Peru: Treatment of ethnic Chinese in Lima, particularly attacks against ethnic Chinese or other Asians since the fall of President Fujimori; targetting of Chinese residents due to their ethnicity; protection available from criminal activities, particularly from robberies (Nov. 2000-Dec. 2001)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 21 December 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PER38044.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Peru: Treatment of ethnic Chinese in Lima, particularly attacks against ethnic Chinese or other Asians since the fall of President Fujimori; targetting of Chinese residents due to their ethnicity; protection available from criminal activities, particularly from robberies (Nov. 2000-Dec. 2001) , 21 December 2001, PER38044.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be93e.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Further to PER37921.E of 4 December 2001, no current references to a specific targetting or protection available to ethnic Chinese or other Asians in Lima could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Numerous reports refer to violent crimes in Lima during the period in question; however, most reports had no reference to the ethnicity of the victims or do not name the victims.
Only two recent specific references to victims of Asian ethnicity or ascendence were found: one refers to the August 2001 rescue by police of a nisei (also spelled nikkei, meaning of Japanese ancestry) businessman who was being kidnapped by a group of recently released ex-convicts; a patrol car passing by the site where the kidnapping was taking place engaged in a shootout, capturing three criminals and releasing the victim (24 Horas 22 Aug. 2001). Another report refers to the capture of a woman who led a gang of criminals responsible for numerous armed robberies and murders over the past years, including a robbery of the director of the Maternity of Lima, Carlos Kobayashi Kobayashi (La República 6 Nov. 2001). Another woman who headed a criminal gang in Lima was captured in October 2001; although she reportedly led numerous armed robberies and kidnappings of "known businessmen" (empresarios conocidos), the report does not name the businessmen nor their ethnicity (24 Horas 12 Oct. 2001).
Another recent reference to a person of Asian ethnicity concerns former congressman and minister of the Fujimori administration, Victor Joy Way: a rumour reportedly shared throughout congress alleged that Joy Way was seeking asylum or Chinese nationality at the embassy of China to avoid trial in Peru; however, Joy Way denied that there was any truth to the rumour (ibid. 2 July 2001).
The most recent general references to police protection from crime found among the sources consulted refer to clamour by different groups demanding police action: in one case, police captured the leader of a gang that stabbed a private watchman in a neighbourhood of the Lima district of Villa Maria del Triunfo, broke windows of various homes and robbed a group of people attending a wake at a private house; however, neighbours lamented the "degree of impunity" (cansados de tanta impunidad) in the area and demanded more action from police to end it (ibid. 27 Nov. 2001). In another recent case, fishing entrepreneurs presented the police with a video of a robbery at sea which identified the attacking boats, in the hopes that action would be taken against a kind of crime that has reportedly been occurring for some five years near the southern city of Pisco (24 Horas 13 Nov. 2001).
The government has recently carried out large-scale police operations to tackle violent crime in September 2001 (La República 24 Sept. 2001). The chief of the Seventh Police Region (Lima) announced that as a result of operations in September 2001 a total of 26 armed gangs had been disbanded, with 825 armed robbers and 99 kidnappers captured (ibid. 12 Oct. 2001).
However, consequences for those who act against crime have been reported. The most recent examples found refer to cities south of Lima: on 19 December 2001 a woman was beaten to the brink of death outside her home in Pisco by a group of criminals, apparently as a reprisal for having identified earlier a criminal (24 Horas 19 Dec. 2001). The day before, two policemen were killed by the criminals they were chasing in the city of Arequipa (ibid. 18 Dec. 2001). In the northern city of Tumbes, earlier in the year a mob of approximately 70 men and women stormed and ransacked a police station and freed a violent criminal who had been arrested a few hours earlier (La República 18 Sept. 2001).
The only published reference found on a particular attitude towards persons of Asian descent predates the fall of Fujimori, and is in a 1997 social science essay published by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP). The document describes treatment of patrons at casinos in Lima, stating that casino employees have been treating differently those who have been regarded as "white" and in a good economic position, Koreans and Chinese who have been regarded as "dirty but with money" (considerados sucios, pero con dinero), and cholos con plata (mixed-Indian with money) (Callirgos 27 Oct. 1997).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
24 Horas [Lima]. 19 December 2001. "Mujer se encuentra al borde de la muerte luego de ser golpeada por delincuentes en Pisco."
_____. 18 December 2001. "Delincuentes asesinan a balazos a dos policías en Arequipa."
_____. 27 November 2001. "Policía captura a cabecilla de banda de pandilleros en Villa María del Triunfo."
_____. 13 November 2001. "Empresarios confirman asaltos a embarcaciones pesqueras en el mar peruano."
_____. 12 October 2001. "Policía captura a integrante de banda 'Los marranos del Cono Sur'."
_____. 22 August 2001. "Policía frustra secuestro de empresario nisei."
_____. 2 July 2001. "Congresista Joy Way no ha tramitado asilo ni pasaporte, según embajada china."
Callirgos, Juan Carlos. 27 October 1997. "El (poco discreto) encanto de la burguesía." (Cholonautas/Instituto de Estudios Peruanos – IEP, Lima)
La Republica [Lima]. 6 November 2001. "Cae mujer homicida en Barrios Altos."
_____. 12 October 2001. "En un mes desbaratan 26 bandas y atrapan 99 secuestradores."
_____. 24 September 2001. "Policía incursiona en 10 distritos limeños."
_____. 18 September 2001. "Con palos y piedras: Turba ataca comisaría para rescatar hampón."
Additional Sources Consulted
Latin American Regional Reports (LARR): Andean Group [London]. Nov. 2000-Nov. 2001.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Nov. 2000-Nov. 2001.
Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), Washington DC. October 2001. Field Report: Peru. June-October 2001.
Internet Websites and search engines, including:
Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH), Lima.
AgenciaPeru [Lima]. Mar-Dec. 2001.
El Comercio [Lima]. Searchable archives, 2001.
24 Horas [Lima]. Apr.-Dec. 2001.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. Country and region-specific publications available in the Resource Centre are not included.
