05/06/2020
Today, we want to introduce someone who has been wholeheartedly committed to organizing the Covid-19 PPE donation. Her name is Xin Luo. Because of her influence, we have received large amounts of protective supplies from China to help our communities here in the United States!
Here is the true story behind the scene:
"Since quarantine orders were issued, I had been vigilant in helping my town community in whatever way I could behind the walls of my home. Boxes filled with supplies such as masks and gloves have been constantly shuffling in and out my house, heading straight to the people working at the frontlines. Everything was passing by in such a hasty rush that I never stopped to really reflect on the whole matter. That was, until the actions of a group of strangers online stopped me.
It’s Thursday morning, April 2nd. I wake up to a message from a stranger on WeChat, Chinese messaging and social media app. She had messaged me several times throughout the night, greeting me and stating her interest in sending masks to America. After friending her, we begin to discuss technicalities. The masks are shipped from China on April 7th. On April 13th, I open my front door to find a total of 6,382 medical and KN95 masks, all neatly packaged into three large boxes and two parcels, sitting in front of my doorstep. There’s no time to waste. The masks are soon after distributed to my town hall, police station, senior center, post office and many other locations in need.
It’s only then that I learn that this mass donation was not the work of just one person. It was a team of 62 people from Chengdu that had pooled enough money to donate those 6,382 masks over to the United States.
But why? I was not acquainted with any of those 62 people. With the increasing racial tensions that have been forming between US and China these past couple of months, what gave them the incentive to donate to a location that was half the world away?
This was not the only donation I had received from people in China. Two brothers from the Hunan province donated 2,000 masks to me. An unrelated individual from the Anhui province was quick to send me 5000 yuan ($700) after only exchanging one or two messages with me through WeChat. These, as well as many other donations I have received in the form of masks, supplies, and money have been sent to multiple organizations that are providing food and care to people in need.
Our “friends from China” (as they called themselves) were resolute in choosing to help the United States specifically. They are well aware of the tensions that have formed between the two countries, and they chose to donate the masks and money in an effort to show their individual amity, despite political relations.
As a Chinese woman living in America, I am not ignorant to the increased aggressive behavior some citizens have been directing towards the Asian community. How can they act like that, when just the other day I could barely walk across my entranceway because it was so packed with donations sent from Chinese people? People I didn't even know the names of, that I had never talked face to face with, put their absolute faith and trust in me to distribute their supplies to American organizations in need.
Why? Because they understand. They understand better than anyone else how absolutely dire this situation is. They have already felt the pain and grief we are currently feeling, already battled the war America is fighting right now. There is no ulterior motive here. From the bottom of their hearts, these people just want to help other people. They did not donate to me just because I am also Chinese, they donated to me because I’m one of their only connections that live in America. I am their intermediator, their middleman who passes along their packages to other states in America. These packages are not exclusively donated to caucasian communities; they are being sent to Native American tribes as well. After all, no matter what country we come from, or what race or ethnicity we are, we are all human, right?
Communication barriers may exist, but kindness and empathy is a universal language. In a way, it’s almost ironic how prejudices against Chinese people have spread in the same manner that COVID-19 has within this short span of time. Now, instead of channeling their emotions into fighting against the virus, they are targeting their anger, hatred, and grief into harassing other races.
Your actions will always, always leave an impact on others. If you choose to break social-distancing rules, you risk transmitting a life-threatening disease to hundreds of other vulnerable people near you. You have the choice to harass other people, or to instead respect them and regard them as equals. You have the choice to leave hateful comments on social media, or to instead encourage positive behavior. But most importantly, you have the choice to be kind. In the middle of a pandemic that is currently unravelling the world at its seams, that is tearing families apart and endangering the lives of millions, You have the choice to be just like those 62 people in Chengdu. Just a little bit kinder, a little bit more devoted to caring for the world. That’s all."
://www.facebook.com/xin.luo.376/about
