SASKATOON -- In the face of ongoing anti-Asian attacks, nearly 6,000 Asian Quebecers are heading online to vent, comfort and even hold regular online classes tackling microaggressions and racism.
The booming Facebook community ââ is a public, large-scale version of the countless private chat groups many Asians across the country have turned to over the past year.
âWe are all volunteers trying to do our best to help our communities in our own way, and the best way is online,â Vietnamese Montrealer Laura Luu, who created the group last March, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Tuesday. Her groupâs name is translated to: âMutual Aid Group Against Racism Against Asians in Quebec.â
It began a place where those in Quebec and Ontario with Asian roots could vent about anti-Asian attacks and landmarks being defaced. In 2020, reported attacks have spiked across the country, including in , and .
Julie Tran, one of the group administrators, likens it to a grassroots âmelting pot of different Asian people,â where they celebrate difference but also tackle common challenges in an informal way.
The platform doesnât track anti-Asian attacks in Canada, like Montreal-based ; the (CCNC-SJ) or .
Although Luu supports those efforts, her group functions more as an outlet for people to give testimonials on how theyâre feeling; anonymously describe racism theyâve experienced, and find formal places where those with racism-related mental trauma could go.
âWe try to raise awareness with mental health because itâs very taboo in the Asian community,â Luu said, noting that younger generations though are more likely to want to face racism head-on rather than ignore it.
REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA 'QUITE VALUABLE'
Theyâve held Facebook Live videos hosted by trained psychotherapists who hold bilingual sessions stressing that itâs ânormal to feel anxious or scaredâ and that racism shouldnât be downplayed.
Tran hosts Zoom meetings to educate and familiarize people with terms such as microaggressions and gaslighting, so that they can better articulate what theyâve experienced.
âIn the media or regular conversation, there can be a hot pot of words that people donât really understand,â the social work graduate student told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. âYes, we talk about feelings, but weâre also giving them tools so they can apply them on a daily basis.â
âItâs really empowering for them to put [specific] words to their realities,â Tran said, adding that speaking about anti-Asian racism can be challenging with friends who are white or who come from a non-Asian community of colour.
University of Victoria counselling psychology assistant Prof. Fred Chou, who isnât affiliated with the online support group, applauded their efforts to reduce mental health stigma, calling it âquite valuable.â
âThe community response of people coming together to support one another is inherently good,â he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. âItâs like acknowledging that âIâm not going through this alone.ââ
âItâs really quite profound. I feel inspired to know that this is happening,â he said, adding that the group could allow people to regain some level of control.
No stranger to similar efforts himself, early last year, an to help them navigate through the complexities of systemic oppression in Canada and their own racial identities.
Chou felt the groupâs informal nature could be a great gateway to greater acceptance of formal mental health services, if necessary.
Luu and Tran agreed and called for more provincial funding of services for victims of racially motivated attacks; as well as mental health specialists in Quebec who are aware of cultural mental health stigmas.
PEOPLE FINDING SOLACE IN PRIVATE GROUP CHATS
The pandemic has exacerbated anti-Asian racism, an , in a similar way to that during the SARS crisis nearly 20 years ago, according to a Toronto-based historian.
But consultant and former journalist Bradley Lee told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview that when it comes to disparate Asian communities, extreme adversity âforces them to work together.â He felt this group was a clear example of that.
Lee, along with several Toronto-based advocacy groups, including the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, helped , which allows Chinese people in Canada to similarly share experiences of their experiences during the pandemic.
He applauded ââ and explains that there are likely countless private informal venting spaces for people. âJust by the very nature of being informal, it could be online or by a phone call,â the fourth-generation Chinese-Canadian said.
As for the future of Quebec-based group, Luu hopes that people in other provinces are able to find similar groups.
Luu said that although sheâs grateful that her team has managed to combine seeming disparate demographics, diasporas and races under one umbrella. âOur realities are not the same at allâ so theyâll keep endeavouring to âbuild bridges to connect us all.â
With files from CTVNews.caâs Christy Somos