Share this Story: Stabbing of Seoul researcher in N.D.G. sends shock waves through Asian community
Stabbing of Seoul researcher in N.D.G. sends shock waves through Asian community
Whether fueled by racism or a random act of violence, the cybercrime expert says the mental trauma and fear were too much to bear to stay in Montreal.
Jesse Feith • Montreal Gazette
A South Korean research fellow arrived in Montreal in late February for a year of research. On March 15, the day the Quebec government announced the shutdown, he was stabbed in the neck on his way to a Korean market. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette
In late February, a South Korean research fellow arrived in Montreal from Seoul, his wife and two preschool-age children in tow.
The 44-year-old cybercrime expert was being hosted by a local university as part of an international criminology program. He was to be in the city for a year, applying his expertise in the field as he worked closely with other members of the program.
Stabbing of Seoul researcher in N.D.G. sends shock waves through Asian community Back to video
But on the morning of March 15, the day the Quebec government announced a more widespread shutdown of the province , he was on his way to a Korean market in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, head down as he followed instructions on his phone, when he was attacked from behind.
About 10 metres from the market, a stranger stabbed him in the neck with what he would later describe as a hunting knife. The assailant glared at him, then took off without saying a word. Bleeding heavily from the wound, the man stumbled into the market and pleaded for help.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold of the province, people of Asian descent in Quebec say they've had to contend with mounting hatred and racism tied to misplaced blame over the coronavirus .
Whether fuelled by racism or a random act of violence, the stabbing sent a shock wave through the community, increasing what one person described as the "double anxiety" many now find themselves living with: the fear of the virus itself coupled with the threat of anti-Asian sentiment growing around it.
Laura Luu started a support group on Facebook for Asian Quebecers who've suffered hateful incidents during the pandemic. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette
"People are scared," said Laura Luu, a Vietnamese Montrealer who started a support group on Facebook for Asian Quebecers who've suffered hateful incidents during the pandemic. And though dozens have come forward in the group about instances of verbal abuse, Luu, 37, believes those incidents represent "the tip of the iceberg."
The Montreal police have not made an arrest in the stabbing outside the market. Asked whether it's being investigated as a possible hate crime, the force said it hasn't ruled out any possible motive for the attack.
The victim, meanwhile, remains shaken by what happened. He asked his identity be withheld in this article over fears for his safety. He spent three days at the Montreal General Hospital, undergoing surgeries and blood transfusions.
Though he expressed gratitude for everyone who helped him after the stabbing, he and his family have since returned to South Korea. The mental trauma and fear were too much to bear to stay in Montreal.
Two months removed from the stabbing the reason behind it is clear to him: He believes he was targeted because of his race.
"The place of the crime was the Korean food market, with many Asians there — he picked that target," he said over the phone from Seoul, adding that it also coincided with the government shutdown and followed other reported acts of hatred.
"This circumstantial evidence," he later wrote in an email, "makes me have the conviction that it was a hate crime (due to) COVID-19."
Whatever the motive of the attack, it created a ripple effect of unease through the community.
The employee who helped the man when he stumbled into the market quit soon after, traumatized by the incident. Another employee told the Montreal Gazette she believes the woman has since left the province.
The victim's wife could not find him when he didn't return from the market that day. Scrambling, she traced his phone to the hospital, using his laptop. As soon as she found out what happened, she warned the Korean consulate in Montreal.
The consulate then issued a safety warning to all Koreans living in the city, asking people to be careful and urging them to report any instances of hatred.
It is the stabbing, along with hearing about an increase in public insults and cases of vandalism in Montreal's Chinatown , that pushed Luu to create the Facebook group in late March. The incidents made her feel alone and powerless, she says.
Luu started the group by inviting her friends, but it has since swelled to more than 4,400 members. Luu sees it as a safe space for people to denounce instances of hatred, as well as share their fears and advice. On Wednesday, it hosted an hour-long question period with two Longueuil police officers.
People have posted about being yelled at in public — often including slurs about China, whether or not the person is even Chinese — and expressed fears of going outside, doing groceries or taking the bus or métro alone.
They've shared a sense of being watched whenever they're out in public and, earlier on, being singled out for wearing masks before it was recommended.
Maylee Keo, a 27-year-old Cambodian Montrealer, said she's found a sense of community through the group. Knowing she's not alone in having fears has helped ease her anxieties, she said.
But she still worries she could be targeted.
"Do you feel safe or unsafe on the métro?" she asked the group this week, when she was planning on taking public transit for the first time since March. "I'm thinking of wearing sunglasses to hide my eyes."
jfeith@postmedia.com
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