MANHATTAN — City lawmakers unanimously passed a measure Wednesday calling on the Department of Defense to mandate anti-discrimination training, following the alleged racially motivated bullying death of Army Pvt. Danny Chen in Afghanistan last year.
Chen, 19, who grew up in Chinatown and Lower East Side, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a guard tower in Kandahar Province on Oct. 3, 2011, military officials said.
It was later revealed that a pattern of physical abuse and racial taunts allegedly led to Chen’s death, prompting advocates to press the military for answers and eight of his fellow soldiers to be charged in the tragic incident.
The Council resolution, discussed at an emotional hearing last week with Chen’s parents in attendance, calls on the Defense Department to examine its policies regarding cultural awareness in the military and institute comprehensive diversity, anti-discrimination and harassment training for military personnel.
Chen’s was subjected to ridicule and physical abuse by fellow soldiers and superiors in part because of his Chinese ethnicity, advocates and Chen's family said, based on conversations with military officials.
The teen soldier was the alleged victim of racial taunts, including being called “gook,” “chink,” and “dragon lady,” and subjected to daily physical abuse by fellow soldiers, who pelted him with rocks and ordered him to give instructions in Chinese, advocates said at last week’s hearing.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who co-sponsored the resolution, said the abuse amounted to “torture” of a soldier at the hands of those he served with.
“New York City calls on the armed forces to reform their policies regarding diversity training, bullying, and hazing,” said Councilwoman Margaret Chin, the resolution’s lead sponsor, who traveled with advocates and Chen’s family to a meeting with Pentagon officials about the incident.
“We need to know that our sons and daughters will not be victimized by their fellow soldiers at home or at war. We need to know that their superiors will be held accountable, and that rules regarding hazing and discrimination are enforced. This resolution is a first step.”
