Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Haunted by mass shootings in Half Moon Bay, Chinese farmworkers seek a way back

Mourners attend a memorial organized by the city in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting. City officials say Chinese farmworkers did not attend out of fear of backlash, given the identity of the shooter and ongoing attacks against the AAPI community. (Manuel Ortiz Escamez/Peninsula 360 Press v Bay City News)

By Peter Schurmann, Video and Photos by Manuel Ortiz.

Half Moon Bay, CA – Mr. Huang lives in a modest one-bedroom apartment off Highway 1, just a few miles from the town of Half Moon Bay. Originally from Hong Kong, he stands at the front door to welcome the group of support providers who arrive for one of their regular visits.

Before January, Huang and a handful of other Chinese farmworkers here were so invisible that few in this otherwise close-knit coastal community even knew they existed.