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Justice For All - The Aftermath of
September 11th
| The Sikh doctrine
teaches us the concept of "Sarbat Da Bhalaa"
(Good of All). A core Coalition objective is to stand
for human dignity and justice for all people irrespective
of their faith, color, gender, ethnicity or nationality.
As hate crimes and incidents of overt discrimination
have mounted against Sikhs, Muslims, Arabs, East Africans,
and other minorities, so has the impact of deferral
edicts geared towards the new "aliens" in
our midst created a climate of fear and suspicion in
the minds of the American public. |
Photo by Nadeem Uddin
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The Sikh Coalition joined hand with the Hate Free Zone
Campaign of Washington and over 100 broad based community
organizations to stand together for the justice of all people.
A public hearing was organized in Seattle Town Hall on September
21st, 2002. The event brought immigrants and diverse communities
together in an unprecedented showing of mutual support and
respect. Men and women who had previously felt as if their
voices counted for little were given a venue to speak. While
each community was trying to fend for itself, the event
brought them together to understand that they were not experiencing
things in isolation.
For over three hours a bipartisan commission of high-ranking
officials and a standing-room-only crowd sat and listened
to nearly 30 adults and children who came forward with their
stories. Commissioners included: U.S. Representative - Jim
McDermott, King County Council Member, Larry Gosset, Asst.
Attorney General for the State of Washington, David Horn,
U.S. Representative, Jay Inslee, Assistant U.S. Attorney,
Bruce Miyake, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI,
Seattle Division, Ronald A. Nesbitt.
The event was simultaneously translated into Punjabi, Somali,
and Cambodian to accommodate the large number of immigrants
in attendance.
Jaspreet, a five-year-old Sikh, told his story this way:
"One day, I was going to school, walking on my street
and one guy said, 'What is on your head?' I said, 'This
is my big hair, and I want to keep my hair on my head.'
Then he was talking back at me again and he said, 'what
are you doing again, I can't hear you!,' then he took my
bike ... Then I was walking to the park and this boy told
me, you can't come on our bus ... I wish people would never
talk about my hair. I never say bad words to anybody.'"
Thomas Paine once said that those who expect to reap the
blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting
it. The essence of the American nation and liberty of her
citizens is the diversity of cultures, perspectives and
values. It is our duty to uphold the values that form the
basis of this society and those that have been enshrines
by the founding father of the American constitution.
Details and Coverage of
the Event
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