(Xin Bei Quan 三藩市)
新聞中經常充斥著亞裔老人被虐待的事件。我沒有親身經歷過反亞裔的仇恨，但我母親在工作場所經歷過種族主義。我母親是一名理髮師。在她工作的地方我看到過的5名員工中，有3名是越南裔或華裔。有一天，我母親的白人男老闆進店來和工人打招呼。他甚至懶得看我母親和其他亞裔工人一眼，只和白人工人聊天。這給我母親留下了許多問題，比如，如果我是另外一個種族的人，他會和我說話嗎？他不理會我有甚麼原因嗎？他不和我說話的原因是不是因為他認為我不懂英語？如果我能夠聽懂英語呢？會有甚麼不同嗎？
我母親的經歷表明，對亞裔的仇視不僅僅是通過暴力，它可能是通過孤立或忽視。人沒有動手並不意味著沒有表現出仇視。它往往作為一種微冒犯而不被註意，就像一個愚蠢的笑話。這些「笑話」可能會走得太過，在情感上傷害到別人。這不僅僅只適用於亞裔，也適用於所有人。
針對亞裔的微冒犯在疫情之前就已經存在，在疫情期間和之後變得更加公開化，諸如說一名亞裔的午餐「很惡心」或嘲笑他們的口音和特徵等行為。這些評論對於一個本來為自己身為亞裔而自豪的人來說是非常傷人的。在互聯網上，許多人分享說，他們會扔掉或不吃午餐，結果挨餓、感到內疚，還有更多的複雜情緒。任何人都不應該有這種感覺。一個不能代表自己文化的地方，不是任何人想呆的地方。
至於我，我的經歷則完全相反。年少時我會想，如果我不是亞裔可以有甚麼樣的生活。其他人的眼睛是如此多彩，有藍色或綠色，而我的只是棕色。如果我的頭髮是金色或淺色的，我看起來會更「正常」。後來，我發現，我和他們長得不一樣並不意味著我沒有他們漂亮。我慢慢喜歡我的頭髮是黑色的，在陽光下閃閃發光。我的眼睛是棕色，也可以一樣漂亮。我甚至想過，如果我的家人會說英語，我的生活就會輕鬆很多。然而，如果我的父母只說英語，我怎麼能學習其他語言呢？我認為為自己的文化感到自豪是很重要的。永遠不要忘記你的根來自哪裡，否則樹就無法繼續生長。如果你不給根澆水，那麼樹就會發育不良。我喜歡來自我的文化的食物，我永遠不會遮掩它。我的家人從來沒有想過因為食物不好聞而將它藏起來。沒有人應該經歷這樣的事。
這個問題在三藩市越來越嚴重，因為我們看到針對亞裔的暴力事件在增加，使他們甚至不敢在外面行走。去年3月17日，有一位老婦人在光天化日之下在市場街遭到襲擊。這樣的事件讓我對我的社區和父母的安全感到擔憂。我認為人們不應該因為種族身份而受到歧視和攻擊。
既然這些暴力襲擊事件在新聞中被播出，人們對這種情況有了更多了解。宣傳是解決這一問題的非常重要的一個工具。如果我們想結束仇視，需要向更多人展示和講述情況，還應分享我們的文化如何在美國存在的歷史。人們應該了解這些人來自哪裡，以及他們為了在美國有一席之地所經歷的一切。我們也需要發出聲音，更有力地傳播讓人覺醒。我們需要能夠代表亞裔並倡導亞裔需求的民選官員。希望通過這些變化，我們作為一個社區可以齊心克服這種仇恨。我們所需要的正是一個人人都互相支持的社區。
【英文組優秀獎，本報翻譯為中文以饗讀者，英文原稿如下】
The news is often plastered with incidents where Asian American elderly are being abused. I have not personally experienced anti-Asian hate, however, my mother experienced racism at her workplace. My mother works as a barber. Of the 5 employees I saw at her workplace, 3 were either Vietnamese or Chinese. One day, my mother’s boss, who is a Caucasian male, entered the shop to check in with the workers. He didn’t even bother to look at my mother or the other workers that were Asian. He only chatted with the Caucasian workers. This left my mother with many questions such as: If I were a different race, would he talk with me Was there a reason why he ignored me Is the reason he isn’t talking to me because he thinks I don’t understand English What if I could understand English Would it be any different
My mother’s experience shows that hate against Asians isn’t just through violence. It could be through isolation or being ignored. Just because hands weren’t thrown it doesn’t mean hate wasn’t shown. This often goes unnoticed as a microaggression, like a silly joke. Those “jokes” can be taken too far and harm others emotionally. This doesn’t just only apply to Asians but to all types of people.
Microaggressions against Asian Americans persisted before the pandemic and became more overt after and during the pandemic. Acts like saying an Asian person’s lunch is “gross” or mocking their accent and features. These comments are very hurtful for a person who originally was proud to be Asian. On the internet, many people shared that they would throw away their lunch or not eat it which resulted in starvation, feeling guilty, and many more mixed emotions. No one should ever feel this way. A place where they can’t represent their culture is not a place anyone would want to be in.
As for me, my experience was quite the opposite. When I was younger I would ponder about the life I could’ve had if I wasn’t Asian. Others’ eyes were so colorful with blue or green while mine were just brown. If my hair was blonde or lighter I would look more “normal”. Later on, I found out that just because I look different from them that doesn’t mean I am not as beautiful as them. I slowly loved that my hair was dark and shimmered in the sun. Just because my eyes were brown they weren’t any less pretty. I even thought if my family spoke English my life would be so much easier. However, how would I learn any other languages if my parents only spoke English I think it is important to be proud of your culture. Never forget where your roots came from or else the tree can’t continue to grow. If you don’t water the roots then the tree will be stunted. I love the food from my culture and I will never shelter it. My family never thought about hiding our food away because it smelled bad. No one should go through that.
This problem is growing in San Francisco as we see the increase in violence against Asian Americans, making them afraid to even walk outside. Last year on March 17, there was an elderly woman was attacked on Market Street in broad daylight. Incidents like this make me concerned for the safety of my community and my parents. I don’t think people should be discriminated against and/or attacked for their racial identity.
Now that these violent attacks are broadcasted on the news people are more aware of the situation. Publicity is a very important tool to address this issue. If we want to put an end to this hate we need to show and tell more people about it. We should also share the history of how our cultures came to exist in America. People should understand where these people came from and what they had endured to have a place here in the United States. Voices are also needed to bring more power in spreading awareness. We need elected officials who can represent Asian Americans and advocate for Asian American needs. Hopefully, with these changes, we can overcome this hatred as a community. A community where everyone has each other’s back is just what we need.
Xin Bei Quan, San Francisco
