The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus has made everyone paranoid. With the threat of the deadly virus potentially spreading to western countries, people worldwide are racially profiling and blaming Chinese and even Pakistani-origin Chinese for the virus.
A doctor in Canada took to Twitter to share an unfortunate incident her son experienced at the hands of school bullies amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Nadia Alam, an anesthetist from Ontario, revealed that the children at school are picking on her child for being Pakistani-Chinese.
“Today my son was cornered at school by kids who wanted to ‘test’ him for #Coronavirus just because he is half-Chinese. They chased him. Scared him. And made him cry,”
https://twitter.com/DocSchmadia/status/1222706344739909633?s=20
Racism and Coronavirus
Ever since the deadly Coronavirus began to make headlines a couple of weeks ago, Asian people in different parts of the globe have been experiencing racist attacks. In her tweet, the mother of four from Georgetown, Ontario was apparently reminded of her own experience of being bullied as a Pakistani child growing up.
“I was the same age when I was bullied for being Pakistani,” she added. “It’s 2020. I thought things had changed by now… ?”
Dr. Nadia Alam’s tweet, which has been liked and retweeted thousands of times, has received messages of support from other Twitter users.
https://twitter.com/mn41020/status/1222725887491100673?s=20
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So sad to hear. This is bullying +++
He needs an extra big hug and so do you— Merle Jacobs, PhD (@DrMerle) January 30, 2020
I am saddened to hear about your son’s experience-I believe such bully behavior by children is often spawned by our adult role modelling-as adults we need to do better
— Dennis Kendel (@DennisKendel) January 30, 2020
This absolutely breaks my heart 💔 this is 2020 and everyone is the same. Just because you’re Asian, doesn’t mean that you’re infected with the CoronaVirus. This is a learned reaction from their parents who are properly racist.
— Howard Burgess ♊️🇨🇦🏳️🌈#StayHome #Staysafe (@whowardburgess) January 30, 2020
https://twitter.com/lstl5/status/1222992141305229319?s=20
Nadia recently provided an update on her son’s situation, which is now under control as she will be informing the school principal of the incident.
Update: my son is okay. Confused but okay. A Chinese friend and his brother were also targeted.
This morning, we talked about what racism is.
I will talk to the principal. There is hope for education, perspective and compassion. Here’s to making a better world.#coronoravirus
— Dr. Nadia Alam (she/her) (@DocSchmadia) January 30, 2020
What do you think should be done about this racial profiling due to the deadly virus? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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