Filipino community rallies against hate crimes after attack in Las Vegas

Ray Quindara, son of Amadeo Quindara, speaks out to the community allies gathered at the Regional Justice Center for the Stop Asian Hate Rally in Las Vegas on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Brian Ramos

“There’s no room for hate in our Las Vegas community … We come together because an injury to one is [an] injury to all,” said Jacque De Joya, president of the Nevada chapter of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), during the rally. 

“We are always told to be quiet, and just do your own thing. But we can't no longer. We have to be loud, loud in the right sense,” Gloria Caoile, founding vice chair of NaFFAA Nevada, told The Nevada Independent. “And we need to be proud of raising our voices because we raised it for the good of all, not just us.” 

The attack comes after three years of elevated rates of hate crimes against Asians as a result of anti-Asian rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to updated national FBI data, there was a 167 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the first year of the pandemic — with 746 instances of crimes against Asians in 2021 versus 279 in 2020.

“This is just about basic human rights. We're not treated like people; we’re treated like second-class citizens. And that's something that no one should feel,” said Assemblyman Duy Nguyen (D-Las Vegas), a Vietnamese immigrant and freshman state lawmaker whose district is one of the most Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander dense and is adjacent to District 35, where Amadeo Quindara’s home is located. 

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