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Sikh Americans And 9/11

Even though Sikh Americans have experienced a heightened amount of animosity, it is quite a warm feeling when communities and groups gather to support victims of hate crimes as stated in this excerpt, "It has happened before in New Jersey. But this time, an act of hateful vandalism has drawn an avalanche of support for a victimized Hindu family, highlighting the growth of networks aiming to assist South Asian-American victims of bias crimes. The family of five arrived home in Wayne last Saturday to discover their house and walkways spray-painted with anti-Indian and anti-Hindu epithets. Police disclosed the incident on Wednesday, and said the family also had been targeted with hate mail and graffiti in January."(Crouse) The community responded by putting out calls and e-mails in an attempt to reach the family. This was done by Asian-American civil rights leaders after they had read about the incidents. Other local actions of support came in the form of one bank branch's offer to cover the cost of removing the graffiti and a contractor's offer to do the work for free. There are many hate crimes that have been inflicted on Sikh Americans, but it is important to realize there are positive and supporting reactions from different communities to try to alleviate this type of racism.
The support and awareness that is offered also serves as psychological help as well. Hemant Wadhwani, president of the Asian American Political Coalition says, "Expressing solidarity helps counter the feelings victims of bias crimes often have of being rejected and different culturally."(Crouse) This kind of negative racial action can have a real impact on the human mind and can definitely affect the Sikh American community. When they Sikh Americans see this kind of support, it builds their confidence and hopefully the fear will subside. Since the incidents of 9/11, different groups and organizations have grew and responded to the ethnic lashing towards Sikh Americans. Deepa Iyer, executive...