May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYC and larger cities across America has seen a startling increase in harassment and discrimination against AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) communities. Many people of Asian descent, particularly older, first-generation immigrants who are not fluent in English, may not report bias incidents to the authorities.
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we would like to share a resource spearheaded by Esther Lim. She created a booklet in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish, to help provide a sense of empowerment and encourage victims to seek help. “English isn’t my first language,” one of the phrases says. “Someone is following me. Can you stay next to me until it is safe?” She plans to add Khmer, Arabic, Indonesian and Farsi.
Watch Ester Lim’s story. Click here to download the booklet. Please share this resource with your community.
**If you have seen anti-Asian harassment, speak up and report it to the NYC Commission on Human Rights by calling 212-416-0197, or filing an online report at http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination.