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The Sikh response to the World Trade Center tragedy -- described by Kulwinder Singh and others as seva or "service" -- has thus taken two related forms: advocacy and education, and volunteer service to those impacted by the tragedy. These two efforts are linked, as Sikhs seek to respond to the tragedy within the framework of political and social action that is woven into their religious and social background. Seva or service is a key part of Sikh congregational life: families donate time to provide free meals at community religious services, and to provide for the upkeep of religious institutions. Now, seva is conducted in a new environment, to meet the needs of the larger New York/U.S. community, as well as of Sikh Americans.
Advocacy and Education
Educational and advocacy efforts are aimed at helping Americans to understand who the Sikhs are, and to emphasize that Sikhs are not in any way connected to the September 11th terrorist attacks. There have been over 200 documented bias incidents against Sikhs around the country since September 11, according to SMART, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force. The organization compiles information and creates materials to educate the public about Sikh Americans. According to Manjit Singh, Executive Director, the organization has also issued community advisories to inform the community about the risk they face and advise them on appropriate courses of action. The media agency organized meetings with Congressional and government agency leaders, as well as a wide-ranging public relations effort, aimed at educating Americans about the Sikh tradition and Sikh Americans.
The impact of September 11 on the Sikh community was immediate. There are reports of Sikhs fleeing the World Trade Center being harassed and threatened, and within hours a Sikh American, Sher Singh, was arrested in Providence RI on an Amtrak train for carrying a knife, or kirpan, which is carried by many Sikhs (as prescribed by the tradition). While this received extensive media coverage-including a photograph of Singh on national television -- the quick dismissal of charges by the Providence Police did not receive similarly wide coverage. The mainstream media did not give attention to the backlash against the almost ten million Americans (according to Manjit Singh) impacted until the killing of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Arizona, quickly followed by another killing further west.
Since the first bias killings and mounting reports of bias-related crime, the mainstream media began to provide coverage. Manjit Singh notes that, overall, he is happy with the scope of the coverage and the proactive role of President Bush and U.S. government agencies. President Bush’s visit to a mosque, and meeting with members of the Sikh community, have been essential in countering a simplistic portrayal of the millions of Americans of South Asian and Arab descent-of all faiths-who have been targeted. As bias attacks have begun to wane (though they still continue), SMART and others worry about the civil rights implications of current law enforcement strategies. Racial profiling is a major issue, and SMART has been meeting with federal and state law enforcement agencies to develop guidelines on how to deal with Sikh Americans, as well as other impacted Americans.
Local gurdwaras (or Sikh religious institutions, the equivalent of a Christian church or Jewish synagogue) have also organized responses, joining Sikhs from all over the country in Washington meetings, including the one with President Bush. The Sikh Cultural Society of New York City, based in Richmond Hill, Queens, is the oldest gurdwara in the New York metropolitan area. The week after September 11, the Society hired Rubenstein Associates, Inc., a public relations firm based in Manhattan, to help make the public aware of who the Sikhs are and, in doing so, prevent the targeting of Sikhs. Rubenstein Associates was hired for one month to handle interactions with media, to encourage timely and full coverage of bias attacks.
“It is not just a question of who we are not,” noted Harpreet Singh Toor, a Trustee of the Richmond Hill Gurdwara or Sikh Cultural Society, who has worked tirelessly in the weeks after September 11 to educate the police, encourage fellow Sikhs to report bias crimes, and coordinate community efforts. “What matters is not saying that Sikhs are not Muslim, but who we are, where we are from, what we are.” Volunteers from the Richmond Hill Gurdwara can be seen on various street corners in Manhattan, distributing pamphlets that explain who the Sikhs are. All of these efforts are aimed at helping Americans to understand the Sikh religion and the people who adhere to it, and save them from senseless and misplaced violence.
Serving Victims of the September 11 Tragedy
There are many facets to the Sikh volunteer response. One pursued by Sikh taxi drivers, alongside other taxi drivers of diverse backgrounds, was the provision of free transportation for rescue workers and families. Sikh involvement in the Operation Free Transportation Service of New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which has provided the free transportation service, earned them special mention at a TLC meeting on October 30, where participants in the volunteer service were honored. This service continues, aiding those taking advantage of the services available for victims’ families. This involvement is striking, as Chairman of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, Matthew Daus, noted at the October 30 award service, since Sikhs have had to face personal risk in assuming a public service role after the attacks.
According to Avtar Singh Pannu, Chairperson for the Sikh Cultural Society in Queens, the Society, like SMART and many others, first condemned the attacks. Members of the congregation then mobilized to take action. He estimated that five hundred members of the congregation donated blood at Jamaica and Elmhurst hospitals. Groups of people from the congregation went to the volunteer center at the Jacob Javitz Center and sent truck-loads of food and refreshments. On September 14 and 15, they sent supplies to Shea Stadium, where people all over the city donated material. The Society donated money to the Red Cross, and is planning a fundraising event to organize the donation of more. Material support, therefore, was an important part of the community’s response.
The Sikh Cultural Society works with other area gurdwaras -- primarily several in New Jersey, and two in Plainview and Glen Cove, NY. Trustee Toor noted that it is sometimes difficult to coordinate communication among all Sikh institutions -- the community is large, and most contact takes place on an ad hoc basis. Yet volunteer efforts have taken place in a coordinated way among students, taxi drivers, and others across the community.
Facing an Uncertain Future in New York City
There has not been a shortage of symbolic and high-profile support for Sikhs and others targeted in post-September 11 hate crimes. Mayoral candidate and Queens Borough President Peter Vallone visited the Richmond Hill Gurdwara after September 11, and members of the Society spoke with staff in Hillary Clinton’s and the Mayor’s offices in the first days following September 11. City Council candidate David Weprin recently visited the Gurdwara, noting his participation in protests against the Taleban long before September 11, in response to the Taleban requirement that Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan wear signs indicating their religious persuasion, as (he noted) was done to Jews in Nazi Germany.
Yet, according to community leaders, more work needs to be done to prevent bias attacks and protect New Yorkers of all backgrounds. Toor (the Trustee of the Richmond Hill Gurdwara) notes that the local precinct in Richmond Hill, 102, has been very responsive, but that officers in other precincts do not respond as well to the needs of the people targeted in bias attacks. Harassment is an ongoing problem for the community. As Michael Winerip’s article in The New York Times tragically illustrates, some members of the Sikh community feel compelled to cut off their hair-Sikhs are enjoined not to cut their hair-and cease wearing a turban in order to protect themselves and attempt to begin making a living again. The latter is an important consideration-Sikh (like other South Asian and Muslim) taxi drivers say that some New Yorkers will no longer ride in their cabs, and wave them on when they stop to pick them up.
The impact of the September 11 tragedy on New York and its Sikh community endures, taking different forms-as harassment lessens, concern for civil liberties takes precedence. Like other Americans, Sikhs mourn the loss of life, as they struggle to deal with their losses, businesses attempt to rebuild, and they and all members of New York’s diverse population fight for safety and the protection of their civil rights. Many Sikhs came to the United States to escape political unrest and persecution in Punjab, after more than a decade of unrest there. Recent events have provided an uneasy reminder of this violence, as Sikhs find themselves targeted as a community, again.
| The first gurdwara in the United States was founded in 1912 in Stockton, California by a small group of Sikh immigrants. Sikhs formed the majority of the first group of South Asians to come to the U.S. Large numbers of Sikhs live throughout the world, with significant communities in Canada, the U.S., England, East Africa, Fiji, Singapore, and elsewhere. |
