CHINESE residents in Hackney have been shunned in public, had their businesses boycotted and been spat on in public because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to community leaders, prompting them to create a national database of racial abuse.
Jabez Lam, who runs Hackney Chinese Community Services (HCCS), a London Fields-based centre that provides advice, information and social services to the borough’s Chinese population, said the level of “open racism” faced by the Asian community is worse than at any point in his career.
Covid-19 spread
Covid-19 originated in the city of Wuhan, China, but has since spread to 115 countries, infecting over 300 people in the UK.
The majority of cases in this country originated in Italy, which entered nationwide quarantine this week.
Mr Lam, who has been an anti-racist activist for over 40 years, told Hackney Post: “Many Asian people are being avoided like they’re already carriers…they’re being treated differently because of their appearance.”
Because of the increased complaints, Mr Lam is creating a national database of coronavirus-related hate crimes, including that of Jonathan Mok, a 23-year-old student from Singapore, who was badly beaten on Oxford Street last week by a group of teenagers.
Woman spat on
He also recorded the incident of one woman who was spat on while using the Underground and told to “take her coronavirus back to China”.
The virus has also led to people avoiding Chinese restaurants in the borough, with some allegedly losing half their trade in just a few weeks.
Mr Lam highlighted how other cultures affected by the virus haven’t faced the same stigma.
He said: “If the reason was the virus, wouldn’t the same concerns apply to Italian restaurants, the country where most UK cases originated?
“This kind of prejudice already exists in society and all it took was the virus for people to publicly exhibit it.”
There is a long history of pandemics leading to anti-Asian racism.
In 2001 false claims that the foot and mouth outbreak was linked to a Chinese restaurant led to a 4,000-person demonstration in London by the Chinese community.
Mr Lam, who worked on an anti-racism unit in Hackney during the Sars outbreak of 2003, said racist abuse wasn’t as bad as today. “We didn’t receive a single complaint because of Sars, but it was a different time then,” he said.
“Then leaders talked about international cooperation and working together to eliminate problems, now we live in a time of populism. People only look to protect themselves.”
Hackney no place for hate
Councillor Caroline Selman, cabinet member for community, said: “Hackney is no place for hate, and discrimination against members of our Chinese community as a result of the coronavirus outbreak will not be accepted in our borough.
As long-time supporters of Hackney Chinese Community Services, the Council and the police’s hate crime officer have met with the group to discuss their concerns, and will do everything we can to make sure that this key part of Hackney’s diverse community is offered the support they need.
She added: “We’d encourage anyone who sees or experiences abuse as a result of coronavirus to report it to the police.”
Hackney Chinese Community Services will be holding an anti-racism seminar with the Metropolitan Police and the Council’s hate crime unit on March 23.
Andrew Kersley is a freelance journalist and student at City University. His previous work has been published in The Times and The i Paper.