The Coronavirus pandemic has been creating havoc across the world. The novel and deadly virus that originated in Chinese province of Wuhan has gripped the entire world and brought everyone to a standstill. Other than claiming several lives and rendering many ill, what the virus has done is to bring a deep-seated hatred and xenophobia towards Chinese people, so much so that racist slurs, blatant racist attacks have become the norm. A few weeks ago, Meiyang Chang had opened up on how he is facing racist slurs after the Coronavirus lockdown and has been called ‘Corona’ by some passersby.
Yesterday, he took to Instagram to share a hard-hitting video with an extremely humble request. He talks about the racism that we Indians generally keep for Nepalis, Northeast Indians, Chinese and Indians of Chinese descent. He shares a strong message for all those who have been calling him ‘Coronavirus’. He captioned the video in Hindi and wrote, “ , (Listen, I want to say something to you. I have written something. I want only three minutes of your time.)
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In the video, he says, “Namaste. My name is Chang and I am not coronavirus. Now you must be thinking why I am delivering this popular dialogue of Shah Rukh Khan like this. Let me explain. A few days before lockdown, one man was going home at night when suddenly two people on a bike who were passing by saw him and shouted, ‘Coronavirus!’ Why? Maybe because he looks a little different. Now this man was really angry. He thought of abusing them or doing something. But then he calmed down and just ignored it. Because he has been ignoring such racist things since childhood. Sometimes ‘Ching Chong’, sometimes ‘momo’, sometimes ‘hakka noodles’, sometimes ‘Hey, open your eyes at least’ and God knows what else. He just ignored it. That man was me, an Indian of Chinese descent.”
Addressing the youth, Chang said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, please don’t. You, the youth of India, are the kindest, smartest but also very sensitive at the same time. You should understand what I am saying and please explain to others as well to not be a racist. If you want to do something for the people of the country, please shower love, respect and solidarity for your citizens. Especially during times like these, when all of us should be together amid the Coronavirus lockdown. We cannot afford to be divided."
(Source: Instagram)
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