Vilma Cali, the Asian American woman who was beaten in a vicious hate-fueled attack in Times Square three years ago, continues to live in fear and fear of being alone in public. In a new interview, she revealed that she is afraid of
A 65-year-old woman’s life was cut short at 360 West 43rd Street when convicted murderer Brandon Elliott, 41, pushed her to the ground and punched her in the head several times as onlookers did nothing. All that changed after I kicked him.
Elliot is sentenced to 15 years in prison But Cali, who is of Filipino descent, is still recovering mentally from the hate crime that left her with a broken pelvis and head injuries.
“As I said to Mr. Elliott, ‘You have struck fear into my heart,’ and that fear will remain with me forever,” Cali said in an interview aired Tuesday with NBC News’ Ellison Barber. told.
“I’m scared to go out alone and I’m scared to be around people,” she said.
Asian American Foundation survey results released last week revealed One in five Asian Americans in New York City said they were physically assaulted because of their race in the past year.
Alarmingly, the study found that more than half (54%) of people who suffered a hate incident refused to report it to anyone.
“Anti-Asian Hate Rhetoric and Violence Targeting AAPIs” [Asian American Pacific Islander] Community development did not stop in 2020,” TAAF CEO Norman Chen said in response to the survey results.
“We see this in the continued hatred, violence, and distrust against Asian American New Yorkers. The othering of our community contributes to discrimination and prejudice in public spaces. “Not only will it make us more vulnerable, but it will undermine our efforts toward equity and inclusion for AAPIs,” he added.
Cali told NBC that when Elliott assaulted her, she didn’t realize at the time that she was the victim of a hate crime.
Surveillance footage of the attack went viral amid a massive spike in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I wasn’t really thinking about all of that in that moment,” she said. “I’m just focused on the pain. How do I walk?” How do I take a bath? How should I eat it? Just everyday life. ”
Prosecutors said Elliott yelled at her during the assault: “F-fuck you, you don’t belong here.”
But even though the video went viral, Kari wanted to remain silent about it.
“Her mother was in a state of mind where she really didn’t want anyone to know,” Kali’s daughter, Liz Kali, told NBC.
“She wanted to deal with her pain and understand the incident, but she didn’t want to make a fuss about it,” she said.
Elliott, who was on parole for killing his mother in 2002, was tracked down and arrested two days later and charged with assault as a hate crime and attempted assault as a hate crime.
He pleaded guilty in December to charges of first-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a hate crime.
