By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
Mourners gathered for a vigil to honor the eight killed in the Atlanta Spa shooting Friday night, an event streamed live worldwide and organized by the Korean American Coalition.
Attendees of the multi-cultural, multi-religious observance grieved for the lives of those killed which included four Korean Americans and six Asian American women.
“I wonder how I can possibly articulate our sorrow and rage,” said Crystal Jin Kim of the Korean American Coalition. ” I say simply that my heart aches with yours. We’re here to mourn the lives taken and to speak out against hate incidents over the past year and in our long and widely unknown history.”
Alexis Jung Suh said Georgia is the home of 490,000 Asian Americans, minus eight individuals whose lives were cut short on March 16.
“We affirm and declare for them and ourselves, our worht is not tied to our work, title, accolades. How long we have been here in the US or how well we speak English. We are here to remember the eight people we lost Mardh 16 and to mourn them as people with inherent value,” Suh said.
Muslim, Buddhist and Christian prayers followed a one minute moment of silence. Imam Abdullah Jaber of the Council of American Islamic Relations prayed for the strength to wipe the tears away from the families and to console their hearts.
Mike Tai, pastor of 4Pointes Church prayed for justice, mercy and for God to bring us all together as one people.
Members of the Black, Latinx, and Jewish communities also joined to express their solidarity and to say they stand with the AAPI community in this time of hate and division.
Many of the speakers called for the community to raise their voices as one. 
“I believe with all of my heart and being that each of us is worthy and entitled to love and belong,” said Nse Ufot of the New Georgia Project.
“I just want to lift up the victims and the families on the tragic loss of the loved ones,” said Martha Ravelo, who represented both the Latinx community and Sen. Rafael Warnock’s office. We are a community that stands right next to you.”
Julie Katz of the American Jewish Committee joined the message for solidarity “we cannot be free of oppression until all minorities are free of oppression.” She called on all leaders to say no to hate and to protect the Asian community.
Many expressed frustration that the voices of Asian Americans are being drowned out and ignored.
“In our voice, we must make clear that our families must be treated with the respect they deserve,” said Sarah Park of the Korean American Coalition. “In order to overcome these challenges together, we must truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”
The Korean American Delegation in Congress, Rep Andy Kim (D-NJ), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Michelle Steel (R-CA) and Young Kim (R-CA) issued a joint statement.
“We come together as Korean American members of Congress to demonstrate our solidarity in the face of hate and fear. By coming together and bringing allies with us, we can make progress that can keep our AAPI community safe and honor those lives that have so cruelly and prematurely taken from us.”
The only Korean American serving in the Georgia State Legislature also spoke.
“I know there is a lot of fear in our community,” said State Rep Sam Park. “The most common refrain I hear is ‘am I next?’ Do not be afraid. This is our home. This is our country. We will stand and protect our community.
The service ended with the audience all lighting candles and the ringing of eight bells for each of the victims.
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