Sikh Children face biases in local School

TheIndianEXPRESS
15
LIVING in America
AUGUST 15, 2008
Being Sikh in America
PHOTOS: JAY MANDAL
SUJEET RAJAN
New York
W
HEN Jagmohan Singh Premi, then
16, emigrated to New York three
years ago from his village in
Haryana, to live with his parents and one of
his four sisters, he became the cynosure of his
family. He struggled to learn English, but life
was better: there were scores of Sikh families
in the Richmond Hills neighborhood he lived
in and could relate to boys of his own age, a
gurdwara he could attend daily— to adhere to
his deeply religious ways—and doting parents
who succumbed to his every wish.
Premi struggled in school though. His
weak English was a big drawback and he
failed repeatedly in his classes at the Richmond Hill High School. Though overage for
his ninth grade class, he was meek and timid
in attitude, and avoided confrontation despite
provocation from some fellow students who
teased him about his turban and his accent.
He had been warned by his father, Pritpal
Singh, 56, not to get into arguments.
“Young blood, they are like gunshots,”
said Pritpal in an interview to The Indian Express, explaining in Hindi and Punjabi why he
had regular talks with his son, cautioning him
about non-interference in others’ matters and
to walk away from trouble if he saw somebody
trying to coerce him into an argument.
Though he can understand enough English to
carry him through his work, Pritpal cannot
speak English. He could empathize easily
with his son, struggling to adjust and come to
terms with his new world, just like he did when
he first settled down in the City.
Pritpal, living in the US for the last 11 years
and who works for a wholesale store, confides
that to be reunited with his only son was one
of the happiest days of his life.
“He was weak academically, but we did not
care,” said Pritpal. “I just wanted him to finish High School, and then he could get a job
somewhere if he wanted to, or he could study
something useful; I was not bothered. The important thing was to have my only son with
me. I have four girls, and three of them are
still in India; living in America became worthwhile with Jagmohan with me.”
Beginning of fear
The hunky dory life for the Premi family
began to turn awry when a different kind of
trouble started brewing for Jagmohan in
school this past winter. A boy—who Pritpal
says was an “Arabi,” meaning of Middle Eastern descent, started bullying his son mercilessly, teasing him and physically accosting
him at every opportunity.
“He would pull at Jagmohan’s beard and
turban, humiliate him publicly by saying that
his hair was too long, and question how often
did he wash it, and said that he would look like
a girl if he were to let it out from his turban,
and he wanted to see it,” said Pritpal.
Jagmohan reported this harassment to
teachers, and though his tormentor got suspended once because he tried to remove Jagmohan’s patka (the turban), he continued to
harass Jagmohan with even more venom.
“The other day,
Jagmohan
came up to me
and said, ‘Dad,
if you die, I
want to also die
with you. I told
him ‘foolish
boy, nobody is
going to die.’”
Jagmohan Singh
Premi, after the
assault in his school
Pritpal Singh,
Jagmohan’s father
N O R T H
The confrontation finally took a decisive
turn this summer: Jagmohan was sitting in
class when the bully partially untied his patka,
even though a teacher was present in class.
The hapless Jagmohan tried to secure his
patka back on. At that moment he got
punched in the face with a key between his
tormentor’s knuckles.
Today, Jagmohan has no intention of going
back to the same school, despite his tormentor finally being suspended from school indefinitely. After being punched in the face, he
has become a nervous wreck, says his father.
In a brief interview to Express, Jagmohan
mumbled in Hindi about wanting to study
electronics but that he did not want to go back
to his school after the summer vacations because he was afraid the bully’s brother, who
was in school, would take revenge against him
for his brother’s ordeal.
“Woh nahin jaane dega mere ko, maarega
zaroor,” (He will not let me be, he will get me),
he says. He then asks for his dad to answer
questions on his behalf.
“He has become very scared now; we don’t
allow him to go out anywhere alone, apart
from going to the gurdwara,” said Pritpal.
“He is a God fearing boy, who believes that
everybody should have the freedom to practice whatever religion they want to choose to
believe in. Despite all this, he has never even
thought of having his hair cut,” he added
when asked if Jagmohan wanted to cut his
long hair to better assimilate with mainstream
society. For the Sikhs, keeping long hair is a
sacred symbol of their religious belief.
Jagmohan’s mother has become an emotional wreck in turn, and over protective, says
Pritpal. “I don’t want him to go alone anywhere; let him not go to school, just stay at
home with me or work with his father. At least
he is safe with us,” she said, in Punjabi, voice
quivering with agitation.
The school now wants to put Jagmohan
into Special Education, something which Pritpal is averse to, he says.
A M E R I C A N
E D I T I O N
“Jagmohan does not want to go back to the
same school anyway as he is scared, and not
anyway to Special Education. There it is like a
race, except that in the ‘Special Education’
race, whoever does not win the race, is considered a loser. I don’t want my son to be a
loser,” said Pritpal.
A history in hate
Richmond Hill High School has a documented history of violence against Sikhs, says
the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group for the
Sikh community, which itself was born on the
night of the September 11 terrorist attacks, after there was a spate of attacks against Sikh
individuals. They have documented harassment of Sikh children at the school since last
summer when they released their report “Hatred in the Hallways” on bias against Sikh
school children in New York City.
In a new report, the Coalition has found
that over half of all Sikh students at Richmond Hill High who responded to a survey reported being harassed at school. It also released a civil rights report that found that
more than 60 percent of the 400 Sikh students
they surveyed suffered bias-based harassment
or violence in New York City schools. The
Coalition’s report specifically cited Richmond
Hill High School as a “problem school” for
Sikh children.
The survey also found out that 41 percent of
New York City’s Sikhs (children and adults) report being called derogatory names such as
“Bin Laden” or “terrorists” by their fellow New
Yorkers. Amongst those who wear turbans or
patkas, 3 out of 5 Sikh children have been harassed and verbally or physically abused. While
the vast majority—85 percent —of harassment
against Sikh students is perpetrated by other
students, school staff and faculty members
were responsible for almost 5 percent of the incidents reported in the surveys.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
16
TheIndianEXPRESS
LIVING in America
AUGUST 15, 2008
wanted her to remove her turban, telling her
that her long hair was more “sexy.” He called
Sikhs “thieves” and “nasty people.”
Sukhvir Kaur finally broke free of her
nightmare when she decided to take legal action against National Wholesale Liquidators.
The mental anguish still continues. She is
haunted by memories of the injustice she suffered. But what she wants people to realize,
Sukhvir says, is that nothing like this should be
happening in this country. “America’s laws are
the same for everyone,” she said.
“These attacks on Sikh children are extremely disturbing,” said Amardeep Singh,
Executive Director of Sikh Coalition. “Sikh
children and their articles of faith continue to
be the special targets of attack. When will attacks on Sikh children in particular end?”
Sonny Singh, a spokesperson for the Sikh
Coalition says that the attacks have made the
Sikh community fearful even in broad daylight.
“Our children are fearful to go into public
spaces, they feel intense scrutiny everywhere,”
he said. “Whether it be the subway or the road,
or in an airport, they are made to feel they have
to prove and explain to everybody who they
are, more than anybody else around them.”
RACE BIAS
Select messages from across the US and
abroad from the more than 1,800 posted on
the Sikh Coalition website condemning bias
attacks against Sikh children and youth:
◗ I am ashamed to say I grew up in New York.
And attended Public School there. When I see
this type of behavior. Everyone deserves to be
treated as a human being. And since we are all
God’s children. How can anyone not be offended
when children behave in this manner. Because
this hate and ignorance comes from their homes
and parents.
◗ This level of discrimination against other
groups (blacks, Jews, gays) would never be tolerated. Why is it ok to discriminate against SikhAmericans, who comprise an important and integral part of American society?
◗ This is as bad as it gets. This is not what this
country stands for. We should protect all citizens.
Sikh children deserve equal treatment. There is
no discussion or argument needed.
◗ It is very sad and shocking to see such acts
happen in the US. I really pity the families who
are involved in performing such horrendous acts.
Action needs to be taken to hopefully, avoid any
future acts as such from happening. Being a
mother of two, it’s scary to read and hear about
such things. I make it a point to go to my kid’s
school every year and talk about our religion, and
our beliefs. I can only hope this will educate the
kids and hopefully prevent this from happening
in our area.
◗ We gotta unite and start fighting back.
◗ It’s very sad indeed to learn that such acts are
taking place in a civilized, modern, literate and
progressive society like the US. Our Sikh children
in Singapore have never faced such abusive acts
before. We are all treated equally here. Even if it
does occur, our government clamps down on it
immediately. I think the American education authorities ought to learn a thing or two about how
to maintain racial harmony in their schools from
our system. This is extremely crucial for cosmopolitan America.
◗ Ethical values are best taught before attitudes
become hardened with age. Ignoring bigotry
sends the wrong message to youth.
◗ We need our own Punjabi school in the Queens
area. Everybody must start working on it right
now.
◗ I have three kids under age of 10 and we talk to
the teachers and principal about this issue often
especially about the policies. Do whatever you
can or find someone who can.
◗ We are outraged that the New York City school
system is failing Sikh children. We insist a plan be
immediately implemented that protects each children from bias-based bullying. Additionally, we
expect transparency on this issue. The School
system needs a system to track and addresses
bias-based bullying and share that information
with the public.
◗ I grew up and currently reside in Canada. When
I graduated from University, I was offered a job for
a US based company, but turned it down, because I could not see myself raising a family in
the US. Now, after reading that the Sikh community has been subjected to multiple assaults motivated by racism, I know that I made the right decision.
◗ This need to stop immediately. Nobody else is
suffering after 9/11, why Sikhs?
◗ I went to public schools in the USA almost three
decades ago, it is a shame to see after 30 years
the same bigotry is allowed to exist…. WAKE UP
WAKE UP WAKE UP
◗ I suffered much of the same behavior and humiliation growing up in Miami , FL in the 1970’s
and 1980’s
◗ Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1980,
this is an all-too familiar territory for me.”
More changes needed
A march by members of the Sikh community in Queens, NY, to protest attacks on Sikh children
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
Measures that don’t measure up
Next week, the school will hold a meeting
with the Premi family. This follows a move by
New York City Schools Chancellor Klein who
had expressed regret to Jagmohan. Klein also
announced that he had recently ordered “the
drafting of a new Chancellor’s regulation that
incorporates recommendations from the Sikh
Coalition.”
The Department will “distribute an antibias brochure to every middle and high
school student in the City that defines harassment, advises students of their rights, and
outlines appropriate actions in response to
acts of harassment,” said Klein. In addition,
he said the Department will expand its “incident reporting system to comprehensively
track bias-related incidents in our schools beginning in September.”
But despite the assurances, Jagmohan is
adamant: whatever the outcome, he is not going back to school, at least the same school.
“I am not going back,” said Jagmohan.
Pritpal is in a quandary as to what quite to
do for Jagmohan at present.
“The economy is bad; jobs are getting
tough to get hold of. I hear talk of ‘Bin Laden’
behind my back all the time. I know it is meant
for my ears. Even our own community is not
supportive. Gas stations owned by Indians
don’t want to employ a Sardar,” he laments.
So what about Jagmohan?
“I am 56, I can still support my family on
my own,” said Pritpal. “The other day, Jagmohan came up to me and said, ‘Dad, if you die, I
want to also die with you. I told him ‘foolish
boy, nobody is going to die.’”
At the end of his freshman year, Harpal
was forced into a school bathroom by two of
his classmates. Harpal’s turban was pulled off
of his head and his attackers cut his hair down
to the neckline. As Harpal cried and told him
his hair was part of his religion, the attacker
picked up what was left of it and flushed it
down a toilet.
In an another recent incident in Hightstown, NJ, Jaskirat Singh’s patka was set on
fire by his tormentors.
Gurprit Kaur was not allowed by her parents to give an interview, but her father,
Bikram Singh, said that she was “fine and
would have no problem in going back to
school.”
“This is just mischief by a classmate,” he
said. “The school has suspended the student.”
But why was her hair attacked?
“Just paagalpan (madness),” he reasons.
“Jo log nafrat karte hain, whohi aise kaam karte
hain (those who hate, they only do such
things),” he adds.
A taxi driver by profession, Bikram has
been in the US for 17 years, and has a son too,
a year younger than Gurprit. When asked if
he is more protective of his son, he replies in
the affirmative, adding: “The problem is
everywhere. People don’t understand us, and
they think wrong of us. If we try to explain
there is confusion, if we don’t there is a problem. So what do you do?”
At her age, Gurprit has seen an ugly side of
life that people like Sukhvir Kaur had endured at her workplace. She faced taunts and
insults about her faith when she stepped into
the National Wholesale Liquidators outlet in
Queens, where she worked. She was forced to
put up with her manager’s derogatory comments about her turban and her religion. He
Rise of discrimination
Youth react
When Gurprit Kaur, 13, was attacked in her
school, Public School 219 in Flushing, Queens,
less than a week after the attack on Jagmohan,
she went into shock. A classmate cut off a portion of her religiously-mandated uncut hair as
per the Sikh faith, and discarded it.
The attack on Kaur was similar to an attack
last summer when a Sikh boy, Harpal Singh
Vacher’s hair was forcibly cut by another student at his school. Like Jagmohan he too was a
high school freshman and a new immigrant,
and had trouble adjusting to his new school.
N O R T H
☛ I used to wear a turban when I was
small. People would say things like ‘Get out
of my country’
Gurlovepreet Singh (16)
☛ After September 11th I cut my hair
an 11-year old New Yorker
☛ They make fun of my hairy legs. They
make fun of my unibrow. They make fun of
my name
Namprit Kaur (11)
(Courtesy Sikh Coalition )
A M E R I C A N
E D I T I O N
In half a dozen interviews to The Indian
Express in Manhattan, Sikh youth between the
ages of 12-18 spoke of the same fear and trepidation they feel in public. One spoke how he
could never think of taking a girl out in public
because he feared public humiliation.
“I fear people would mock me, and I
would end up in a fight with them,” said a 16year-old. The good thing: he has yet to get a
girlfriend, he adds with a wry smile.
Avoiding eye contact, trying to meld themselves into public and behaving as normally as
“like everybody else,” are some of the solutions offered, but it gets a little tough considering that everybody seems to be staring at
them, said one youth.
The 2000 US Census revealed that in 28
percent of Punjabi-speaking homes, nobody
over the age of 14 speaks English “very well.”
As a result, older members of the family can
become dependent on their children for
translation services, often straining relationships and placing an undue burden on the
child. This also makes the child unsure of
whether to involve the parent into their personal nightmare.
While the first reported hate crime death
after the September 11 terrorist attacks was
that of a Sikh gas station worker in Arizona,
the most recent death that sparked controversy has been that of Simran Singh, a twentyone-year-old student from George Mason
University, who was reportedly found by police in Arlington, Virginia, unconscious, badly
bruised and bleeding severely, last year
around this time. Four individuals were found
with Singh, but charges have not been filed
against anybody.
“It is a shame that Departments of Education throughout the country have not invested
in Diversity Workshops and Courses to inculcate tolerance towards minorities. We request
a curriculum be prepared with the help of minority advocacy groups and become part of
the school systems. We also request strict
repercussions and zero tolerance towards bullying and hate crimes in schools,” said
Gurmeet Kaur, a spokesperson for United
Sikhs, another national advocacy group.
Navdeep Kaur-Singh, from Washington,
says on a website posting on the Sikh Coaltion: “I am tired of Sikhs being harassed in
this country. I got made fun of as an child just
because my dad wears a turban and a whole
bunch of racist remarks were made to me as a
child. I cannot find it my heart to forgive any of
those former classmates who harassed me or
my family. There needs to be more done in
the schools to educate non Sikhs. Every
school in needs a zero tolerance policy
adapted. If all this is done a lot less harassment will be done.”