No Vaccine Against Hate: The Implications of COVID-related Anti-Asian Racism on Migration and Integration

Canada and the United Kingdom increasingly rely on international immigration from Asia to boost their population and economic growth. However, as events unfolded during the pandemic, much attention was paid to the origins of COVID-19, fueling the racializing and 'othering' of Chinese people and those who are assumed to be of Asian descent. This has led to increasing acts of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia at both individual and systemic levels.

How have newcomers and Asian diaspora communities been impacted by COVID-related racism? What, then, is the role of non-profit organizations, activists, and migration scholars in advocating against it? How does anti-Asian racism challenge narratives promoting multiculturalism and the model minority myth? How might this affect future migration from Asia to western democratic countries?

On Sept 23. 2021, CERC Migration hosted a webinar that explored the implications of anti-Asian racism for migrants throughout the pandemic.

Panelists include:

• Ethel Tungohan, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, York University
• Miu Chung Yan, Professor, School of Social Work, University of British Columbia
• Diana Yeh, Senior Lecturer, City, University of London

Chair: Michelle Nguyen, Researcher, CERC Migration, Ryerson University