The cover story: Asian American elders stand resilient in the wake of hateful violence

The Cover Story 'Not a Victim.' Asian American Elders Stand Resilient in the Wake of Hateful Violence By Melissa Chan Staff Writer, TIME When I met Vilma Kari on May 21, she looked far different from the image of her that went viral. In a video shared around the world, the Filipino American was shown lying on the ground in New York City on March 29 after a man kicked her, stomped on her face and shouted, "You don't belong here!"  Kari suffered serious injuries, including a fractured pelvis, and initially needed her daughter's help with basic tasks like sitting up and slowly adjusting her legs, inch by inch. But I didn't meet a victim that day. I met a fighter who, after months of grueling physical and emotional recovery, was eager to ditch her walking cane and reclaim her strength. Standing in the garden of her daughter's Manhattan apartment building, with the sunlight beaming on her smiling face, Kari, 66, wanted everyone to know she was a survivor.  For the latest cover of TIME, I spent three months getting to know Kari and other elders who've experienced firsthand the rising violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community this year. Talking to these senior citizens and their families, there were plenty of moments that broke my heart. Two days after I interviewed Mun Sung and Joyce Sung, whose convenience store in Charlotte, N.C., was heavily damaged by a man hurling racial slurs, their son Mark Sung sent me a text message. "So my parents were attacked again," he wrote, adding that this time, his mother was injured. The Sungs bravely returned to work within hours, but I wondered how much longer they'd have to endure such hate. Despite everything they've been through, each of the elders I interviewed embodied resilience as they leaned on their tight-knit families to emerge from hateful incidents even more empowered and determined to fight racism. Carl Chan, a 62-year-old Oakland business leader, was punched in the head in what authorities say was a hate crime. Just two weeks later, he walked side by side with his wife and daughters in a "Unity Against Hate" rally that he helped organize. And Kari's daughter, Elizabeth, created a campaign called AAP(I belong) to allow people who have encountered anti-Asian hate to anonymously share their stories online—and to subvert the racist phrase used by the man who attacked her mother.  "I don't think it's anyone's right to tell anyone they don't belong in America. That's the cornerstone of what America is," Elizabeth told me. "And that's what makes America so beautiful." Read the Story » Share the cover story

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