Radical shootings at a spa in Atlanta over the past week come after a year of increased violence against Asians in America. The Asian American community is blamed for causing COVID-19 – the virus first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Crowds wearing masks, waving American flags and carrying posters reading “We Are Not Viruses” and “Preventing Hostile Asians” stood in front of the Georgia Capitol on March 20.
“I want to make sure that the world and people know I am here and I am,” said protest participant Sunghee Han from Georgia.
Timothy Phan from Port St. Lucie, Florida, drove eight hours to attend the rally, telling CNN: “The dead women… I see my family in it. I feel it seems too often we get deleted “.
Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff – both Democrats elected in January – led protesters ignoring the victims, video on Twitter showed.
Sen. Ossoff said: “Let’s build a state and a country where no one has to live in fear for who they are or where they or their families come from.”
Georgia authorities have yet to determine what caused the suspect – a 21-year-old white young man – to be charged with murder at spas in and around Atlanta on March 16.
Robert Aaron Long told investigators that sex addiction caused him to suffer violence, but lawmakers and anti-racist advocates said anti-Asian bias could be part of the engine.
“I don’t care if he has a bad day or not.” – Senator Warnock said, criticizing the Atlanta area chief’s spokesman’s remarks about Long’s state of mind.
“No matter who wants to justify it, the truth remains the same. This is an attack on the Asian community ”– Bee Nguyen, Representative of the State of Georgia, spoke to the crowd.
Some of the women killed were immigrants and mothers – described by family and friends as hard-working and loved by everyone.
Hyun Jung Grant was among those killed at the Gold Spa in Atlanta. Her son – Randy Park – founded the GoFundMe site to raise money for himself and his brother are now in the US, while the rest of the family is in Korea.
“She is a single mother who has dedicated her life to raising me and my brother,” Park wrote.
The shooting caused a wave of grief from the local community in Georgia to the offices of Congress. Since March 16, residents have placed flowers and banners, lit candles and prayed outside the spa where the victims died.
US lawmakers have criticized the increase in anti-Asian violence in a Congressional hearing on March 15, where Democratic congressman Grace Meng – who is of Taiwanese descent – did testimony that “the community is bleeding”.
On March 19, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders of the Asian-American community in Georgia to express their condolences and urge Americans together to fight hatred.