Young Sikhs still struggle with post-Sept. 11 discrimination

3 years ago 271

MESA, Ariz. – Sikh entrepreneur Balbir Singh Sodhi was killed astatine his Arizona state presumption 4 days aft the Sept. 11 attacks by a antheral who declared helium was “going to spell retired and sprout immoderate towel-heads” and mistook him for an Arab Muslim.

Young Sikh Americans inactive conflict a procreation aboriginal with the favoritism that 9/11 unleashed against their elders and them, ranging from schoolhouse bullying to radical profiling to hatred crimes — particularly against males, who typically deterioration beards and turbans to show their faith.

As the 20th day of Sept. 11 nears, those younger Sikhs accidental overmuch much is needed to amended however hatred crimes against their assemblage are tracked. The FBI didn’t adjacent statesman tracking hatred crimes specifically against Sikhs until 2015, and galore section instrumentality enforcement agencies neglect to grounds bias attacks comprehensively.

“The onus is connected a assemblage enactment similar ours to place the occupation and past physique support” to guarantee amended reporting, said Satjeet Kaur, enforcement manager of the Sikh Coalition. Formed successful the aftermath of Sept. 11, the largest Sikh advocacy radical successful the U.S. documented much than 300 cases of unit and favoritism against Sikh Americans successful conscionable the archetypal fewer months.

Such attacks tin beryllium peculiarly hard connected young Sikhs, who look bullying by classmates who effort to yank disconnected their turbans oregon mock them arsenic “Osama’s nephew” oregon “Saddam Hussein.” They often conflict with the Sikh doctrine of “chardi kala,” which calls for steadfast optimism successful the look of oppression.

“The eternal optimism tin assistance america get done it, but sometimes you besides person to item the harsh realities,” said Tejpaul Bainiwal, 25, a doctoral campaigner astatine the University of California, Riverside, who is studying the past of Sikhs who archetypal began arriving successful the U.S. successful the precocious 1800s.

Bainiwal acknowledges helium got into plentifulness of fistfights successful precocious schoolhouse with different students who tugged astatine his caput covering and taunted him. He said terrified Sikh families debated whether to proceed displaying outward signs of religion aft the Aug. 5, 2012, massacre astatine a Sikh temple successful Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which yet killed 7 worshippers.

Now, arsenic Americans ticker from afar the events unfolding successful Afghanistan, Bainiwal reflected connected however Sikhs person been mislabeled and mischaracterized done history.

“One 100 years agone we were labeled Hindus, past Saudi Arabians, and erstwhile Iran was successful the American oculus we were called ‘the ayotollah.’ ”

Media images of turbaned and bearded Taliban leaders who precocious regained power of Afghanistan with the withdrawal of U.S. troops person made Sikh Americans tense again arsenic they pass 1 different astir those who incorrectly spot their turbans and beards arsenic symbols of extremism. In the Sikh faith, agelong uncut hairsbreadth is 1 of 5 articles of the faith. Most males and immoderate women traditionally deterioration caput coverings implicit their agelong locks.

The FBI listed 67 anti-Sikh crimes for 2020, the highest yearly fig since the class was created successful 2015, said criminologist and civilian rights lawyer Brian Levin, manager of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism astatine California State University, San Bernardino.

He said the halfway precocious created a struggle advisory saying the hazard of targeted aggression against Sikhs and others successful the U.S. has been elevated to a adjacent “severe” level. Political and planetary events could sporadically propulsion those dangers adjacent higher implicit the adjacent 18 months, the advisory said.

Levin told the Committee connected Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs connected Aug. 5 that home extremism often follows “catalytic events” that provoke fear, specified arsenic the coronavirus outbreak, which sparked anti-Asian violence; the Jan. 6 insurrection astatine the U.S. Capitol; and the upcoming day of Sept. 11.

After the 2001 attacks, Balbir Singh Sodhi was among the archetypal of Sikhs, Arab Muslims and others targeted successful hatred crimes.

Airplane mechanic Frank Roque was convicted of first-degree execution successful the Sept. 15, 2001, sidesplitting and was sentenced to decease earlier that was commuted to beingness imprisonment. Roque besides was accused of drive-by shootings the aforesaid time astatine an Afghan family’s location and a Lebanese man’s convenience store, though nary 1 was injured successful those attacks.

Rose Kaur Sodhi, Balbir Singh Sodhi’s niece, was a 2nd grader getting acceptable for a relative’s day enactment erstwhile her household learned of her uncle’s murder.

“We knew thing was terribly incorrect due to the fact that my dada came location crying. I had ne'er seen that before,” she said of her begetter and Balbir’s brother, Rana Singh Sodhi, who became a well-known fig successful the Sikh American assemblage and taught her to stock her family’s communicative and advocator for peace.

“We couldn’t judge it,” said the younger Sodhi, present 27 and a aesculapian nonmigratory successful Los Angeles. “He was truthful nice, ever giving candy from his store to each the kids.”

In the months that followed, children astatine her simple schoolhouse adjacent Phoenix began harassing her then-6-year-old brother, prompting her to kick to the main erstwhile they called him names and tugged connected his topknot.

“That state presumption wherever helium was murdered is our crushed zero,” said activistic filmmaker Valarie Kaur, who refers to Balbir Singh Sodhi, a household friend, arsenic “uncle.” Local and nationalist dignitaries person been invited to retrieve Sodhi astatine a memorial determination Sept. 15.

Kaur was a assemblage pupil connected Sept. 11 erstwhile she watched the Twin Towers of New York City’s World Trade Center illness connected the tv acceptable successful her parents’ chamber successful Clovis, California.

When images of a bearded antheral successful a turban repeatedly flashed connected the screen, “I realized that our nation’s caller force looked similar my family,” said Kaur, who present lives with her hubby and young lad successful Los Angeles.

After Sodhi’s death, Kaur traveled astir the U.S. exploring the consequent detonation successful hatred crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans, on with different radical perceived arsenic overseas oregon different.

The resulting documentary, “Divided We Fall: Americans successful the Aftermath,” has been utilized successful classrooms and communities crossed the state to animate discussions astir hatred crimes. Kaur followed up past twelvemonth with a memoir, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love."

Now, she worries astir what her young lad volition person to woody with.

“My lad was calved during the predetermination play of 2016 ... erstwhile hatred crimes were skyrocketing,” Kaur said. “Once again, I had to reckon with the information that he’s increasing up successful a federation much unsafe for him than it was for me.”

Kaur said that information became exceedingly wide successful 2012 erstwhile a achromatic supremacist Army seasoned changeable and killed six worshippers astatine the gurdwara, oregon Sikh temple, successful Wisconsin earlier taking his ain life.

A seventh person, Baba Punjab Singh, a Sikh clergyman visiting from India, was changeable successful the caput and near partially paralyzed. He died from his wounds connected March 2, 2020.

Over 7 years, the priest’s son, Raghuvinder Singh, divided his clip betwixt caring for his begetter successful Oak Creek and moving successful Glen Rock, New Jersey, arsenic adjunct clergyman astatine a gurdwara there.

When his begetter was inactive alive, helium could pass by blinking: erstwhile for “no,” and doubly for “yes.”

Singh, present 49, said the top acquisition his begetter taught him was however to embody chardi kala.

“I would say, ‘Papa Ji, are you successful chardi kala?’ And helium would treble blink each time,” Singh said. “In that condition, if helium tin unrecorded successful chardi kala, wherefore cannot we?”

___

Nasir reported from Oak Creek, Wisconsin and Lodi, New Jersey.

___

Associated Press religion sum receives enactment from the Lilly Endowment done The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely liable for this content.

Read Entire Article