"After I was assaulted in the subway, natatakot na akong maglakad at iniisip ko baka bugbugin ako."
Potri Ranka Manis, a nurse and founder of Kinding Sindaw folk dance group, sustained bruises on her face and body after she was assaulted by two individuals while distributing masks to subway passengers at the E Train near 42nd and 8th Street in Manhattan at around 6 p.m. last August 10.
“Marami namang natutuwa sa mga binibigyan ko except for this recent incident. Umupo sila sa tabi ko, wala nang social distancing sa subway. Binigyan ko ng mask at bigla siyang tumayo, mag-asawa sila na merong anak na nasa stroller. Biglang tumayo 'yung lalaki, hinablot 'yung envelope na may mask sa kamay ko at itinapon at sumigaw-sigaw sa akin (Many were happy with it except for this recent incident. A couple with a baby in a stroller sat beside me and I handed them a mask. The man suddenly stood up, snatched the mask from my hand and threw it and started shouting at me)," Manis said in an interview with DZMM Teleradyo on Tuesday.
She said the couple started shouting racial slurs at her such as 'Mind your own business Chink' and 'Get out of this train, you Chinese, go back home to your dirty country'.
Manis said the man also tried to get her bag where she kept the masks but a fellow passenger managed to hold him.
The wife, however, suddenly stood up and started to attack her.
Manis said she was saddened that no one tried to rescue her even after she shouted for help.
“Nung nag-stop na 'yung train, nagbukas na 'yung door, pine-press ko 'yung emergency button ng subway tatawag ng emergency health tapos kinuha ko phone ko sa bag para tatawag ako ng 911, hinablot ng lalaki 'yung phone, itinakbo. Hate crime na, theft pa (When the train stopped and the door opened, I pressed the emergency button and took my phone from my bag to call 911 but the man snatched my phone and fled. It was a hate crime and theft at the same time), she told DZMM.
The Filipina nurse, meanwhile, urged the Filipino community who experienced the same ordeal to speak up about it.
“The more na itatago itong pambubugbog sa atin, the more tayong aapihin (The more we hide this beating, the more we will be oppressed). Kailangan to bring this out in the open so that we can rally behind this and this will make people aware that this should not happen, dapat i-correct," she said.
Manis added that it never even came to her mind that she would be experiencing such an attack, adding she is now even scared to take a walk because she is afraid to get attacked again.
Philippine Consul General in New York Elmer Cato had earlier said the incident was an isolated case as crime rates and gun violence incidents in New York have been increasing amid the pandemic.
Cato said most of the time, Filipinos were being attacked because they were mistaken for being Chinese.
"Hindi tayo natatamaan ng hate crime ng dahil sa Pilipino tayo. Maging ang ibang Asians ay nabibiktima rin ng hate crime o iba pang hate incidents (We are not hit by hate crime because we are Filipinos. Even other Asians are also victims of hate crime or other hate incidents)," he said in separate interview with DZMM.
In New York, at least 18 cases of anti-Asian hate crimes victimizing Filipinos have been so far recorded in 2021, the consul general said.
The Philippine Consulate had earlier reminded Filipino communities in New York to always be vigilant when outside their residences, especially at night, amid the rising incidents of anti-Asian hate and violence in the city.