Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
After a video surfaced of an 84-year-old Asian-American senior citizen being brutally thrown to the ground by a hooded man in San Francisco, several people have volunteered to accompany Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders?AAPIand prevent attacks.
And in the wake of an increase in attacks against Asian Americans in the Bay Area, concerns from activists and community leaders have also increased.
The support began when Jacob Azevedo felt that the attacks on the AAPI community had gone too far and upon seeing the videos of the attack, he was "sick to his stomach," he told CNN.
The young man told the news network in an interview that, exhausted by the violence, he offered on social media to walk with anyone in Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood to help them feel safe.
"I didn't intend to be some kind of vigilante. I just wanted to offer people some kind of comfort," the 26-year-old said.
His idea and proposal quickly gained traction in the area, and within days, the young volunteer was joined by nearly 300 people who, like him, seek to protect the AAPI community from further attacks, and who together created the "Compassion" project in Oakland.
According to CNN, Azevedo, who is of Latino descent, believes this is a time for all minority groups to stand in solidarity with the Asian-American community.
"This is important because this community just needs to heal. There are a lot of racial tensions because of the rhetoric of the previous president - Donald Trump - but overall our communities need to heal. This is a problem that has been ongoing for a while," the young man added.
According to Stop APPI Hate, between March 19 and Dec. 31, 2020, more than 2,808 cases of hate attacks against Asians were reported from 47 states and the District of Columbia.
Of those, 7.3 percent of the incidents involved Asian Americans over the age of 60.
