PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 36 NO 28
JULY 8 – JULY 14, 2017
FREE 35 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Are safe heroin injection sites really safe? By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY “It’s just the whole idea of having a socalled safe injection site [for heroin] doesn’t make sense to me,” said Bellevue resident Kan Qiu. “I’m a first generation immigrant from China. It’s ingrained in our culture, that we don’t touch drugs. In China, we have a vivid history of the Opium Wars. [They] made China weak. The whole nation was weak. That was because the drug was legal and readily available. That was a recipe to destroy Asia. Heroin abuse should focus on treatment, rather than on a facility for [drug users]. It’s addiction. Addiction is like — if you provide the facility, the addiction will go on. And also, it causes a bunch of additional social problems like [increased] crime rates, drug dealing. You know, drug dealers would love a magnet of a consumption site because they would know where to sell the drug. They’d just camp outside the facility. [This is] the wrong message to send to our next generation. Totally wrong approach.” On March 1, 2016, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Renton Mayor Denis Law, and see INJECTION SITES on 12
‘Bubbly kid’ fatally shot by deputy hours before graduation
Outdoors enthusiasts travel cross-country to promote diversity in public lands
By CHRISTINE WILLMSEN THE SEATTLE TIMES
see LE on 16
Photo by Tim Gruver/NWAW
SEATTLE (AP) — When Tommy Le’s photo appeared in the screen during the slideshow fellow graduates cheered and hollered. The 20-year-old and about 45 fellow students had just graduated from Career Link, an alternative high-school completion program at South Seattle College. But they also didn’t understand why the wide-smiling, cheerful Le wasn’t at the June 14 celebration, and missing a high point in his life. They were unaware that Le had been shot and killed by a King County sheriff ’s deputy hours earlier. Tommy Le Ambreen Tariq (left) and husband, Nader Janeel stand in front of their travel trailer at Seattle Center.
By Tim Gruver NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
COMMUNITY
ON NETFLIX
A&E
BLOG
The new updates at Hing Hay Park » see 3
A girl and her superpig » see 8
Rising ballet star from Bollywood » see 9
Reflecting on the $15 wage study » see 10
■
Ambreen Tariq was just 8 years old when she traveled halfway across the world to the United States from India. The daughter of immigrant parents who both worked two jobs to make ends meet, Tariq grew up all across the country as a part of what she calls
a road trip family that developed a mutual love of the outdoors with their daughter. That love led Tariq to start Brown People Camping, a social media campaign aimed at promoting greater diversity in outdoor recreation. Together with her husband, Nader Jameel, Tariq partnered with Airstream Travel see TRAVEL on 13
412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com