19 Jul
SALDEF and CAIR condemn senseless act of violence
Washington, DC - July 16, 2007 - The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are saddened about the death last week of Mr. Satendar Singh, a 26 year-old Sikh American victim of a vicious hate crime, as he was removed from life-support at a local hospital.On Sunday July 1, 2007, Mr. Singh was beaten unconscious while enjoying a picnic with some friends at Lake
Natoma in Folsom, CA. His attackers reportedly yelled xenophobic, anti-religious and homophobic remarks to him and his friends. After being taken to the hospital, Mr. Singh clang to life for four days before family members agreed to remove him from life-support after seeing he was registering little to no brain activity.SALDEF and CAIR are concerned with this senseless murder of a promising young man. Hate crimes are designed to create fear amongst particular communities. Mr. Singh was targeted due to the color of skin, his national origin, and because he was the only one in his group without a female friend present. This attack was intended to create fear in the Fijian, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, Sikh and LGBT communities.”We strongly condemn this act of violence. Such hate has no place in this country,” said SALDEF Volunteer Attorney Neilinder Singh. “Sadder still, Satendar Singh had lived peacefully in the US since he was 19, only to have his life ended around the Fourth of July, when we celebrate the freedoms and principles of inclusion that this country was founded upon.”
14 Jul
I’ve seen the Sojhi Curriculum and I know the people that put it together. It’s great and I hope every gurudwara in the US can pick up a copy of it. I’ve updated this post with more info — I had previously spelled the title incorrectly as “Sohji.”
Read the Full Program Details
Read the rest of this entry »
9 Jul
From the BC Sikh Youth:
Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, Vaheguru ji ki fatheh!
Yesterday, on the National on CBC, Terry Milewski presented a careful threaded web of lies, inconsistencies, and prejudiced statements to effectively shut down the annual Vaisakhi celebrations, prevent Sikhs in Canada from having a political voice, stereotype the Sikh community as a violent and hate-filled group, and put the blame for terrorist acts on innocent Sikhs.
Please view this disgusting mockery of journalism below:
http://www.cbc.ca/national /blog/video/politicseconomy/samosa_politics.html
More relevant links:
http://www.japnaamsingh.com
http://www.bcsikhyouth.com
http://roadtokhalistan.blogspot
PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS, CLEARLY AND CAREFULLY WORDED TO ombudsman@cbc.ca .
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU E-MAIL THE CBC OMBUDSMAN WITH YOUR THOUGHTS.
Please express your opinion in an intelligent and peaceful manner, but be very clear that the Sikh community has no involvement in terrorism, and has the right to peacefully celebrate Vaisakhi and campaign for freedom from oppression.
Vaheguru ji ka khalsa,
Vaheguru ji ki fatheh !
26 Jun
Preeti Kaur writes:
please take note of this service oriented ngo: http://www.sikhorphanfund.org
Seems like a decent organization from the website.
21 Jun
Monty has created some buzz around himself and Sikhi, making the sports world a bit more aware, at the very least. He’s also leaner and taller than his older brother. Go Monty! Sports Illustrated and the Washington Post have taken notice. Sports Illustrated article. Washington Post article.
14 Jun
Make sure you submit your essay to this year’s contest. It’s great to see lots of folks excited about the topic–they’re looking for both sides of the issue and have more information about the contest online here. First place is $1000!
5 Jun
Inni Kaur writes:
Dear Sangat:
The film AMU needs our help. The community has not come out and shown its support and the opening of AMU in other cities is in jeopardy.
A way to show your support - even if you are not in Manhattan.
Please go to the net to the Cinema Village link and buy a one 10 dollar ticket to the
film. Just one.
This would be your contribution in internationalizing the issue of ‘84.
The link is:
http://www.readyticket.net
The success of AMU in NY affects the opening in the rest of the US.
If you feel 1984s story needs to be heard and the silence to be broken please buy 1 ticket and show your support. This week in crucial - please show your support.
Gur Fateh
Inni Kaur
29 May
Kirpal Singh Nijjhar, a long-standing pioneer of the east coast Sikh Youth Camp scene, notifies us of a youth camp from June 30 - July 7, 2006. It’s called MiriPiri camp–and you can find more information on it at their website: http://miripiricamp.com. Sikh camps are a great way to engage and “recharge your Sikhi battery.” I had the opportunity to be part of the organizing team of the Seattle Sikh Retreat this past weekend, and it was totally amazing. Coincidentally, we picked a similar theme — Miri Piri: Life where two swords meet.
29 May
SALDEF and the Sikh Foundation of Virginia partnered with the FBI to encourage Sikhs to join the bureau. Cool Stuff. The full press release follows.
| SALDEF working with FBI to increase service recruitment and retention within Sikh American Community |
Washington D.C. – May 25, 2007: This past Sunday, May 20, 2007, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, co-sponsored an event with the Sikh Foundation of Virginia (SFV) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to increase recruitment of Sikh Americans into the Bureau.
For the past several months, SALDEF has been advocating on behalf of the community for concerted efforts to increase the recruitment of Sikh Americans into the FBI. In meetings with National FBI Headquarters, FBI Washington Field Office, and the FBI’s Personnel Recruiting Unit (PRU), Bureau representatives have told SALDEF that Sikh American youth and young professionals, including those who possess Punjabi language skills, are highly desirable to the FBI.
Speaking at the event were:
The purpose of this pilot event was to engage with the community and gauge the effectiveness of a possible national initiative between SALDEF and the PRU to increase recruitment and retention of Sikh Americans into the FBI as special agents and professional support staff.
“SALDEF is working closely with the FBI and other federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security to encourage active recruitment efforts withing the Sikh American community,” stated SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “We urge Sikhs from across the country to collaborate with SALDEF to organize similar events in their local communities to explore opportunities with federal agencies.”
Additionally, SALDEF is working with the Washington Field Office of the FBI, and a number of Arab and Muslim organizations, on a Future Agents in Training (FTI) program to recruit a total of fifteen high school students from the DC Metro Area, aged 16 - 18, to participate in a week long event in Quantico, VA at the FBI Training Academy. This pilot program, if successful, has the potential to expand nationally and provide Sikh American youth with the unique opportunity to learn more about the FBI and its career options with an on-hands approach.
If you would like to organize a similar event in your local community, please contact SALDEF at 202-393-2700 ext 27 or by email.
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