For Immediate Release
March 18, 2021
CWS Decries Rise of Anti-Asian Violence, Mourns Lives Lost in Georgia
CWS is committed to working together with AAPI communities to combat systemic racism
Washington, DC– In response to the horrific attacks at spas in North Georgia killing eight individuals, including six Asian women, and the rising tide of racially motivated violence and hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, CWS president and CEO Rick Santos issued the following statement.
“We are heartbroken and outraged by the murder of six Asian women in Georgia, and we mourn with our partners, colleagues, and the AAPI communities and clients we serve who are reeling from the increased violence they are experiencing nationwide and around the world. CWS has a long tradition of working with Thai, Burmese, Bhutanese and Chinese communities in the U.S. as well as with communities in countries across Asia. We feel these attacks with them, and with our Asian colleagues. There is no room for such hatred in a just and peaceful world.
“The anti-Asian extremism we are seeing today in the United States is tragically not new. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese incarceration, from post 9/11 surveillance to ICE raids targeting Southeast Asian communities–harmful and unjust discrimination of AAPI communities has long been a part of U.S. policy and daily life. The scapegoating of AAPI people during the COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest in a long history of anti-Asian hatred.
“Racially motivated hatred must be stamped out in all its forms. We are committed to working together with members of the AAPI community to address the root causes of systematic racism, inequality and violence.”