Since the COVID-19 virus first reached U.S. shores, its horrific effects have spread further than the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, social isolation, and economic recession. even before COVID-19 became a pandemic, anti-Asian sentiment had already been stirring around the world, manifesting itself in the United States as (completely unfounded) boycotts of Chinese restaurants and an increase in racist acts against Asian Americans (opens new tab). According to Stop AAPI (Asian American/Pacific Islander) Hate, in just 20 weeks from mid-March to early August, the organization has seen an increase of anti-Asian sentiment across the U.S., including a (completely unfounded) boycott of Chinese restaurants and an increase in racist acts against Asian Americans (opens in new tab). In a 20-week period, the organization received approximately 2,600 reports (opens in new tab) of anti-Asian hate crimes across the U.S.

: in New York, for example, the Attorney General established a hotline in March to report incidents, and in August the NYPD launched an anti-Asian hate crime investigation and prosecution only launched a task force focused solely on the investigation and prosecution of anti-Asian hate crimes. Within a week of taking office, President Joe Biden issued a memorandum (open in new tab) condemning the previous administration's role in fostering anti-Asian sentiment and calling on federal agencies to develop plans to combat racism against the AAPI community.

Despite these efforts, hate crimes continued to rise in the first weeks of 2021, with several cities reporting an increase in brutal crimes against Asian American residents. But activists like Amanda Nguyen, whose February 5 Instagram post (opens in new tab) about the recent attacks quickly went viral, and the $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator who assaulted three people in the Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, California, on January 31 Thanks to the work of celebrities including Daniel De Kim and Daniel Wu, who offered a reward (open in new tab), this xenophobia and racism is finally getting widespread national attention. Here's what you need to know about this crime wave and what you can do about it.

Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai-born resident of San Francisco, was killed on the morning of January 28 when a man ran full speed into him, knocking Ratanapakdee to the ground and leaving him standing. Paramedics who arrived on the scene rushed Ratanapakdi to the hospital, but he died two days later, local Fox affiliate KTVU 2 reported (opens in new tab). The suspect in Ratanapakudy's death has been identified as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon.

On January 31, just days after the attack on Ratanapakdi, three people, ages 91, 60, and 55, were assaulted in Chinatown near Oakland, apparently by the same person. As seen in the surveillance video that is now going viral, all three were pushed from behind and left with injuries; ABC 7 (opens in new tab) reports that a person of interest in the crime was arrested on February 1. Carl Chang, president of Oakland's Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, told ABC 7 (opens in new tab) that there were more than 20 robberies and attacks in the area in late January alone. Most of them targeted women and the elderly, and Chan believes that more crimes have occurred but have not been reported.

Meanwhile, on February 3, a 64-year-old Vietnamese woman in San Jose was robbed in broad daylight after she withdrew money from a bank to celebrate Chinese New Year, KTVU 2 (opens in new tab) reported. When the woman tried to get back into her car, the perpetrator drove in, jumped out of the car, stole her purse and keys, and drove off.

And this horrific rise in hate crimes is not limited to the Bay Area: according to the Willamette Week (opens in new tab), during the last week of January, at least nine Asian businesses were vandalized and windows were broken in Portland, Oregon. Further south, in San Diego, an elderly Filipino woman was beaten by a 35-year-old man identified as James Winslow while riding a trolley on February 8.

Across the country, on February 9, photographer Min was documenting two manhole explosions in Queens when a man approached her and began hurling racist questions and comments.

"No one stepped in to help, even though they saw me running up and down the block, surrounding myself, trying to dodge the man coming at me, and continuing to harass him," Min said in the video. Such anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment need to stop. We are frightened because there has been so little coverage of this."

"We have been told that the government is not going to help us,"

and that "the government is not going to help us.

Less than a week later, on February 16, two elderly Asian American women, ages 68 and 71, were attacked in separate incidents in the N.Y.C. subway, PIX11 (opens in new tab) reported.

In early February, Amanda Nguyen (opens in new tab), founder of the civil rights organization Rise (opens in new tab) and nominee for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, posted a video on Instagram explaining the recent rash of anti-Asian hate crimes and asking viewers to help inform Within 24 hours, the video had more than 3 million views and was shared by many other users across the large platform, including Gemma Chan, Amy Schumer, and Phillip Lim.

The same day, actors Daniel Day Kim and Daniel Wu shared footage of a three-man attack in Oakland on January 31 and jointly pledged a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. We must do more to help the literally thousands of Americans who are suffering at the hands of this utterly senseless violence. We must stand firm and say, 'Enough is enough. Please help bring this criminal to justice,'" Wu wrote on Instagram.

These efforts have already resulted in a significant increase in awareness of the attacks: on February 7, Nguyen, Kim, and Wu appeared on MSNBC's "American Voices with Alicia Menendez" (opens in new tab) to discuss anti-Asian racism's They discussed the need for immediate action to stem the rise of anti-Asian racism. And on February 8, in a video (opens in new tab) that Nguyen published on his Instagram page, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (opens in new tab) said that Biden was "concerned" about the continuing attacks and was working on developing a plan to address them.

Since then, even more activists and celebrities with large platforms have lent their voices to the cause, many of them rallying around the #StopAsianHate hashtag. These include Prabal Gurung, Eva Chen, Christel Lim, and Olivia Mang, the last of whom posted on Instagram on February 17 asking for help identifying the Queens man who allegedly attacked her friend's mother.

"These racist hate crimes against our elders must stop," Munn wrote.

First and foremost, if you witness or are targeted in a hate crime attack, or have information regarding any other ongoing investigation, you should immediately report it to authorities by first calling your local police department and then filing a report (open in new tab) with the FBI.

In addition, as evidenced by the efforts of Gwen and many others on social media, sharing and reposting verified information about the attack on their platforms can raise awareness, protect the AAPI community, and act to bring justice to It can have a significant impact in ensuring that. Some accounts to follow: Nguyen (opens in new tab), Kim (opens in new tab), Wu (opens in new tab), NextShark (opens in new tab), Stop AAPI Hate (opens in new tab), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (opens in a new tab).

You can also show your support for the community in several ways, such as patronizing local Chinatown restaurants and stores, joining AAPI community organizations, or if you live in the Oakland area, helping escort elderly community members around the Chinatown neighborhood. and volunteer your time (click here to sign up (opens in a new tab)).

Finally, you can also show your support financially. A GoFundMe (opens in new tab) has been started to support the family of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdi, who was murdered in San Francisco. In addition, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (opens in new tab), Stop AAPI Hate (opens in new tab), Asian Pacific Environmental Network (opens in new tab), Womankind (opens in new tab), Anti (opens in new tab), Womankind (opens in new tab), Anti-Defamation League (opens in new tab), and other nonprofit civil rights organizations.