‘In Chinatown today, I saw two police officers standing over an old Chinese man bleeding on the ground. I assumed the worst.’: Man witnesses community act of kindness, ‘Only together will we survive the hate’

More Stories like:

“I’m in Chinatown for lunch today. Walking up to Mott and Bayard St, I see two police officers standing over an old Chinese man bleeding on the ground. I assume the worst, of course. Two Chinese women are propping the old man up, who is coherent and able to dial and call his wife. The younger woman serves as a translator between the cops and the old man.

My Cantonese is terrible, but I knew enough to understand the first words uttered by one of the ladies: He slipped and fell on his own. I breathe a sigh of relief.

As we wait for an ambulance, hundreds of Chinese people walk by and also assume the worst. Rather than let the cops have to address everyone one at a time, I stand off to the side and tell people what happened to set the record straight. It’s the least I can do.

The old man wants to get up on his own, but another Chinese guy repeats to him in Cantonese to not get up. The old man’s wife arrives from a nearby restaurant. They were supposed to have lunch together. She’s relieved he wasn’t attacked, and that he’s able to talk to her.

FDNY arrives and bandages him up, telling the wife he’ll need stitches and needs to be examined for the trauma to his head. Once the ambulance arrives, they help the man up to the stretcher. The wife thanks the two women for propping up her husband. They did not know each other. They were just compelled to help.

Before I go off to lunch, I walk by the ladies and thank them. They nod back at me.

Chinatown is safe when we rally together, when we come to each other’s aid. Only together will we survive the continued hate.”

Mural of an elderly Asian woman in Chinatown with the words 'Our Asian community is safe'
Courtesy of Alan Ng

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Alan Ng of New Jersey. You can follow his journey on Instagram and his website. Submit your own story hereand be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more stories like this here:

‘He’s mixed-race, right? He’ll always have yellow in him.’ I was SHOCKED.’: Asian woman shares experience with racism, ‘Silence is not an option’

‘I clung to fake hope if I didn’t say anything, they’d love me.’: Asian man shares experiences with racism in wake of hate crimes

‘I’m proud of my husband and children and stand with ALL Asian Americans.’: Wife and mom worries for her mixed family, ‘Diversity is so important’

‘During my daughter’s daily Zoom meeting, her classmate said, ‘I don’t like Chinese people because they started this quarantine.’: Asian-American mom urges ‘we are not the virus’

Do you know someone who could benefit from reading this? SHARE this story on Facebook with family and friends.

 Share  Tweet