“Our priority is to make sure that those victims [and] their family members are given the assistance they need to heal and to get over this trauma,” said Lo. “And as a community, we will need to move forward in the long process of healing as community so that we can together overcome this tragedy.”
The massacre sent shock waves through Asian and Asian American communities around the nation, prompting police from San Francisco to New York to step up patrols at Lunar New Year celebrations in their own cities.
On Sunday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed began a Lunar New Year event by holding a moment of silence for the lives lost in Saturday night’s attack.
City Administrator Carmen Chu, who grew up in Southern California, said she has family members who still frequent Monterey Park, and was saddened to hear of the attack.
“As we celebrate the holidays, it’s a time of joy but also a time to remember the people that you have in your life who you love, who you care about, and the community that you hold dear,” she said.
Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a Bay Area-based advocacy group, also grew up in Southern California and said AAPI communities are experiencing collective hurt and trauma.
“It’s a reminder that regardless of the motivation of what happened, that this is having such a devastating impact on our communities,” said Choi. “The sense of safety has been taken away for so long. With the kickoff of the Lunar New Year, many of us across the country and around the world were looking forward to peace and prosperity and a time of celebration. It certainly has been marred because of this tragedy. “
Despite the solemn news, Portsmouth Square, in San Francisco’s historic Chinatown, was filled with families and children eagerly awaiting the promised lai see, red envelopes typically filled with money; for the occasion yesterday, they were mostly filled with chocolate gold coins.
Jessica Kemball, who attended the event with her 5-year-old son, Â said…
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