The Sunday Read: ‘Why Was Vicha Ratanapakdee Killed?’

<p>Throughout 2020, multiple strangers came at Monthanus Ratanapakdee seemingly out of nowhere. An old man yelled at her in Golden Gate Park — something about a virus and going back to her country. When she discussed these incidents, her father would ask, “Is it really that bad?”</p><p>Her father, Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, was a lifelong Buddhist, the kind of person who embraced the world with open arms. During the coronavirus pandemic, he usually left the house before 8 a.m. and made it back before his grandsons started their Zoom classes.</p><p>This year, on the morning of Jan. 28, he headed out. A surveillance video captured what happened next. A tall figure suddenly darts across a street and slams into a much smaller one; the smaller figure crumples onto the pavement and doesn’t get back up.</p><p>Mr. Ratanapakdee's death helped awaken the nation to a rise in anti-Asian violence. For his grieving family, the reckoning hasn’t gone far enough.</p><p><i><strong>This story</strong> <strong>was written by</strong></i><strong> </strong><i><strong>Jaeah Lee</strong></i><strong> and </strong><i><strong>recorded by Audm</strong>. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, </i><a href="https://www.audm.com/?utm_source=nytmag&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=after_vicha_lee" target="_blank"><i>download Audm for iPhone or Android</i></a><i>.</i></p>