"Stay strong, China,"; "Say no to prejudice,"; "All of our solidarity with the Chinese people." Amid the hate speech against Chinese that increased since the coronavirus broke out, Brazilian Internet users decided to show their support for the Asian country with phrases like these.
The messages were collected and translated into Mandarin by a Chinese immigrant who has lived in São Paulo since 2011 and who has family and friends living in the Wuhan region, the epicenter of the epidemic.
Chinese teacher Si Liao, 32, made the request on her YouTube channel, Pula Muralha, which has more than 638,000 followers. She proposed that people post photos making hearts with their hands and include the hashtag #EuNaoSouUmVirus [#imnotavirus] - already used in other languages, such as French and English.
Unlike other recordings, in which she appears to be excited to talk about light subjects such as cultural differences between Chinese and Brazilians, Sisi, as she is known, appears serious in this video. She talks about the racist comments that have appeared in her posts since she started publishing informative videos about the coronavirus.
The teacher says that was affected by the fear of suffering discrimination on the street. "I read so many prejudiced comments that I think everyone around me thinks I'm a virus," she said.
She concludes by saying that she believes that "most Brazilians have a good heart, they like China and understand that it is love that the Chinese need now".
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon