Kami Rieck
Boston University Statehouse Program
BOSTON When Rep. Tackey Chan, one of the first Asian-American Massachusetts House members, heard high school students in his district talk about discrimination they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, he related.
Strangers shouted racial slurs at him and others asked if he ate cats or dogs, said Chan, D-Quincy.
“In government, it continues to be a challenge for Asian-Americans to be recognized as an important part of our community,” he said.
Discrimination and attacks against Asian-Americans have surged in the past year in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when former President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus. These anti-Asian racist incidents include Massachusetts.
INDIA New England News
By Divya Chaturvedi
Every year March 8 is celebrated as International Womenâs Day. There are hundreds of events all over the globe celebrating womenâs social, economic, and political contributions as well as educational and thoughtful dialogues about the prevalence and persistence of gender inequality in the world.
The International Womenâs Day event co-hosted by United India Association of New England (UIANE), Saheli, Women Who Win #Dreamcatchers and the Asian American Commission of Massachusetts, on March 6th was both a celebration of achievements of South Asian women and a discussion about the challenges that still remain for women to achieve gender equality.
INDIA New England News
Aditi Soni
BOSTON- A woman who never takes NO as an answer in life, Aditi Soni works hard to empower the women in her community. As President of the United India Association of New England (UIANE) and a Board Member of Saheli Boston, Ms. Soni has been at the forefront of many important support initiatives run by both organizations, in a year where everyone’s lives were effected by the coronavirus pandemic.
From UIANE’s “COVID-19 Relief Fund” that delivered hundreds of meals and groceries to the elderly and the front-line workers, to its virtual ‘Participate and Learn’ series to keep their community physically and mentally strong, to working with the Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE) and the India Association of Greater Boston (IAGB) to host a community awareness webinar for the COVID-19 vaccine, Ms. Soni has been instrumental to these initiatives.