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Indonesian women in the US: Atlanta shootings and rise in anti-Asian hate crime
The March 16 mass shootings in the Atlanta area in Georgia, the United States, is being reported widely as a hate crime against Asians. Here are a few members of the Indonesian diaspora based in the US and their thoughts on the incident and related issues.
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Novita Ikasari (left) poses with her daughter (center) and mother in Atlanta, Georgia, where a series of mass shootings on March 16, 2021 claimed eight lives, six of them Asian. The 45-year-old now carries pepper spray and is accompanied by friends whenever she goes out. (JP/Courtesy of Novita Ikasari)
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ust over a week ago, a series of mass shootings took place at three spas in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. Of the eight people who were killed, six were Asian American women.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks against Asians in the US, and has left many members of the Indonesian diaspora worrying about their family’s and their own safety.
Novita Ikasari, a 45-year-old mother of two who lives in Atlanta and has been in the US for 15 years, said she has been “worried about my kids every day” since the shooting on March 16. Novita said that two of the targeted massage parlors were “located just seven minutes away from where my [adult] daughter lives”.
She now carries pepper spray and asks her friends to accompany her when she needs to go out.
Tineke Larasati, a 22-year-old university student in Illinois, said that her mother had been calling her every day since the incident. “She warns me to look out for myself and be more careful,” said Tineke, who has been living in the US for five years.
She now avoids going out alone. “I used to go on evening runs, but now I run during the day, and with a friend,” she said.
Karina Indrasari is a 30-year-old student pursuing a political science doctorate at the University at Albany, New York.
