‘Please know that your family is supported’

After an elderly Asian woman fought off an attacker in San Francisco, an online fundraiser created by her grandson has already raised more than $ 661,320, compared to the goal of $ 50,000.

“I am in awe of your bravery,” Chen wrote on the GoFundMe page. “She was the one who defended herself from this unprovoked attack.

“She has been severely affected mentally, physically and emotionally. She also said that she is afraid to leave her home from now on. This traumatic event has left her with PTSD. Although she has health insurance that covers the basics, there is still no many medical expenses that cannot be covered by herself. She is a cancer survivor and has also had diabetes for more than 10 years. “

In an update, Chen shared that his grandmother’s condition has “slightly improved” and thanked everyone who supported the fundraiser.

“Every time the subject is brought up to him, he gets very emotional and starts crying,” the post reads. “We have to constantly calm her down and comfort her for her PTSD.”

“She is still really dizzy and can only eat porridge. Her eye has stopped bleeding a lot, but she still bleeds from time to time. She still can’t open her eye. When we were talking to her, she said that ‘wait the younger generation of Asian Americans can advocate for each other and hope they can advocate for the elderly in Cantonese. “

Several people who supported the online fundraiser wrote messages to Chen and his grandmother, now identified as 76-year-old Xie Xiaozhen, on the page.

“I hope your grandmother can get the care and support she needs! Seeing her cry broke my heart, because she reminds me of my Chinese grandmother, and I never want to see our grandparents go through that pain and suffering. Your grandmother is a woman so strong and I hope he recovers soon, “wrote one person.

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“Please know that your family is supported by people across the country from coast to coast. As a person of color, I am with you. Diversity is what makes America great and we are all very fortunate to have your family. here, “says another comment. .

Even Canadians donated money to Chen’s fundraiser and shared messages of support.

“Love and support from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. No one should have to go through this,” reads a post by a supporter.

According to San Francisco police, a 39-year-old man was involved in a “physical altercation” at UN Plaza in San Francisco. He then assaulted an 83-year-old Asian man, before attacking Xie.

This comes just one day after eight people were killed in the Atlanta spa shooting, including six Asian women.

“These killings occurred at a time when anti-Asian violence has exploded,” Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “All officials must do their part to condemn violence and not aggravate discrimination.”

“Asian Canadian women have also been the target of relentless racist and misogynistic attacks during the pandemic in Canada,” read a statement from Amy Go, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice. “The lack of courage and empathy of our political leaders to speak out and act to combat racism and misogyny makes us easy ducks waiting for the next hunt.”

The Chinese-Canadian National Council for Social Justice and the China and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic are calling on political leaders to denounce racist attacks against Asian Canadians, including implementing “concrete actions with real resource commitments” to stop the racism in Canada.

“Anti-Asian racism has been burning like wildfire across North America for the past year,” a statement from the groups read.

“Violence is a sad but expected outcome when Asians or other racialized people are dehumanized or treated as the ‘other’ or as perpetual foreigners. This risk expands with each intersection of racism with other forms of discrimination, such as misogyny, such as in this tragedy in Atlanta. “