SOMERVILLE, Maine — Angela Fagin has lived in Maine for 30 years. She originally moved from Nanjing, China, in 1994.
During those three decades, Fagin said she's never encountered racism from other Mainers. But recently she noticed trash is routinely dumped on her front yard.
Fagin said it all started at the end of 2022 when a neighbor in a truck saw her. She noticed the encounter, telling NEWS CENTER Maine the encounter felt odd. For weeks following the incident, she would get bags of empty beer cans thrown on her front lawn.
"This is not just littering of people's property. This is a hate crime," Fagin said. "My husband is a disabled veteran and cancer survivor. He couldn't sleep because he couldn't help me."
Fagin said she reported the man to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, and they told her to try documenting the man with security camera footage. Fagin told NEWS CENTER Maine she bought a few cameras and hopes to catch whoever is throwing cans in her driveway.
"This person saw me last year and now he keeps bringing me these gifts," she said. "I was shocked, angry, and upset."
According to the FBI hate crime bureau, seven hate crimes against Asian Americans were reported in Maine in the past 10 years. Five of those happened in the last two years.
Most of the hate crimes reported were vandalism and destruction of property.
For organizers of Unified Asian Communities, the rise in hate crimes is unfortunate, but an opportunity to keep the conversation going on how to combat racism.
"That mentality comes from ignorance and that is the method we chose to combat it," Thomas Ling, the President of Unified Asian Communities, said. "If you do have a bias that is OK, but it's about keeping an open mind and making sure everyone in our community feels at home and safe."
If you or someone you know was a victim of a hate crime, you can report it to your local police department.