MANILA– A Filipino diplomat at the Philippine Consulate General in New York was verbally assaulted by an unknown individual in a train on her way to the office last Friday.
“One of our colleagues at the Philippine Consulate General in New York became the latest victim of anti-Asian hate. Our colleague, a female consular officer, was verbally assaulted while on board the B train on her way to the Consulate yesterday morning,” Consul General Elmer Cato said in a statement Saturday night
The victim said a man on board the train accosted her as soon as she stepped inside by asking her: “Where’d you come from? Where’d you come from?” He then went on with his race-based tirade by saying: “We don’t need you here! We don’t need you here! F**k you! I hope you all die and everybody on this train!”
Cato said the Consulate is “deeply disturbed” by the incident and has already reached out to the New York City Police Department.
The report came a few days after a member of the Filipino community sustained injuries when he was violently assaulted on a subway platform in New York City. A few months ago, a Filipino got his face slashed in a hate-crime incident also on the subway.
The hate incident involving the Filipino consular officer is the 14th incident involving a member of the Filipino community reported to the Consulate this year.
“We join the Asia-American and Pacific Islander Community in condemning these incidents and in expressing our serious concern for the safety of our kababayan and other Asian-Americans in New York City,” Cato said.
“We call on authorities of New York City to take additional measures to make our kababayans and other Asian-Americans feel safe when outside their homes by increasing police presence especially on the subways and addressing the mental health concerns that reportedly affect as many as 40 percent of homeless individuals in the city, a number of whom have also been involved in recent hate crimes against Asian Americans,” he added.
Cato called on all members of the Filipino community to stay vigilant when stepping out of their homes, especially when taking the subway.”Kababayan should immediately call 911 if they witness any hate crime or if they become victims themselves. They are also encouraged to report any incident to the Consulate,” he added. (PNA)