?” However, with the arrival of Covid-19 in the UK, myself, my loved ones and my student community have experienced an increase in anti-asian sentiment to a level unmatched. 

Two weeks after having returned to London from Thailand and a week before the UK's national lockdown, I went to my insurance office to file a claim. After having disclosed that I had recently been back from the Asian continent (which wasn’t necessary to disclose in this case, this woman was not an immigration official) things escalated to her interrogating me about my ethnicity. Her expression changed from one of politeness to anger, bombarding me with questions about whether myself, my parents and my extended family were Chinese. I left feeling extremely violated, uncomfortable and afraid. What is worse, I am not the only person of East Asian descent that has been through such an experience. 

Back in January, during her commute into London, my Aunty noticed that upon embarking the train carriage people started to move away from her and walked into the next carriage. When my Aunty decided to take her seat next to an old lady, the lady proceeded to get up and manoeuvre away. For the next two months before the national lockdown, this incident repeated itself like a recurring nightmare. 

In February, a Singaporean university student in London was violently attacked for wearing a mask. Within a lot of countries in Asia, wearing a mask is a cultural norm and citizens are considered responsible for doing so. On the rise is ‘maskaphobia’, which has been causing many Asian students to voluntarily leave the UK - and their studies - behind, in fear that the verbal racism may one day escalate to physical violence. 

“Since January I definitely felt that people were going out of their way to avoid asian looking people in general. Like covering their faces with scarves when I sat next to them on public transport, or moving to another section of the train car even when that area is more crowded. I guess people are afraid of the unknown, or just have a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding, as well as ignorance,” said Nick, a London-based student from Thailand. 

There is no denying the fact that the Chinese Government has been known to oppress its citizens of free speech, even accusing whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang of making false claims about COVID19 despite initial warnings back in December 2019 that a new strain of coronavirus had emerged. However, President Donald Trump calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus” only seems to be exacerbating anti-asian sentiment, giving people permission to externalise their internal prejudice and be violent. 

“It's true that the virus came from China, but I feel like it only serves to embolden racists who won't make any distinction between the Chinese government and people of East Asian descent,” said Nick. We are fearful that, in the eyes of the western world, East Asians have now become synonymous with the Chinese government. 

“Around February, I first experienced racism while I was hanging out with other Asian friends in the city centre. A car passed by and a guy yelled  "go back to China, Coronavirus.” The second time I was walking down the street towards university. A cable company van passed by me, and the driver yelled “corona”' at me. I do recall another incident that still makes me really angry: I was walking back home and there was a driver that opened the window and coughed at me before driving away,” declared John, a Malaysian student at Southampton University.

“I was left feeling paranoid for two weeks straight as I had developed a sore throat after the incident. I personally feel that the amount of racism is actually the same compared to before, now it’s just with a different slogan.” 

John’s sentiment is echoed by others all over the world, with some turning to social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok to share their experiences of increased racism going on in the West. A Twitter user even noted that “Italy is now the most infected country outside of China, but you can guarantee that people won’t be avoiding pizza the same way they did with Chinese food.” 

Despite social media hashtags such as #avirusisnotracespecific, the UK government has yet to take action against such attacks. It is worth mentioning that most Western governments did not take national action or circulate health advice until Italy was declared the new epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the government and the hashtag campaigns, it seems, are doing little to quell harassment experienced by East Asians living in the UK. 

There is a difference between blaming ethnic groups for a pandemic and respectfully acknowledging the virus’ origins. For most of 2020, East Asians have been scapegoats for the state’s inability to act sooner rather than later. We deserve to be heard, to feel safe, and to have our pain be taken seriously.

The art accompanying this piece is courtesy of © Madama Marilou (@madame_marilou).