The United States has witnessed a series of protests, spread out in more than 60 prominent cities of the country, demanding a quick resolution to the rising acts of violence against the Asian-American community. 

The protests, which have been carried out in cities like Chicago, Georgia metropolis, Portland, Detroit, Queens, Los Angeles and San Francisco, have been triggered after the recent fatal shooting at a spa in Georgia, where the victims were dominantly Asian-American.

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A member of the A.N.S.W.E.R coalition, an umbrella group for carrying out protests, Judi Chang said, “We’re one year into this pandemic and anti-Asian violence has only intensified,” while countering the notion of China being perceived as a threat by Americans.

She added, “Everyone I know who is Asian has been a victim of violence or harassment, assault. We get spat at, we get yelled at. We get stared at, people move away when we come”, reported AFP.

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The violent outbreak in Atlanta, which occurred on March 16, had a total of eight victims, out of which were six were women who belonged to the Asian-American community. The incident highlighted the racial divide in America created at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a huge chunk of people blaming China for the spread.

The protestors, in an attempt to bring out the issue on a larger scale held placards that demanded the end to such crimes against the community. The signs read messages like “I’m not a virus, I’m not the enemy, I’m Chinese-American and I love who I am”, “Say No to Anti-Asian Racist Terror!” and “Stop Demonizing China and Chinese People!”. 

The crimes are also believed to be increased by statements given by many political entities of the US, including former President Donald Trump, who on many instances called COVID-19 the “Chinese virus”.