War has no mercy on innocents - more photographs from Gaza

WARNING!! SOME OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE VERY GRAPHIC. IF YOU CAN'T TAKE IT, PLEASE SKIP THIS POST.

Sent to IHRO on Monday 20 Jamuary 2009:

Unbelievable .... slaughter animals are even treated more humanly than this.....more shocking thing is, that Egypt has closed its boards to Gaza so those poor people can not even run away from the bombs that is raining down on them……….cornered, helpless and being slaughtered like animals……….so sad!!!

USA and Israel think that we are stupid to believe them when they bomb the innocent lives and say it is the fault of Hamas! The have already destroyed all the infrastructure and its mind-boggling to imagine the suffering of the Palestinians.

by the way these are no different than all the other battles that Israel raged against the Palestinians; except at that time no such reports and cameras were available to document and spread so fast; within hours literally.

They will agree to cease-fire only dealing such deadly devastation including committing horrible war crimes; and only because staying here would put their soldiers in real danger.

Warning please note this email contains horrible images
If you are weak hearted; Please don't see all images in the email it is truely gruesome death scenes.

As always, I am willing to post photos of similar damage that Hamas rockets have done to Israeli civilians, if someone will send them to me.

AN ATTEMPT AT EVEN HANDEDNESS

This comment appeared this morning in the 'Comments" section of the previous post. There is a lot to be said about it, so I decided to write a post about it. I hope this will satisfy the anonymous writer.

First, the comment:

if you were even-handed, you'd write a post outlining how Hamas is using civilians as human shields and how they are preventing civilians from seeking medical aid across the border, how Hamas goes to schools/ hospitals/ mosques/ homes and deliberately fires missiles from there at Israelis to provoke a response which they hope will kill arab women and children, you would also highlight that Israel doesn't control the border with Egypt and the Egyptian Arabs are the ones preventing any flow of aid or goods through its border, you would also condemn anyone at the rallies which you attend you say all Jews should die or that Jewish children should be killed, or that Hitler didn't do a good job, etc...

I never read about your outrage towards Hamas who deliberately creates a humanitarian crisis that results in more death and destruction, yet you continue to harp on the Israelis who go out of their way to warn civilians of attack, treat civilians in their hospitals, provide aid through their borders, etc... Why is it that you never dedicate space to the real architects of the hardships which face people in Gaza today?? Hamas and the Egyptians. Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel and Egypt doesn't allow any goods through its border with Gaza.

If you were even handed wouldn't you arrange a protest against Egypt, since you attended one against Israel... Isn't Egypt to blame for this situation or even Iran which is supplying the weapons which Hamas is using?

Also, why not show solidarity with the Jews of Israel who are only protecting themselves from genocide? As a Sikh aren't you concerned about how the Jews are surviving the last 50 years in the middle east after being attacked time and time again.

I have edited nothing in this, except to capitalise the word "Arab" which the writer inadvertently neglected to do in the first paragraph. Now my response.

Dear Anonymous,

I think you have pretty much written the post you ask of me. I do have a few comments of my own.

if you were even-handed, you'd write a post outlining how Hamas is using civilians as human shields and how they are preventing civilians from seeking medical aid across the border, how Hamas goes to schools/ hospitals/ mosques/ homes and deliberately fires missiles from there at Israelis to provoke a response which they hope will kill Arab women and children

It is wrong to use human beings, especially civilians, as human shields. Certainly, if Hamas is doing these things, they should be condemned for it. I have never supported Hamas; there is a fine line between freedom fighting and terrorism and, in my opinion, Hamas has crossed way over that line. I champion the civilians of Gaza, especially my sisters and their children. I have never supported Hamas.


you would also highlight that Israel doesn't control the border with Egypt and the Egyptian Arabs are the ones preventing any flow of aid or goods through its border,

After this was pointed out to me after an earlier post, I have always been careful to include both Israel and Egypt when I write about the closed borders of Gaza. If it helps, I will state in clear terms here that Egypt is contributing to the misery of their fellow Arabs and they are dead-on wrong for keeping their border closed.

you would also condemn anyone at the rallies which you attend you say all Jews should die or that Jewish children should be killed, or that Hitler didn't do a good job, etc...

My health problems preclude my attending rallies, unfortunately, however, I do loudly and forcefully - and publicly - condemn racial, ethnic, religious slurs, wherever and whenever I hear them. In fact, I often embarass my companions by my unwillingness to keep my mouth shut. People who know me at all don't make such comments when I'm within earshot.

I never read about your outrage towards Hamas who deliberately creates a humanitarian crisis that results in more death and destruction, yet you continue to harp on the Israelis who go out of their way to warn civilians of attack, treat civilians in their hospitals, provide aid through their borders, etc... Why is it that you never dedicate space to the real architects of the hardships which face people in Gaza today?? Hamas and the Egyptians. Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel and Egypt doesn't allow any goods through its border with Gaza.

My outrage is at what is happening to the civilians of Gaza, whoever is the cause. I have not heard of Israel treating Gazan in their hospitals - although I have heard of Gazan women die in childbirth at checkpoint because they weren't let through to get to a hospital. I have not heard of Israel supplying humanitarian aid to the Gazans in recent days. I would love to have you supply me with links so I can read about this. I do not wish to waste my time condemning anyone, but if it makes you happy, I am outraged that anyone, including Hamas, would fire rockets at civilians. And again, I roundly condemn Egypt for not opening its border with Gaza.

If you were even handed wouldn't you arrange a protest against Egypt, since you attended one against Israel... Isn't Egypt to blame for this situation or even Iran which is supplying the weapons which Hamas is using?


As I said, I am unable to attend demonstrations. The most I can do is to give my opinion here. EGYPT IS WRONG TO CLOSE THEIR BORDER WITH GAZA, THUS KEEPING THE CIVILIANS OF GAZA IN WHAT AMOUNTS TO A PRISON. EGYPT SHOULD ACT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THEIR FELLOW ARABS IN GAZA. OK? I have heard that Egypt keeps the border closed at the insistence of their trading buddy, Israel. Is there any truth in that? As for Iran, I have no use for the government of that country which so much discriminates against women, among their other wrong-doings.



Also, why not show solidarity with the Jews of Israel who are only protecting themselves from genocide? As a Sikh aren't you concerned about how the Jews are surviving the last 50 years in the middle east after being attacked time and time again.


The Israelis have survived the last 50 years because the United States of America has supplied Israel with virtually unlimited weapons, as well as continuously vetoing anything that is not proIsrael in the UN Security Couincil. Certainly, the Arab countries need to accept Israel as a fact of life. Israel is there. Guys, get used to it.

But Israel has gone too far. There is a Jewish saying, "It is always better to be the oppressed than to be the oppresser." Surely you cannot hold that Israel - as well as Egypt - has not, for whatever reason, subjected the civilian population of Gaza to great hardship since they elected Hamas as their government.

If what I said here doesn't satisfy you, I will make the same offer to you that I have made to others. I would love to publish a guest post - unedited by me - where you express your views. All I ask is to keep it clean and legal..No religious or racial slurs. No profane language. You seem to be a person of intelligence and class who would not use such language anyway. Please do not advocate anything that would get me in trouble with the law in my current country of residence, the United States of America. That would be edited out. Also please include pictures of Israeli children killed by Hamas rocket fire. I have not been able to find any - and I have looked.

As a Sikh, I must always stand up for the weak who cannot defend themselves. The people of Israel have proven that they are capable of self-defense. The civilians of Gaza have no defence except world opinion.

I will say once again that I am championing the women and children and other civilians of Gaza. I really do not care, right now, who is to blame. We are all responsible to put an end to this.

A GREAT IDEA - PHONE A FAMILY IN GAZA

The most common response I get to the mess in Gaza is: "Yes, Mai, but what can I do?" Here is an easy imaginative answer to that. Please read the sessage below, which came into IHRO this morning. I have a couple of suggestions to follow:

Someone sent this idea. We should be calling Gaza and telling the
people who live there that we are with them. What if we take it one
step further and call them and pray with them, with hundreds or
thousands of people doing it at the same time?

CALL GAZA
Call any random number in Gaza, and tell them that you are calling
from North America (or wherever you are), make Duaa (pray) for them and
tell
them all their brothers and sisters around the world are with them;
this will give them moral support and courage ! How to call? Very
simple!

Dial any of these number and replace the last 4 digits by any random
ones, try 4 or 5 times and you'll reach a family insha'Allah ! Even
if you don't speak Arabic, talk to them with very slow and simple
English. Here's what you can say in Arabic. We'll have an audio
version of this by tomorrow i/a:

(011)9728284- XXXX (011)9728282- XXXX (011)9728255- XXXX
PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF TIME-ZONES! (7 hrs ahead of US/.Canada EST, 10hrs ahead of US/Canada PST, 2 hrs ahead of UK, 3.5 hrs behind India IST - if my calculation is correct. I know people from many different countries read this blog. If in doubt about time zones, go to the World Clock. Gaza is in the same time zone as Jerusalem.)

I would suggest a friendly greeting of "Salaam aleichem," "Peace be unto you. I believe the Arabic word for friend is "effendi," but I'm not sure. It might be helpful to write out what you plan to say. It is very important that you sperak in your most soothing voice, as the person on the other end will probably not understand your language. (I assume if you read this blog, you can speak English.) I have said, "Salaam alechem, effendi. I speak English." And then pause a minute to see if there is a response.Then I say, "We love you. We care. The world knows. We try to help. Please be strong. God bless you." The only time I got through, I did get a response. It was simple and direct. A heavily accented voice said, choking, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Then some words I did not understand, followed by a disconnect. Needless to say, there were tears in my eyes as well as tears in the voice on the other end. The connexion was not good. I don't even know if I spoke to a man or a woman.

Please be aware of the difficulties. All the mobile phone/cell towers in Gaza are down. Your only chance of getting through is on a land line. Even there, getting through may take many tries. Most all the phone lines are down, as well. However, I managed to get through and, if it is the Hukam of Vaheguru, so will you! At least, please give it a try. I can't think of a better way to spend a few dollars, rupees, pounds, euros...shekels(?).

KEEP HOPE ALIVE!

YES, WE CAN!

SIKH ACTIVIST NETWORK: STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK IN OAKLAND

Subject: Stand Up and Fight Back: Oakland Resists Police Impunity

Fellow SAN comrades,

Many of you have seen the tragic video footage of what happened to Oscar Grant, a young father, worker, who was executed by BART police in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California. If you haven't, I will include a link at the bottom. (And I, Mai, am embedding it here.)



It is of the utmost importance for us, as fellow people of color to stand in solidarity with the African-American community at every opportunity. As Prashad discusses in "Karma of Brown Folk", the American Government's (racist) goal is to find groups of people to continue to divide non-white communities; and have used us for far too long. We have been that group, serving as propaganda about "model minorities' who "prove" racist claims against African-Americans.

Right now, as I write this, the city of Oakland is in revolt. People are tired of the regular murder of young black men, and the promises of justice that are never fulfilled.

Some of you may be wary of the 'violence' that is occurring in downtown (broken windows), and respond more than you do when Oscar was killed. Broken windows are not violence, killing a young man in cold blood is violence; and it occurs regularly here i the Bay Area and all over the country.

I hope you will join me in the streets of Oakland to struggle and alongside folks of many colors, genders, and beliefs to demand that we hold people accountable for what happens within our community. Stand up, as our ancestors did, for justice.

Remember our legacies as people of color, from the Ghadar Party to the Black Panther Party.

In love, and endless solidarity,
Harjit Singh Gill
Oakland, CA
harjitgill@gmail.com

LINK: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/05/18558793.php

*For more information or organized resistance and action in the Bay Area, please contact Comrade and SAN Activist, Harjit Singh Gill*
--------------------

Abandoned Sikh boy...

Today, at least for this post, I am taking a break from the war between Israel and Hamas with all its horrors. Yes, it continues. Of course.

Today, however, I have an update on an old story from April of last year. Does everybody remember the story of the little Sikh boy with the beautiful kesh found wandering around Southall, London? If you don't, please go and read the strange story of Gurinder Singh. The mystery of who he is and why he was alone in a strange country where he didn't even speak the language seems to have been solved by the power of DNA. (Every time I look at this picture, I have a burning desire to tie a patka on him. He looks very, very exposed and vulnerable, even with the brave smile on his face. Especially with that brave smile on his face. That mother thing, I guess!)

Read on...

FROM THAINDIAN NEWS

DNA test confirms abandoned London boy is from Punjab
January 4th, 2009 - 11:55 pm ICT by IANS
Hoshiarpur, Jan 4 (IANS) The DNA tests of an 11-year-old Sikh boy found abandoned in London last year have established that he belongs to a family near Tanda town in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district and would be returning home soon, family members said Sunday.Several families, including those from Punjab and Bihar, had laid claim to the boy after he was found abandoned in London’s Asian-dominated Southall area.

Clearly a case of rampant illegal trafficking from Punjab, the boy, Gurinderjit Singh, had no idea how he landed in London and could converse only in Punjabi in the English-speaking country.

The confirmation of the DNA tests has been informed to Hoshiarpur’s Lok Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee through an official communication.

“Our High Commission at London has informed that as per DNA report of Oct 27, 2008, Kuldeep Singh has been identified as the paternal uncle of Gurinderjit Singh,” the minister wrote to the MP.

“The child - at present under interim care of Ealing Council, London - has desired to return to India to stay with his paternal uncle. A local court has consented that the council should make plans for the child’s future and send him back to India,” according to the communique.

Kuldeep Singh, a farmer who lives in a village near Tanda town, 180 km from Chandigarh, had laid claim to the boy after media reports about him.

“We are overjoyed with this news. We are eagerly waiting for him to return and his ordeal to end,” Kuldeep Singh said from his village.

A court in London has decreed that the boy should be sent to India in the custody of his paternal uncle. It stated that the boy should not be handed over to his mother at all.

The boy is believed to have been abandoned by his mother, who entered Britain illegally through France. The boy’s father, who himself is an illegal immigrant in a European country, also could not come forward to claim his son for the risk of being deported.

All's well that ends well, right?

WRONG!

We are Sikhs and nothing can be simple and clear cut. At least little Gurinder Singh his Didi ji, Navjit Kaur, seems more interested in bringing her brother home than in using him in some sort of a power struggle. I also note in this second story, just barely mentioned, there is also a daughter missing We move on to this second story...

Also FROM THAINDIAN NEWS:

London’s abandoned Sikh boy now has family trouble brewing

January 7th, 2009 - 2:06 pm ICT by IANS -Tanda (Punjab), Jan 7 (IANS) A Sikh boy found abandoned in London last year is headed for family trouble in India even before he sets foot on home soil to be reunited with relatives.As if last year’s drama of 11-year-old Gurinderjit Singh’s mysterious appearance outside a clinic in the Asian-dominated Southall area was not enough, his maternal family has now demanded the boy’s custody.

A London court had recently decreed that the boy be sent back to his paternal family in a village near this town in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, 180 km from Chandigarh, after his DNA samples matched with his paternal uncle Kuldeep Singh.

The boy is believed to have been abandoned by his mother, who entered Britain illegally through France. The boy’s father, who himself is an illegal immigrant in a European country, also could not come forward to claim his son as he risked deportation.

But just before the boy is headed for home to be reunited with relatives, his maternal family has threatened to take legal recourse to seek his custody.

“We want his custody. We had spent money to send his father abroad. Our daughter is also missing. His (the boy’s) sister also lives with us. We will take legal help to get his custody,” Mohinder Singh, the abandoned boy’s maternal grandfather, told IANS at his home in Jalalabad village in Hoshiarpur district.

Gurinderjit’s 13-year-old sister, Navjit Kaur, is also waiting to meet up with her brother.

“I have been missing him for so long. I want to be united with him now,” she said.

But his paternal uncle, Kuldeep Singh, disputed the claim of the maternal family.

“He is being sent to us under court orders from London. No one else has any claim on him. We have proceeded legally. Where was this family when the boy was found abandoned last year. We sent DNA samples from here to get him back. A divorce case of his father and mother is already on. We will not let anyone take him,” Kuldeep Singh told IANS.

“We are overjoyed with this news of his return. We are eagerly waiting for him to return and his ordeal to end,” he said.

Several families, including those from Punjab and Bihar, had laid claim over the boy after he was found abandoned in London’s Asian-dominated Southall area last year.

Clearly a case of rampant illegal trafficking from Punjab, the boy had no idea how he landed in London and could converse only in Punjabi in the English-speaking country. Investigations into his case in London had revealed that he was abandoned by his mother after she illegally came to Britain from France.

The boy’s ordeal seems to be headed for a conclusion after the latest decree by the London court to send him back to his paternal family. The confirmation of the DNA tests was conveyed to Hoshiarpur’s Lok Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee through an official communication.

“Our High Commission at London has informed that as per DNA report of October 27, 2008, Kuldeep Singh has been identified as the paternal uncle of Gurinderjit Singh, the child - presently under interim care of Ealing Council, London - has desired to return to India to stay with his paternal uncle. A local court has consented that the council should make plans for the child’s future and send him back to India,” the minister wrote to the MP.

Guru Gobind Singh - The Spiritual Warrior

This came in today from D. S. Gill, the Chairman of IHRO. With all the trouble in the world these days, it is good to stop now and then, especially on Gurpurab, and remember. And learn.

This time, it was different. I wanted to know the spiritual aspect of the Guru, the Tenth Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh on his 342nd birth anniversary that was celebrated on Monday, January 5, 2009. I started searching Google and found abundant literature to feel the theme.

As Guru Gobind Singh is the last of the ten Gurus, the one who transformed the Sikh faith, I was curious to know his spiritual contribution to the Khalsa Panth. In 1699, he created the Khalsa, a community of the faithfuls who wore visible symbols of their faith and trained as warriors so that people would no longer be easy victims of those in power, whether Hindu or Muslim. A select group of Sikhs who undergo an initiation becomes Akal Purakh ki Fauz (army) and the Khalsa Fauz must dedicate themselves to the defense of the oppressed at all times.

In 1708, the Tenth Master of the Sikhs named the Guru Granth Sahib his successor. Shortly before his death in October 1708 at Nanded, now Hazoor Sahib, he gave corporal Guruship to the Khalsa Panth.


"The Eternal Father willed and I raised the Panth. All my Sikhs are hereby ordered to accept the Guru Granth Sahib as their Preceptor. Have faith in the holy Granth, as your master and consider it the visible manifestation of the Gurus. He who hath a pure heart will seek guidance from its holy words." These are the words uttered by Guru Sri Gobind Singh, before he left for his heavenly abode, on October 7, 1708 at Nanded in Maharashtra.

Whenever there is degradation in moral and human values in the world, God sends His messengers to give proper guidance. Bhai Gurdas (the second) expresses, "Guru Gobind Singh (the Tenth Nanak), molded in the image of God, appeared in the world, as warrior." Bhagat Kabir too says in Maru, "Truly brave is he who fights for Dharma (righteousness)."

Guru Nanak says, 'The Lord hath called to His service a bard of no consequence' (Guru Nanak in Manjh). And Guru Gobind Singh says, "I (God) bless thee (guru) to be my son and I commission thee to propagate the Way.' Thus the first Nanak started the Way and the tenth Nanak propagated the same. 'His light and the way of his life were basically the same as those of his Master (Guru Nanak). He was the Master's reincarnation in spirit as the other Sikh Gurus were' (Var of Satta Balwand in Ramkali).

Thus, after ten gurus, we have the Interfaith Guru- Sri Guru Granth Sahib, that was bestowed to us by Guru Gobind Singh. And the Guru preaches: Ek Pita Ekas ke hum barik (Guru Arjan Dev in Sorath) - We all have a common Father (God) and, on that basis, we are all His children (brothers). The Interfaith Guru gives us the concept of world brother-hood. The enlightening and revolutionary word by the first Nanak- Na ko Hindu, Na Muslman (there was neither a Hindu nor a Muslim) should also be seen, in this context.



It is an admitted fact that, because of this, the Muslims at large, in this part of the world, regarded Guru Nanak as one of them. Hence, this popular verse describing him as a Guru for the Hindus and a Pir for the Muslims. It is also because of the fact that the interfaith Guru- Sri Guru Granth Sahib, consists of seven saints from Muslims and fifteen from Hindus, and it preaches universal humanism and spiritualism.



Besides Guru's spiritual aspect, the temporal horizon of the Guru– 'When all other means of resistance against tyranny and oppres­sion have failed, it is legitimate, as a last resort, to turn to the sword' (Guru Gobind Singh in his Zafarnama (1704) is too of the world consequence and importance.



That is why; the United Nations had to declare in the Preamble of its Universal Declaration on Human Rights, December 10, 1948, 'Whereas it is essential, if a human being is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by rule of law.'



And that is why, the Sikhs believe in the Sikh concept of Miri-Piri (spiritual-cum-temporal) or Saint-Soldier inspiration of the Khalsa Panth.



- D S Gill

Chair IHRO