[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 128 (Thursday, September 20, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H6158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONDEMNING VIOLENCE AGAINST SIKH COMMUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CHU. I rise today as a proud cosponsor of House Resolution 785, 
condemning the hate crimes, bullying, and brutal violence perpetrated 
against Sikh Americans and all acts of violence against Sikh Gurdwaras 
in the United States. In the face of unrelenting and unprovoked 
violence, it is clear that action must be taken.
  The Sikh community has a long history of contributing to this Nation. 
Sikh farmers shaped California's agriculture industry, farming a third 
of the land and providing nature's bounty for others to enjoy. The very 
first Asian American to be elected to the U.S. Congress was a Sikh 
American, Dalip Singh Saund, elected in California in 1957. And Sikh 
temples all across the country have shown their beautiful spirit by 
giving free food, called langar, to everybody in the neighborhood who 
is hungry. And yet time and time again we see the good deeds of Sikh 
Americans met with undue violence from others. And in the wake of 9/11, 
this behavior spiked sharply. Just days after the attacks took place--
as the soot still lingered over Manhattan and smoke still smoldered 
from a field in Pennsylvania--Balbir Singh Sodhi became the first 
victim of misplaced retaliation. He was in the gas station he had 
worked his entire life to own when a gunman shot at him and took his 
life.
  Through the years the violence has not abated. Last year, in northern 
California, Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal, two elderly Sikh 
Americans, were doing what they always did every afternoon, taking a 
walk in the neighborhood, when suddenly they were shot. They were 
murdered in cold blood, but not for money or jealousy or revenge. They 
were murdered because of their turbans. And then there were the 
overwhelmingly shocking events of August 5 of this year in Oak Creek, 
Wisconsin. The Sikh community was peacefully preparing meals for Sunday 
prayer inside their gurdwara. But that peace was shattered without 
warning at the hands of a gunman filled with hate and rage. He fired 
indiscriminately and without cause, and when the smoke cleared, six 
innocent people lay dead. Although it has been more than a decade since 
9/11, hysteria and stereotyping are still far too common. We must 
combat the growing wave of violence and intolerance that threatens the 
safety and civil liberties of the Sikh American community.
  Today, while the FBI tracks the overall number of hate crimes taking 
place, it doesn't even record attacks specifically on Sikhs, despite 
the fact that we've seen over and over again that Sikhs are singled out 
over and over again because of their appearance and faith. That's why 
this resolution not only denounces the violence befalling this 
community; we're calling on the Department of Justice to finally begin 
documenting and quantifying hate crimes committed against Sikh 
Americans. As many as three out of four Sikh boys endure torment and 
bullying from their peers. And so we're urging educators across the 
Nation to help end the epidemic of bullying against Sikh youths. We're 
urging law enforcement officers in every locality to do all they can to 
prevent violence against this and all communities.
  America was founded on the principles of religious freedom, 
acceptance, and tolerance. Let's make sure that every American can live 
safely and in peace. Let's make sure that every American is protected.

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