Following the conclusion of her Monday night dance class, twenty-nine-year-old Jiye Seong Yu began her bike ride home. Only ten minutes away, it should’ve been a short, uneventful ride.
Instead, she became a victim of one of the many racist attacks worldwide that have been sparked by coronavirus, specifically COVID-19. It took place in the Netherlands, where she resides.
Since it was past ten at night, she was already on alert. That’s when she spotted two men driving past her on a scooter, both described as having brown hair and brown beards. Upon seeing her, they shouted, “Chinese!” What happened next was completely unwarranted and unacceptable.
The man seated on the back of the scooter attempted to assault her with a punch. Fortunately, she noticed it just in time to swerve away, almost crashing her bike in the process.
She had been absolutely frightened by the attack: “It was really scary because it was late, and I was alone, and I was on a street where I couldn’t see anyone nearby.”
While the men drove away on their scooter, she managed to return home safely, immediately telling her roommates what had happened along with filing a police report about the attack.
She admitted that she’d faced racism before in the country, but never to the extent of such an attack. For the next few weeks afterward, she refrained from leaving the house at night.
It did surprise me. I had been coming to the Netherlands with my stepdad who is Dutch and white and my mom for a long time. We never had these experiences when we came here as a family.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t been the only Korean person in the region that’s fallen victim to the racism sparked by coronavirus. Because of this, she wants to call awareness to all of the attacks that are happening to Asians, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, where other Koreans have reported incidents.
So yes, this kind of shit is happening. Yes, people are actually physically attacking Asians. So, please don’t question us when we say it does.
Source: Koreaboo
