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Making a Difference
Here are a list of different issues that APISWSA members are involved in and information on how you can also help make a difference.
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Hate Crimes as a Result of September 11th
As many of us begin to recoup from the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we are forced to deal with an array of emotions:
confusion, fear, frustration and anger. And as we seek different sources to help us cope with these emotions and tragedy, unfortunately, there are some who resort to physical aggression and violence.
While much of this violence has been targeted towards Arab Americans, there have been incidents that have involved Indian Americans. While many of these incidents go unreported, to date, the
following incidents have been forwarded to the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) or have appeared in news reports:
Amrik Singh Chawla, a Sikh American was chased four blocks by three white males yelling "terrorist" near Broadway and 52nd Street, New York City. (9/11/01)
Rippy Singh was stopped by 4 white males in a car who accused him of being a terrorist and said, "we will bomb you" in Washington, DC.
In Richmond Hills, NY, Attar Singh Bhatia was severely injured and hospitalized when he was attacked with a baseball bat (9/11/01).
In Richmond Hills, NY, two Sikh Americans were attacked with a paint ball gun. The police arrested two men. (9/11/01).
In Richmond Hills, a gurdwara was fired upon with rubber bullets. An arrest was made when the individual returned the following morning. (9/11/01)
In suburban Cleveland, the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Temple was attacked with lit bottles of gasoline. At this time, no arrests have been made. (9/12/01)
In Ronkonkoma, Long Island, a man was arrested on suspicion of waving a pellet gun and shouting obscenities at a South Asian gas station worker. (9/12/01)
Sher J.B. Singh was pulled from an Amtrak train in Providence, Rhode Island and arrested for possession of a concealed weapon. Mr. Singh was carrying a three-inch kirpan. Unfortunately,
national press wrongly claimed that Mr. Singh was one of the terrorists being sought by the FBI
(9/12/01).
Vandals attacked two Indian owned businesses in Collingswood, N.J. The vandals sprayed painted "leave town" (9/12/01).
IACPA is working with a number of organizations, such as the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), to collect these incidents. The collection and the reporting of these incidents will help organizations, such as IACPA and SAALT, educate community leaders and policy makers about
racial profiling and biased crimes.
If you are aware of a bias crime, especially if it is related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, please fill out the attached form.
Upon request, IACPA will forward the information to the proper authorities
so that the appropriate actions can be taken. If you have any questions,
please contact IACPA at 202/289-3654 or iacfpa@iacfpa.org.
AUDIT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST MUSLIM, SIKH AND SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNTIES
[Please circle one: witnessed/read about/heard about/learned from the news]
a hate crime or bias incident against a Muslim, Sikh and South Asian American. If you have copies of the e-mails, hate graphics, hate mail, radio announcements, newspaper clippings or any other related data, please send them along with this form.
Please fill out the blanks as completely as you can.
Date of incident
(month/year)______________________________________________
Race of victim:
________________________________________________________
Race of perpetrator:
____________________________________________________
Location: (e.g., home, store, street, road, restaurant)
____________________________
Type of crime (e.g., assault, aggravated assault, harassment, threats/intimidation, theft/burglary,
vandalism/destruction of property)
______________________________ .
Was the police contacted? (Yes/No)
If yes, did the police press hate crime charges? (Yes/No)
Was there a need for language translation? (Yes/No)
Reasons why you believe that the crime or incident was motivated by racial bias:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________.
[ ] We will publish the responses in a report. If you want your identity to remain confidential please check here.
The following section is optional. However, this information will be extremely helpful if we have follow-up questions.
Name
(Mr./Ms./Mrs.)_________________________________________________________
Address
__________________________________________________________________
Phone ______________________________ Email
________________________________
Please send form to:
Indian American Center for Political Awareness
1275 K Street, NW / Suite 810, Washington, DC 20005
p: 202/289-3654 / f: 202/347-7750
iacfpa@iacfpa.org
www.iacfpa.org
Action item: One of our projects this year is to have a comprehensive list of Asian-related services in San Diego County (besides just UPAC!). If anyone has any contacts, ie. Asian counselors, please email apiswsa@yahoogroups.com.
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