Hate crimes leave scars, fear on Pinoy victims in US

Long after their wounds have healed, several Filipinos in the United States said the attacks they have experienced as victims of hate crimes have left not just deep scars but fear.

According to a report by JP Soriano on "24 Oras," more than a year had passed since Miguel Braganza, a theater actor-director in the US, was attacked by a man in New York. He was also discriminated for being an Asian.

Braganza said the man escaped and has not been caught. Since then, he said he could no longer walk alone in the city despite being a resident for decades.

"I was so frustrated. I was so upset. What was taken from me was the freedom of moving around," Braganza said.

Filipina nurse, Potri Ranka Manis, was traumatized after being beaten by a man and a woman after she offered them face masks.

“Tiniis ko ang kaniyang panununtok akala ko ilang beses lang. It went like more than 20 times. Grabe po ang trauma ko, kung magsakay ako ng subway kailangan marami akong kasama. In fact, nagiging ano na ako, paranoid,” she shared.

Based on the District Attorney of New York City's data, the number of hate crime cases connected to Asian hate attacks this year is nearing the figures recorded  in 2020 and 2021.

“We have initiated more cases than we initiated in all of 2021... and we haven’t even finished the year,” said Hannah Yu, chief of the Hate Crime Unit.

“Most of the crimes are committed by people with mental health problems. So this is one of the problems that we are going to tackle, and secondly, many of these perpetrators they're homeless people they don't have a home. They live on the street," said Peter Koo of the New York City Mayor's Office.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez advised Filipinos to "always be careful and always be on the lookout because it can happen anytime."—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA News