Atlanta shootings expose fears of Asian-American community

ATLANTA: The shooting of six women of Asian origin in Atlanta has laid bare the fears of an Asian-American community already on edge over a spike in hate crimes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The suspect in the attacks in the US city in Georgia was to make his first court appearance on Thursday as a House subcommittee held a hearing to address the rise in violence against Asian-Americans.

"For many Asian-Americans, Tuesday’s shocking events felt like the inevitable culmination of a year in which there were nearly 3,800 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate incidents," said Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee.

Anti-Asian incidents have grown "increasingly more violent over time as the Covid-19 pandemic worsened," Cohen said. The surge, he said, had been fueled by references to the "China virus" -- a term often used by Donald Trump although Cohen did not cite the former president by name.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, faces eight counts of murder and one charge of aggravated assault for Tuesday’s shootings at three Atlanta massage parlors, in which six of the eight people killed were women of Asian origin.

The authorities said Long, who is white, has admitted carrying out the attacks but claims he was not motivated by racial hatred. Instead, he told detectives he is a sex addict who wanted to "eliminate" the "temptation" of massage parlors and had previously frequented such establishments.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Long’s claims should be taken "with a grain of salt" and it was "difficult to ignore" that most of the victims were of Asian descent. Sarah Park, president of the Korean American Coalition-Metro Atlanta, said racism was clearly a factor.

"Yes it is a hate crime against Asian-Americans," Park said, criticizing what she sees as the reluctance of the authorities to go after violence that targets women working for low wages and who often speak little to no English.

Among those testifying before the House panel were four members of Congress of Asian origin: Senator Tammy Duckworth and Representatives Doris Matsui, Judy Chu and Grace Meng. "Asian-Americans must not be used as scapegoats in times of crisis -- lives are at stake," said Chu, a Democrat from California. "It’s critical that Congress takes bold action to address this pandemic of discrimination and hate."