When Kelly Hung moved to Guelph 13 years ago, she immediately felt a sense of belonging. She married a Guelphite, gave birth to her baby girl six years ago, established a successful career as a realtor and called this place home.
But since the COVID-19 outbreak, she experienced something she never saw coming: blatant racism towards many in the Chinese community.
“It shocks you and leads you to a feeling where you feel pain and want to hide,” said realtor Hung who is a member of the Guelph Chinese Canadian Cultural Group (GCCCG).
“People are afraid,” she said, adding many of those in the Chinese community are hiding themselves out of fear of getting bullied.
More important, she points out, are the charity efforts the Chinese community has engaged in to help fight the COVID-19 situation, including raising over $26,000 for Guelph General Hospital.
Hung said she, along with many in the GCCCG have experienced racist incidents that include verbal harassment and name calling.
Hung recalls a recent incident in Shoppers Drug Mart where a woman harshly told her to keep a farther distance from her despite Hung being more than two metres away.
Hung said other members of the GCCCG — which includes roughly 500 members — have endured harsher racist incidents. One Chinese Canadian woman who was walking on the street was given the middle finger by a passerby in a car and one couple approached a Chinese Canadian woman and said "F-word Chinese."
“Some people will have kids around them and don’t know how to explain to their kids,” she said when explaining an incident of a chilly day where a friend of hers was grabbing a jacket for her son from her home that read ‘CHINA’ on the back and then quickly decided it’s better if he doesn’t wear that in public and handed him a different one instead.
“Her son was asking, ‘mom why did you change the jacket? I can wear this one,’” said Hung about her friend who then had to explain to her child that it’s not a safe time because she doesn’t want him to endure any kind of bullying.
Hung said she would understand if there were only one or two cases because people are anxious as a result of the current pandemic, but cases like this have been ongoing.
“It’s totally not normal. I’ve been here for 13 years, I can tell this is not normal,” said Hung.
“I understand this is a difficult time and there’s nothing we can control but we can make it better,” she said about various efforts the GCCCG is participating in to help the Guelph community.
“We are part of the community.”
Hung has been running errands for numerous neighbours in the community such as going grocery shopping, buying them food and encouraging others in the Chinese community to do the same.
She said the GCCCG has raised close to $26,000 for the hospital foundation and will be presenting it to them shortly.
President of the GCCCG Lucy Lu said the GCCCG supported those returning from China who were self isolating.
They have also been trying to help those on the front line fighting COVID-19.
“We saw how the nurses and doctors protect themselves, and compared to here, we are scared,” said Lu about the lack of protection available for health professionals who are putting their lives at risk to fight the virus.
The GCCCG was also helping those returning to Canada from China self-quarantine. Group member, Andy Luo provided his farmhouse for complete strangers to live in.
Lu said because the GCCCG was very familiar with the aid efforts taking place in China, they began taking these actions before the provincial government declaring a state of emergency.
“If anyone has any symptoms and came from China or an area where there was coronavirus, we would ask them to stay inside of their house or somewhere and we will help them wherever they need help,” said Lu.
