Karen Davila denounces attacks on Asians, Filipinos in US: ‘Hate is a virus’

With a slew of reported cases of racism against Asians, including Filipinos, living in the United States, broadcaster Karen Davila is calling for a stop to the violence.

Davila expressed her great disappointment over increasing incidents of violence against Asians in her Instagram page last Friday, April 2.

“HATE IS A VIRUS,” Davila said. “To all our fellow Filipinos, our kababayans and those [of] Asian descent facing acts of violence, discrimination or any act [of] hate, WE STAND WITH YOU.”

Davila cited the case of Vilma Kari, 65, who was brutally attacked in New York just because she is Asian.

Davila said Asian-Americans were attacked through various ways, “from being spat on, verbally abused or physically assaulted – because abusers believed that they are ‘to blame for the spread of COVID19.’”

“This must STOP. Hate is more insidious than any virus,” she stressed. “If allowed to fester, it can settle in our way of life, our culture, our belief systems. And this is not the world I want my children to be in.”

“Let us remember Christ’s death on the cross. It was a message of LOVE, not HATE,” Davila added.

“Sa mga kapwa nating Pilipino (To our fellow Filipinos) and to our Asian brothers [and] sisters abroad, you are not alone. Hindi po kayo nag-iisa. We stand [united] with you.”

Cases of attacks against Asians in the U.S. reached an alarming scale, particularly for Filipinos, when a 61-year-old Filipino, Noel Quintana, was slashed with a box cutter in a New York subway train. JB

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