James An, president of KAFLA, addressed the issue during a meeting of the AAPI hate crime prevention task force, hosted by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez on the morning of July 31. An emphasized that many Korean victims of hate crimes face language barriers in reporting hate crime incidents, as they are not proficient in English.
KAFLA is currently working on a project to enlist either a volunteer or paid staff member at the Olympic Community Police Station to support Koreans in filing reports. The dedicated interpreter, likely to be an adult or student volunteer, will be funded through fundraising efforts.
“We’ve been in discussions with Captain Aaron Ponce of the Olympic Community Police Station and the senior officer in charge of the Korean American neighborhood. We’ve heard from Korean Americans who have been victims of not only hate crimes but also recent home burglaries, and they find it difficult to report to the police,” An explained. “We are also planning to request the L.A. City Attorney’s Office to review the legal regulations, enabling us to appoint a Korean American interpreter as soon as possible.”
During the task force meeting, KAFLA President An was joined by Connie Chung Joe, president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), FACE President Hyepin Im, and over 10 representatives from the Chinese, Filipino, Thai, and Japanese communities. These community leaders engaged directly with Congressman Gomez, sharing the unique challenges faced by their communities.
Hyepin Im, president of FACE, brought attention to the exclusion of Asian Americans, including Korean Americans, from federally funded homebuyer assistance programs for low-income families. Connie Chung Joe expressed concerns about the delay and minimal funding for the establishment of a hotline for Asians to report in their native language. Additionally, the Chinese community expressed worries about hate crimes linked to the cooling U.S.-China relationship, while the Thai community raised concerns about hidden human trafficking.
Congressman Gomez attentively listened to the communities’ input, took notes on key issues, and directed his aides to conduct further research on these matters.
Reflecting on the meeting, Gomez stated, “Today was a great opportunity for me to hear directly from the community about the issues they are facing. I will continue to advocate for the community’s voice to be heard by the federal government and Congress.”
BY NICOLE CHANG [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
