Dear ISMC Staff, Volunteers, Students and Supporters,

It has been a long hard year living with Covid-19 and being separated physically from you and my extended family outside of Canada. For my family in Vancouver, the stress of this pandemic has been exacerbated with the exponential rise of anti-Asian violence in communities around Canada and the US. It is extremely upsetting that most of these attacks—name calling, spitting, punching, head slamming—have targeted children, women and the elderly of Asian descent.

In the midst of all these attacks, eight peoples’ lives were taken, including six Asian women, in a shooting in Atlanta. This crime was perpetrated by a young man who blamed these women as the source of his temptation for his sexual addiction. Hearing that his crimes were in no way racially motivated made my fellow Asian-American, Asian-Canadian, and other Asian brothers and sisters feel that our experiences and our pain are not heard and do not matter, as if we are invisible.

However, to God, all of us matter. In Scripture, we are told that every one of us is made in the image and likeness of our God (Genesis 1:26-27). In the gospels, we are shown over and over again that Jesus sees the men and women who are in pain and suffering. When Hagar ran away, the angel of the Lord met her and she said of him, “You are the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

To my fellow Asian-Canadian and Asian brothers and sisters living across the country, God sees us and He hears us. We are not invisible. To my fellow Canadians of all other backgrounds, and internationals living across the country who have been affected by any form of racism, God sees you and hears you too. You are not invisible, either.

At this time, I invite you to come together and surround our Asian-Canadian and Asian brothers and sisters in our communities by:

1. Listening to our stories and withholding judgement
2. Being a part of the solution by denouncing anti-Asian racism in your areas of influence
3. Reaching out and asking if there is a way you can serve and support them so that they can feel safe getting groceries or going for walks.

As we remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection, let’s remember that Jesus chose to take on a particular flesh and embodied interdependence across ethnic and social lines as He walked the earth. May the redemptive power of the gospel be displayed as we come together as one body to pursue justice and reconciliation, so that everyone may know Jesus by our love for one another (John 13:35)*.

Yours humbly,
Jillian Chong
VP, National Field
(With the support of the National Leadership Community of ISMC)

*A summary of the Statement on Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of Covid-19 by the Asian American Christian Collaborative.