By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 31 January 2020: The Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) has expressed grave concern over “the emergence of racism overseas, and now here in Australia, in response to the Coronavirus”. In a strongly-worded statement received by South Asia Times (SAT) by email, the VMC says, “It is not a time to isolate, undermine or discriminate against others.”
“We are disappointed to see overt and subtle racism in media reporting and on social media towards people of Chinese heritage.
Victoria is a proud, strong and successful multicultural society. And when we are faced with a crisis of any kind, we come together and support each other as we have seen with the response to the bushfire crisis.
The Coronavirus poses a serious threat to the health of people across the world, and we fully support the Australian authorities and our Victorian health system to guide us through this crisis.
We commend our scientists for their breakthroughs and collaboration with experts across the globe in endeavoring to develop protections against such threats.
We ask people to show compassion towards individuals, families, and communities here and overseas who are affected by the virus.”
