Racial attack on Sikh gas station in US

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Racial attack on Sikh gas station in US

Gurmukh Singh

Los Angeles, November 28

In yet another racial attack on the members of the US Sikh community who are misunderstood for Muslims, a gas station owned by two Sikhs at Chesterfield in Virginia has been set on fire and vandalized.

According the Sikh Coalition which monitors race-related issues in the US, the attackers put the gas station on fire on Wednesday and left after smearing the remaining property with graffiti containing ethnic slurs.

The words "Go Back to Bin Laden B..." and "Never Again Indian Monkey Nig***" were sprayed on a dumpster in the rear of the gas station property. In addition, the words, "F*** Arab Gas" were spray painted on the gas station's shed.

Gas station owners, Sarabjit Singh and Sukhjinder Singh, said no graffiti existed on the gas station property before the fire.

The Sikh Coalition has reported the matter to both the Civil Rights Division of the United States Justice Department and the FBI. The Chesterfield County Police department are investigating the incident.

"This is a difficult moment for the Sikh community of the Richmond area," said Amandeep Singh, a long time resident of Chesterfield. "We are pleased with the cooperation of the local county police and their determination to find the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident,'' he said.

The Sikh Coalition has urged the Richmond area Sikh community to remain calm in the wake of the incident. Police officials have assured the community that all lead

s are being pursued, including the possible hate motive. Many members of the community have been the target of racial attacks even since 9/11.

A few months ago, fifty-year-old Rajinder Singh Bammi, a limousine service provider, was attacked by four persons in New York. "I was just walking by them in a restaurant when they pounced upon me," he recalls. Bammi suffered multiple injuries and his case made national headlines. He was featured by national dailies and the New Yorker magazine.

In the wake of the terror strikes of September 11, 2001, Sikhs in general and cabbies in particular, became the target of racial violence because of their resemblance to Middle East Muslims. "Now they call us Osama bin Laden. In 1979, when Iranians held Americans hostage, they used to call us Ayatollahs,'' says Bammi.

[Guest SikhForLife]

thats sad.. i also got the pictures in the sikh coalition email

[Deep Singh]

Sikh-owned gas station burnt in Virginia

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Washington: In a suspected case of hate crime, a gas station owned by a Sikh here was burnt in Chesterfield, Virginia, a Sikh organisation said on Wednesday.

The gas station owned by Sarabjit Singh was burnt on November 24 and ethnic slurs were spray painted on the property of the gas station, the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) said in a statement. "We condemn the incident and hope that the concerned officials will investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to justice," SCORE chariman, Rajwant Singh said in the statement.

The organisation has also tried to contact the offices of Senator Allen and Senator Warner from Virginia. Hate crimes against religious minorities have been on the rise in the US since 9/11. According to recent media reports, quoting FBI sources, the hate crimes have almost doubled in year 2003.

"These crimes against institutions and individuals were because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability," the report said. Singh also emphasised the need for a stronger hate crime bill which was rejected last month by the House of Republican Negotiators. The bill called Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) proposed to bring about changes in existing provisions to expand the protection to all victims of hate crime and financial support for state and local investigations and prosecutions of hate crimes. Singh said his organisation would continue to raise awareness about Sikhs and their re

ligious practices among the people of the US to build tolerance control hate crimes.

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i feel like crying....