Filipino-Americans despair at New York stomping attack but US still land of dreams for many

The brutal attack on 65-year-old Vilma Kari was part of a recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States

It has left some questioning their future in the country – though is unlikely to put Filipinos off pursuing their American dreams entirely, analysts say

Reading Time:4 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

03:47

Man suspected of attacking Asian-American woman in New York arrested and charged with hate crime

Elyssa Lopezin Manila

Published: 6:36pm, 2 Apr 2021Updated: 5:36am, 3 Apr 2021

Since a Filipino-American woman was attacked in New York City on her way to church earlier this week, academic Patricio Abinales – who migrated from the Philippines to the US more than three decades ago – has been pondering his family’s future.

At the heart of the matter is his 17-year-old daughter, who is finishing high school soon and is set to enter an American college later this year.

Abinales, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, said the recent wave of violence against Asians in the US had made him question if his family, especially his only child, was safe.

“A lot of the schools she applied to are on the East Coast where most reports of anti-Asian attacks have happened, and it worries her. So the family debate now is whether she stays here [in Hawaii] or not,” he said.

02:42

Asian-Americans learn self-defence as reports of hate incidents surge

Abinales is not alone. Asians across the US are on high alert following a national spike in anti-Asian hate crimes. But the sense of despair and anger is palpable among the Filipino-American community, who represent the fourth-largest group of foreign-born people in the US after those from Mexico, India and China, according to the Migration Policy Institute think tank.

Filipino-Americans despair at New York stomping attack but US still land of dreams for many

The brutal attack on 65-year-old Vilma Kari was part of a recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States It has left some questioning their future in the country – though is unlikely to put Filipinos off pursuing their American dreams entirely, analysts say

The brutal attack on 65-year-old Vilma Kari was part of a recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States

It has left some questioning their future in the country – though is unlikely to put Filipinos off pursuing their American dreams entirely, analysts say