A Thai student who lives in Malta has spoken of the growing racism she is facing from people who assume she is Chinese and steer away from her on grounds she could be carrying the novel coronavirus.
Boonrana Vivatananukul, 25, is worried that this fear-fuelled stereotyping and racism could end up shattering the lives of people just because of their Asian looks.
“When I walk past someone and they notice I’m Asian, I can sense their panic. I can see them leave extra space between us… I don’t blame them for being cautious, but there are some cases that are too much,” the woman from Bangkok says as she goes on to give a recent example.
“The other day I was walking down the street in Msida and there was an old man walking towards me,” she said.
“Once he realised I was Asian, he jumped back so quickly that he fell off the sidewalk and crashed onto a parked car. I would have liked to give him a hand, but from his face, I didn’t think he wanted to touch me.”
As you all are staying at home to protect yourselves from the virus, I have to stay home to protect myself from the spreading racism
Boonrana came to Malta last year as an Erasmus student to study for her Master’s degree for four months. She returned to Malta in January for the last semester of her studies and will go back home once domestic flights reopen.
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 – that started in the Chinese city Wuhan – she experienced racist comments.
On one occasion, a man walked past her and started mimicking the Chinese language with meaningless sounds – he then laughed and walked away.
“Another time I went to collect a student transportation card from an officer. I gave him my passport, but he didn’t check it. He looked at my face, searched for my card in the pile, and gave me a card of a Korean girl without thinking,” she said.
“He just assumed I was her because I am a generic Asian.”
The situation became much worse when the virus broke out in Europe and people became fearful of Asian-looking people.
Initially, she thought it was all in her mind, but other Thai friends in Malta and other countries faced the same attitude.
“On one occasion, I was in Gozo. There were two men walking close to me.
“They stared at me and pretended to cough loudly. Then, as always, they laughed and ran away,” she said.
Boonrana knows the situation will become worse once people start to lose their jobs or potentially see their loved ones succumb to the virus.
Asian people may not be welcome in European countries for the foreseeable future.
“So, as you all are staying at home to protect yourselves from the virus, I have to stay home to protect myself from the spreading racism, hoping that this hatred will be healed one day,” she said.