This is shown by a research project by the Berlin Humboldt University, the Free University of Berlin and the German Center for Integration and Migration Research, from which the Integration Media Service published the first figures on Thursday.
Around 4,500 people were interviewed, including around 700 of Asian origin. 49 percent of the respondents with an Asian background experienced racism themselves during the pandemic. In 62 percent of the cases, it was verbal attacks. However, eleven percent also experienced physical violence such as spitting, shoving or spraying disinfectant.
According to the survey, which is only partially representative, 27 percent experienced an institutional exclusion and, for example, did not receive an appointment at the hospital. Most of the attacks took place on the street or in local public transport.
Discrimination in connection with the coronavirus
Of all respondents, around 15 percent agreed with the statement that Asians were “responsible for the rapid spread of the corona pandemic in Germany”. The vast majority of almost 85 percent do not see it that way.
So far there has been hardly any research on anti-Asian racism. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, there have been significantly more cases of discrimination and racism internationally. In Germany, the inquiries received by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency almost doubled compared to 2019 – from around 3,600 to more than 6,000.
About every fourth request in the past year related to discrimination in connection with the coronavirus, which was often directed against people of supposedly Asian origin. (AFP)