Solidarity Statement following the shootings in California
In the past nine days, 25 people have lost their lives in mass shootings in California. We are devastated at this, and to know Asian American and Latinx community members and migrants are among those targeted. There have been a horrifying record 40 mass shootings in the US so far in 2023 [stat: Gun Violence Archive].
On Saturday night, six women and five men were killed at Star Ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, near Los Angeles. Many of the victims of the attack, which occurred on the eve of Lunar New Year, were older Chinese immigrants. The person who shot them was once a dancer at, and even taught at the studio.
On Monday afternoon, in the Half Moon Bay area near San Francisco, a worker took a gun to the farm where he worked, killing seven people, apparently in the presence of children.
These acts of violence occurred during Lunar New Year festivities - a time of collective joy, community, family, ritual and celebration.
To the families and loved ones of those who have had their lives taken or harmed, we send our deepest condolences and compassion. To the local communities and to everyone affected by these attacks, we send our love and solidarity. Though we are far away, we will remember you.
Those who lost their lives in the Monterey Park shooting:
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Lilian Li, 63
Ming Wei Ma, 72
My Nhan, 65
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Those who lost their lives in the Half Moon Bay shooting:
Yetao Bing, 43, unknown residence
Qizhong Cheng, 66, Half Moon Bay
Zhishen Liu, 73, San Francisco
Jingzhi Lu, 64, Half Moon Bay
Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Moss Beach
Jose Romero Perez
Aixiang Zhang, 74, San Francisco
EVR’s mission is to educate around preventing all forms of violence and racism against East and Southeast Asian communities. We sadly see the seeds of these extreme manifestations of violence in our daily work.
What is additionally painful is how, in the Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay shootings the gunmen were older men of East Asian heritage. Huu Can Tran, 72, and Zhao Chunli, 66, themselves lacked access to support, services and spaces that the people they killed also lacked. They frequented and worked at the places where they opened fire. They had relationships with the people whom they targeted.
Half Moon Bay’s vice-mayor, Joaquin Jimenez, has said that some of the farm workers who were targeted were undocumented, which might have deterred them from seeking or being able to access mental health counseling or other services.
These dynamics and their intersections merit just as much attention and work - not further silence. Although the shootings cannot be explained as motivated simply by racism, we still need to address racial violence and racial equity as part of this conversation. We need to address workplace, domestic and patriarchal violence, class violence, gun violence, human trafficking, access to and under-funding of mental health services and social welfare, access to community spaces and specialist services. In building back and healing, we must have solidarity, empathy, patience and love with each other.
EVR are committed not only to being in solidarity, but also to supporting ESEA communities and all those affected as much as we can. We are proud to have partnered with 14 other community organisations across the UK to have moved quickly to set up the recently launched On Your Side service. It is the only UK-wide support and reporting service for ESEA communities experiencing racism and/or any forms of hate, for anyone in the UK who identifies as ESEA, including people with mixed heritage, for those perceived by others to be ESEA as well as witnesses and allies. On Your Side is a culturally competent service and our caseworkers have been trained in ESEA cultural competency and trauma-informed approaches.
We are also very proud to be partnering with SEEAC on the second year of their Community Hub service, providing mental health support services such as counselling, befriending, communal activities and English lessons to ESEA/SEEA communities. Over the next year, EVR are embarking on building our programme of mental health support services for ESEA communities and ESEA support workers. We thank our community partners and funders for supporting us to serve our communities. We would like to promote the good work of our partner and sister organisations.
Please get in touch with a group, organisation, service or a friend/ neighbour if you need to - no experience is too small to share, no feeling is too minor or insignificant. We will continue to signpost more services on our platforms. As always, please take care of yourselves and each other.
In solidarity and in community,
EVR
