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SIKHS GETTING THE HEAT AFTER 9/11 |
SIKHS GETTING THE HEAT FOR
'ATTACK ON AMERICA';
URGE MEDIA HELP
Sikh American
Community is
concerned about the safety of Sikhs across America in the aftermath of
Tuesday's horrific terrorist attacks on the New York City and Washington D.C.
The Sikh American community has openly condemned these terrorist activities that
took thousands of innocent American lives. As Sikh Americans, we are saddened by
the tremendous loss of life and threat to freedom that these terrorist acts have
caused, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and
our fellow Americans who have been affected by this tragedy. SMART hopes the
U.S. government is able to swiftly bring to justice those who were responsible
for these atrocities. It is important that the media behave responsibly in this period. Right now,
people are angry and confused and when they see photographs of Osama bin Laden
with
a turban and beard. Since Sikhs also
have turbans and beards, we are becoming the mistaken targets of "retaliation".
In different parts of the country, Sikhs have been harassed, threatened,
attacked, and brutally beaten. An elderly Sikh man is in the hospital, after
having been assaulted with a baseball bat. A Sikh temple near Cleveland was
firebombed. The list goes on, and is growing over time.
We request the media to do two things:
Remind all Americans of the importance not to act on their feelings of anger
and frustration by attacking innocent fellow US citizens. After Oklahoma City
the nation refrained from attacking men who looked like Timothy McVeigh, there
is no reason why we cannot behave in a similar fashion now.
Remind all Americans that in the US, the men they see with turbans and beards
are Sikhs, and have no connection whatsoever to the Muslims, Arabs of the Middle East, or Osama
bin Laden. Sikhs are not terrorists, nor have we ever been linked to any of the
foreign groups, which are attacking the US now, or have attacked the US in the
past.
The Sikh American community is ready to serve its nation, the United
States, in any way possible. We are co-operating with law enforcement authorities
(even those who may confuse us with Arab- immigrants). The community understands
that the media and law enforcement are going through an extremely difficult task
in sorting and identifying those responsible for this horrific attack and we are
confident that these officials will ensure the safety of all innocent Americans
regardless of their race, color, or religion.
Sikhism
is a monotheistic religion with origins in northwestern India.
Sikhs
have been in the United States for over 100 years with a community of
over 500,000 in the U.S. today.
The worldwide Sikh community is recognized as a law-abiding group,
which upholds values such as service to the community, betterment of
humanity, justice and truth.
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