A woman from Munich reports of hostility to corona just because she has Asian roots. Claudia Enk feels deprived of her freedom.
- Claudia Enk has lived in Munich for 15 years
- But in the current Corona crisis * , she doesn't feel comfortable in the city
- So she was approached with corona insults because of her Taiwanese roots
Munich - Claudia Enk is a victim of the virus , although she is not infected at all. The black hair, the almond-shaped eyes - that alone makes them an enemy for some. " Corona! “, Guys recently called after her in Maxvorstadt. The 18-year-old with Taiwanese roots is a Munich woman - has lived in the city for over 15 years.
The hostilities in everyday life - they are omnipresent: a classmate in theater did not want to work with the 18-year-old. The reason: "Yuck, you have Corona for sure". Statements that are painful: "That really made me angry", Claudia describes her feelings - and she adds: "I now feel restricted in my freedom to go out."
Corona in Munich: 18-year-old describes verbal attacks - Young woman is not an isolated case
Claudia is not an isolated case. The police have reported several times in recent weeks that Asians have been insulted in Munich , some even attacked. At Harras, for example, a man attacked two people with Asian roots, passers-by had to step in, stop the man who had become wild.
Claudia can understand the fear of the virus - but not the fear of her. She has never been to China . Through the eyes of people she feels watched and somehow undesirable. She justifies the behavior as follows: “People want to protect themselves * and forget that I am a completely normal person. Like her. ”According to her, what some of them also forget in their fear is that not all Asian-looking people are Chinese. And that Asians with a mask * don't necessarily have to have corona . "It is part of Asian culture to wear masks in public to protect others," she explains.
Check out this post on Instagram
Asians with a respirator. An image that is currently widely used in the media. Asian people have become public targets in times of Covid-19. The media report insults, marginalization and acts of violence. In the following I would like to share my own experiences: At school someone made a "joke": "Heh, you have Corona!" Even if it was meant to be "fun" and "joke", I found it to be racism. An elderly woman looked at me intensely in the Munich subway. Shortly thereafter, she pulled her scarf protectively over her mouth and nose and quickly passed me. I was eating with my brother in the evening in Maxvorstadt and on the way home, towards the subway, two young people shouted "Corona!" In two out of three cases, I made people aware that they had made racist comments and should stop doing so in the future. What remained in me after these three encounters: A bitter aftertaste. When I'm currently in public, I feel watched and uncomfortable. On the train, I have the feeling that nobody wants to sit with me because of my Asian descent. A constant feeling of malaise, exclusion and anger accompanies me. Even stronger is the desire to speak out against it publicly and my zest for action: in times like these, people should inform and educate themselves. Don't believe everything in the media. Show yourself friendly and in solidarity. Take care of yourself and stay at home for the benefit of society and above all the risk groups! My experiences are just a few of many. In discussions with Asian family members and friends, as well as after a look in the media, it became clear that racism against Asians and Asians is a common problem in times of Covid-19. We cannot allow that as a democratic society. Inspiration: @ igor.koop Drawing: @ leon.classic #FightTheVirusNotThePeople #FightRacism #VoicesOfYouth #SayNoToRacsim # Covid19 #solidarity
A post shared by Claudia 洪安雅 (@ claudia.enk) on Mar 27, 2020 at 4:06 p.m. PDT
To make the problem public, Claudia writes about her experiences on Instagram . And receives a lot of positive feedback for it. People speak up about their courage or tell about incidents themselves.
"This has to be addressed, I want a lot of people to be informed here," she says. And the Munich native did it. Even Unicef has already shared and commented on their contribution.
Peter Schlingensief
* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital network
