WARNING: This story contains details of racist attacks.
Ivan Pak remembers racial slurs being hurled at him as he stood at a SkyTrain station.
Steven Ngo remembers garbage being chucked at him and being told to go back to his country.
These are just two of many painful memories members of the Asian community in Metro Vancouver experience.
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, police said anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver increased from 12 incidents in 2012 to 98 in 2020 — a 717-per-cent spike.
Three years later, Pak and Ngo say they feel the targeted attacks have further increased.
Ngo, a lawyer and advocate, says he called for the Vancouver Police Department to make its hate incident reporting form, available online, accessible in different languages in 2020.
While that was implemented, Ngo says the problem hasn’t been solved.
“There was such a surge in hate crimes and now it’s become more internalized,” he said.
“Now people have accepted it as a way of life.”
Advocate skeptical over decline suggested by data
Hate crimes are defined as criminal offences against people or property that are motivated by hate, including assault and uttering threats. Hate incidents refer to a broader range of actions, including those that do not necessarily meet the definition of a crime.
According to data from the VPD website, gathered through a Freedom of Information request, there were 204 hate incidents or crimes in the city reported to police from March 2020 to Dec. 15, 2022.
- 98 in 2020.
- 62 in 2021.
- 44 in 2022.
These incidents include hurling racial slurs, telling people to “go back to China,” stalking, and physical assaulting, among others.
In Richmond, police say they’ve recorded 46 hate crimes and incidents in 2021, up from 34 in 2020; 67 per cent were related to racial discrimination, and of the people targeted, 61 per cent were Asian.
While there…
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