YPAD: Volume 1 - join us for this brand new annual campaign and exhibition in London!

For our Manchester exhibition, please go here.

On 6th May, Voice ESEA are launching YPAD - Yellow Peril Awareness Day - to share and tell the many uncovered, forgotten and intriguing British ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) stories that have been interwoven and embedded into the UK history for centuries.

Yellow Peril - a term that "refers to a general fear, mistrust, and hatred of Chinese and other Asians [in the United States]” (J. Ho 2020) - continues to rear its ugly head through history and in more recent years. To ensure the next generation of ESEA people don’t have to battle anti-ESEA scapegoating, YPAD aims to show that we belong and have done for much longer than many realise.

6th May commemorates the signing of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which explicitly prohibited Chinese immigrants from entering the country by US law. To date, it is the earliest and first known ban a country has made explicitly against a certain ethnic group. For 83 years, until 1965, it justified top-down, racial tension, inclusive of riots and massacres of the Chinese people who already lived there. On the other side of the border, it historically kept the six Chinese survivors of the Titanic stranded on a lifeboat instead of getting treatment, when they’d suffered exactly the same as the other survivors.

From the first Japanese visitors to England in the 1500s to the secretly deported thousands of Chinese seamen who had helped Britain during WW2, and from the perilous journeys of Vietnamese refugees from the mid-70s through to the 90s to the untold experiences of Filipino domestic workers over the years, these are just some of the stories being highlighted this year.

With our annual Yellow Peril Awareness Day, we want to:

1. Uplift and educate about the depth of ESEA history, inclusive of yellow peril and its global impact.
2. Implement resources for top-down changemakers in the British public.
3. Empower ESEA people to acknowledge their belongingness, share their experiences and be emboldened to report incidents.​

Where: Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E1 5QJ

When: Monday 6th May, 11am to 4pm (please pick a time slot when ordering tickets, but you do not definitively have to arrive during this time - it just allows us to know the capacity of the venue throughout the day)

More details and updates to follow!

FAQ

Q: Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
A: Yes, it is on the ground floor with no need for ramp access. If you need more information on other accessibility issues, please let us know.

Q: How can I get there?
A: The closest tube station is Bethnal Green, a short walk away. For information on other transport links, please contact us.

Q: Do we have to arrive at a specific time and is there a time limit?
A: While we ask you to pick a time during the day, this is just a guide for us to know how many people might be in the building at any given time for both H&S reasons and capacity. Feel free to arrive at any time from 11am and stay as long as you like or need (we recommend around an hour). Please note the exhibition will end at 4pm so do organise your time accordingly.

Q: Is this suitable for children?
A: Yes, we want everybody of any age to learn more about these histories and have a desire to continue doing so. There will be activities for children to participate in and learn on the day. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Q: Are tickets refundable?
A: Unfortunately, because we are a non-profit organisation tickets will not be refundable. All proceeds will go towards helping us recuperate costs of this event and so we can organise future events such as the next annual Yellow Peril Awareness Day.

Q: Who can I contact for more information or to make any queries?
A: Please email voiceesea@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram at @voiceesea and we will do our best to get back to you.

Disclaimers

We want to assure everyone that we have done our best to ensure this exhibition is as inclusive as possible of all communities. We understand the term "Yellow Peril" and depictions and retellings of racism, discrimination and prejudice may be upsetting or triggering for some but hope this exhibition and this awareness campaign educates and inspires others, which cannot be done without these stories we are highlighting.

We also understand the impact the term "Yellow Peril" used in a derogatory sense to describe someone of ESEA heritage has and do not condone its use in this way. Our usage of the term describes the anti-ESEA sentiments and actions that have taken place throughout history. We are not "reclaiming" the term that is used in the aforementioned negative way, we simply want to raise awareness of it.

We originally named this "Sinophobia Awareness Day", under the idea that many ESEA people/communities have faced Sinophobia even if they may not be ethnically Chinese, however, upon feedback and discussions found this to be less inclusive as well as both potentially geographically and politically problematic. Still, we understand this may not be the most perfect name or term and may not be accepted by everyone, however we want to reiterate our intentions behind the awareness campaign and exhibition and that we do not intend to upset or offend. If you have any concerns that you wish to discuss with us, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We encourage anyone affected by anti-ESEA hate crimes to report the incident to the police and On Your Side, the latter of which can provide specialist support, as well as to reach out to the many mental health services that provide services to the ESEA community.