Good-bye, Brother Laibar Singh!

Such a beautiful, full beard!

I admit this has me in tears. I, who never cry, seem to be spending a lot of time in tears these days.. Am I getting old and emotional or what? I'm posting a few pictures, in random order, that will take us back through this case.

I have been an avid supporter of Brother Laibar's case and, in fact, consider him my brother, no less than the seven outrageous men I grew up with. I am devastated - temporarily - that my contact with him is currently in India and I have no way to personally tell him Good-bye. He has enriched me in ways I will make no attempt to explain.

I am profoundly hurt and disappointed by my country's lack of compassion for this unfortunate brother.

The fact that, as near as we can tell, tomorrow, 4 November, is the twenty-fourth anniversary of the shaheedi of my family doesn't help. I feel a heavy weight on me today.

Hold on here...Chardi kala kicks in and I know that through the sadness and pain I mustn't permit myself to be dragged down into a morass of depression. Sadness, yes, pain, yes, but pull myself up, no, wait, let my ego step aside, so Guru Papa Ji Maharaj can and will pull me back up. I remind myself, oh, yes, that's right, this is all the Hukam of Vaheguru. So I put a smile on my face and love in my heart and wish Brother Laibar peace, joy and good health, as well as the joy of reunion with his children.

Dear Brother, I ask that now and again you think of those of us in Canada and other countries, too, who have loved and supported you. Remember this strange older sister who has loved you and kept you in her prayers - and who will continue this, as long as she lives.

Good-bye, my brother.

For those of you in Vancouver, he is supposed to be at the airport, I read, at 8:00 PM. It would be nice if some showed up to wish him a good flight and a safe and happy life back home. This is not meant, I suppose, as a protest, just a final chance to show our love and support.

Here is the most recent article I have as I write this now:

Surrey North Delta Leader

Failed refugee claimant booked on Tuesday flight

By Black Press - Surrey North Delta Leader

Published: November 03, 2008 3:00 PM
Updated: November 03, 2008 3:22 PM Laibar Singh, the paralyzed refugee claimant who sought shelter in an Abbotsford Sikh temple, was expected to return to India early tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

Singh was to leave the Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurdwara Monday to present himself to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) by 8 p.m. at the Vancouver International Airport, said temple president Swarn Singh Gill.

His flight to New Delhi was scheduled to leave at 1 a.m., said Gill. Some supporters from the temple were to accompany Singh to the airport, but no protesters planned to block his departure, said Gill. “There will be no demonstration because he’s the one who wants to go back now,” he said.

More than 1,000 supporters at the airport prevented his deportation in December 2007 after his first five-month stay at the temple.

Singh returned to the Abbotsford gurdwara in March after a stay at Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple.

Singh was feeling somewhat despondent, said Gill.

“He was feeling sad yesterday and crying a little bit. Myself, I was sad because he’s been with us a while and he’s like family, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Singh’s lawyer, Peter Edelmann, confirmed his client intended to present himself at the airport for removal, in a statement released yesterday.

CBSA officials talked to Singh’s doctor about whether the paralyzed man was fit to make the trip to India, Edelmann said. Agents from the border services agency attended the Abbotsford gurdwara, despite the clear indication it was a sanctuary zone, to tell Mr. Singh that there was no chance for him to remain in Canada, stated Edelmann.

Singh hoped to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds but the 49-year-old tired of his struggle.

He originally came to Canada in 2003 on a forged passport and made a refugee claim, saying he faced persecution at the hands of Punjab state police.

His claim was denied and he fled Ontario to B.C., where, working in Surrey as a painter in August 2006, he suffered a brain aneurysm that left him paralyzed.

The Sikh community has raised a total of $38,000 to help Singh cover costs once he returns to his village in the Punjab, said Gill.

Beyond that, he will be returning to India with a couple of suitcases and two specialized wheelchairs.

Gill talked to Singh’s eldest daughter Sunday night, who had mixed emotions about her dad’s return to India.

“They are worried about his health but they want to see their dad.”

CBSA officials said it would be inappropriate to comment any further on Singh’s case.

newsroom@surryeleader.com

Here is an article I like because it tells the story, while preserving his dignity.

From News 1130 - ALL NEWS RADIO:

Laibar Singh going home tonight
Monday, November 03 - 04:40:00 AM

Evan Kelly
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The paralyzed man who sought sanctuary in a Sikh temple in Abbotsford is heading home.

Last month Laibar Singh made the decision to head back to India and sources say he'll be put on a plane tonight.

His story came to light when he became paralyzed due to an infection after he entered Canada illegally. Every attempt to claim refugee status was denied.

Canada Immigration wanted him sent back to India but supporters rallied around him fearing he wouldn't get the proper medical treatment in his home country.

He's been in the temple for over a year and says the main reason for leaving is because he misses his children.

A less dignified article that contains more in formation from the Winnipeg Sun is here.

Death By Torture Of Innocent Girl, 13

ADULT ALERT!

WARNING! THERE IS CONTENT IN THIS POST THAT MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN. THE OBJECTIONAL CONTENT IS NOT SEXUAL, JUST UGLY, VIOLENTLY BRUTAL AND HARD FOR ANY CIVILISED PERSON TO TAKE.

Once in a while, something comes to my attention that seriously threatens my chardi kala. This in one such story. It is brutal. It is ugly. I warn you, I shall not spare your feelings. I shall be as merciless to you, my readers, as these "men" were to this young girl.

Let me start with a picture. Her name is - was - Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow. In this picture, she is being buried up to her neck in the ground, to be executed by stoning. Her crime? She was raped!

I know this girl's face will haunt me for a long, long time.

The English story here is from Al Jazeera. I am following it be a Babel Fish translation from Spanish of the same story. The Spanish version contains many more details, more emotionally written. It is worth wading through the bad translation to read its meaning.

Take a long, hard look at the terror on her face.

Amnesty: Rape girl, 13, killed for adultery

Somali fighters stone 'rape victim'


In recent months the Islamic Courts' al-Shebab group appears to have gained strength [EPA]

A Somali girl who said she had been raped has been stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery, a human rights group has said.

Amnesty International said in a press release on Friday that the victim, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, had been 13 years old - not 23 as earlier reports had suggested.

Duhulow was stoned to death on October 27 by dozens of men in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses.

The armed group in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, Amnesty said.

"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement.

Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13.

The Islamic Courts took control of much of Somalia in 2006, triggering an intervention by neighbouring Ethiopia, which propped up the UN-backed transitional government and ousted the Islamic Courts fighters.

While the group's political leadership largely fled the country, the movement's military and youth wing, the al-Shebab, switched to guerrilla warfare.

In recent months the group appears to have gained strength, taking over the port city of Kismayo, and dismantling pro-government roadblocks.

/span>

And now, the translation of the Spanish version:

They violate the girl they judge, it in an Islamic court they stone and it by… adulterous!


(PS). - It is the horror. And those that promote smiling the “Alliance of Civilizations” would have to be asked, in silence, if a society as ours it can be allied with those who they perpetrate - endorsed by his law and its governments crimes like the one of Asha.

The news that it had been stoned until the death, untied a lukewarm wave of world-wide rejection one week ago, but the details that arise now cause the vomit.

Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow neither was a woman, nor was 24 years old, nor was an adulteress. Its crime was to be born and to suffer in a country dominated by the Islamic fanaticism, the piracy and the violence as it is Somalia.

Asha only was 14 years old. It had not committed adultery. It had been violated by three men of the most powerful clan of the city. Helped by the Islamic court imposed by the integrist militias of The Shabab, the death to pedradas of the minor has served the twigs to erase all sign of the crime.

Ash, like many children of countries like his, was born victim already. It came to the world in the field of refugees of Hagardeer, in the south of Kenya, in 1995, where her family had to take refuge three years before, fleeing from Mogadishu from the attacks against his clan, the one of the Galgale, a minority in Somalia.

She was the last one in being born, thirteenth of six brothers and six brothers.

The young, that went to the school in the field of refugees, suffered epilepsy, reason why the family decided to send it with her grandmother in Mogadishu, where she could receive better medical attention. Kismayo was in its way.

From the past August, the integrist militias of The contral Shebab that coastal city.

Asha, “a very sweet girl, very humble”, remained catched in Kismayo, and sobrevió thanks to the charity of some neighbors and people that knew in its winding way towards the north.

where it could survive these two months thanks to the known ones that had done in the way. The money to arrive at Mogadishu finished, according to said to him to its father by telephone. The night of Saturday, three men approached to him they forced and it to accompany them to the beach, they violated where it.

Under paternal advice, it went to the courts and denounced her rapists. And there the suplicio begins that would end the girl tied and buried until the neck, list to be burst to pedradas.

Amnesty International (AI) reveals that the girl was stoned by a group of 50 men in a stage of the harbor locality, before near 1,000 spectators.

The islamists had taken a truck filled with stones - “greater than an egg and smaller than the fist of an adult man” - to the stage, so that people added themselves in the execution.

No of the facinerosos that participated in the violation and torture of Asha has been accused nor arrested.

Young agony d ela was frightful. After being stoned and when already they took it - supposedly dead a nurse discovered that still he breathed and returned to place it in the hole, buried until pechp, so that he continued the lapidación.

AI mentions a subject, call Sheij Hayakalah, that declares proud that “the tests were presented/displayed on the other hand and she confirmed her fault officially”:

“In addition it said to us that he was happy with his punishment by virtue of the Islamic law”.

Several witnesses mentioned by Amnesty count another thing: that the girl tried to fight against her detectors and had to be taken by the force to the stage.

Once there, the militiamen - partners of the three rapists shot against several people who tried to save the girl and killed a boy who was in the neighborhoods.

A spokesman of The Shabab apologized later by the death of the boy and assured that the one that shot to him would be punished.

“This is not justice, nor was an execution, this girl underwent a horrible death ordered by the armed groups competing that at the moment control Kismayo”, it affirms to butcher the person in charge for Somalia de Amnistía, David Copeman.

“Its murder is even another one of the abuses of the Human rights committed by the combatants in the conflict of Somalia, and again demonstrates the importance of the international action to investigate and to document those abuses, through an international commission of investigation”.

The Winner

This time of year, the first week in November, is always difficult for me. I wrote this little piece as an e-mail to a depressed friend a couple months ago. Today seems a good time to share it with all of you. The story is not original, of course, it has been floating around for a long time. And I should probably warn you that, OK, I bring up the subject of sex in this post. I know that among my generation of Sikhs, sex simply doesn't exist; little Sikhlings magically spring into existence with no action from their startled parents.

I think, however, the younger generation, being highly educated and very realistic, can handle this.



We Sikhs are supposed to always remain in chardi kala. This isn't easy; we are not only plagued by all the problems of every other segment of humanity, we also have a few problems of our own. Sometimes it gets overwhelming. Like other people, sometimes we can start feeling depressed and stop feeling like winners. For when that happens (and I guarantee it will), here is a little story:

A long time ago, your father and mother had sex. Your father distributed millions of sperm into your mother.





On and on they swam, their goal: your mother's egg. As they swam, more and more fell behind, until, reaching the egg, the weaker ones had all dropped out of the race. Only a few very strong ones reached the egg.




Now, the bravest and strongest of all those millions of sperm reached the egg first and penetrated the membrane and fertilised the egg.





That winning sperm and that winning egg...became [enter your name here]



YOU! You are already not only A winner, you are THE WINNER.


You have nothing to prove. Now, go out there and win. (Whatever winning means to you)

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear...

This came to me today through a facebook group that I'm a member of. It is appropriate and now I share it with you.

Raminder Singh sent a message to the members of In Memory of Shaheeds Bhai Satwant Singh and Bhai Beant Singh.

--------------------
Subject: 24 Years Ago Today

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Khalsa ji, twenty four years ago today Bhai Satwant Singh and Bhai Beant Singh along with the help of Bhai Kehar Singh performed a great service to the panth. Please take a moment of your time today and remember the services these Singhs did for the panth and their kurbani.

Also do not forget the aftermath and the genocide committed by the Indian state upon the innocent Sikhs in the following days. So go out there and get involved whether its attending a remembrance vigil, donating blood or educating yourself upon the issue, please just do something to remember the events.


check out:

http://www.sikhnation.com/

http://www.carnage84.com/

http://www.ensaaf.org/


Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear
And hear their death knells ringing,
When friends rejoice, both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?

On gallows high or dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them go winging.
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?

Yes, today, I am spewing anger and even hatred,venom. By the end of next week, I'll be back to my usual self with a spirit of cooperation and reconciliation and probably some guilt that again this year, I am overcome with these nasty feelings. But honesty demands that I express how I am feeling. So no apologies. Not today, not tomorrow. Maybe in a week.

Hallowe'en and Sikhs - Again.

Last year I wrote about my dislike of Hallowe'en. That has not diminished over the last year. If you don't know about Hallowe'en, what it is, what it's all about I suggest you check out last year's blogpost about Hallowe'en..

Here is an excellent article about Sikhs and Hallowe'en by Harjinder Singh.

Halloween & The Sikhs

Harjinder Singh

http://www.akaalpublishers.com/

Halloween is a global festival which is cheerfully celebrated with kids trick or treating, people mocking and gimmicking ghosts, ghouls, goblins and demons. For Sikhs on the other hand Halloween carries a real grave significance, of real ghouls and demons, who massacred Sikhs in October and November 1984.

On Halloween, 31st October 1984, Indira Gandhi the Indian Prime Minister was assassinated. (Mai's note: executed) What followed her death was inhumane, depraved and despicable, some call it genocide others ethnic cleansing, I"ll let the readers decide what they feel. The world silently turned a blind eye to these events and rather mourned the death of Mrs Gandhi.

Sikhs were burnt alive, raped, made refugees, murdered on mass, Gurdwaras attacked and Sikh businesses singled out for attacks. All this happened in what Sikhs at the time saw as "mother India." What was the crime of these Sikhs? What had they done to bring out the demons of Halloween?

The bodyguards of Mrs Gandhi who assassinated (Mai: executed) her, were Sikhs, so the orchestrated carnage was planned to "teach the Sikhs a lesson." These children, mothers, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and grandparents had no link to the Sikh assassins. In the times of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee, Guru Jee saw the destruction of the Mughal ruler Baabar and said,

There was so much slaughter that the people screamed. Didn't You feel compassion, Lord? O Creator Lord, You are the Master of all. If some powerful man strikes out against another man, then no one feels any grief in their mind. But if a powerful tiger attacks a flock of sheep and kills them, then its master must answer for it. This priceless country has been laid to waste and defiled by dogs, and no one pays any attention to the dead (Limb 360, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee)

These words ring true of what happened to Sikhs across India following Mrs Gandhi's death, to the extent that Guru Sahibs words above aptly describe the attacks on these common, everyday Sikhs. Sikhs were brutally and clinically attacked in cities across India, Delhi, Kanpur, Patna and the list goes on, over 10,000 Sikhs died between 31st October - 3rd November, 1984, many more refugees lived on with nightmares of what they witnessed.

Hitler killed the Jews in gas chambers which were in secret locations but in India Sikhs were killed in public. The Jews have pursued Nazis for these genocidal acts, today the culprits of Sikh genocide walk free, let's try and achieve some justice. Let's remember these Sikhs and support the surviving families and widows, so the pain of Halloween can be lessened. Please see the links below to start making practical steps in this endeavour;

Genocide of Sikhs: http://www.carnage84.com/
http://www.witness84.com/

Films: http://www.amuthefilm.com/

Human Rights: http://www.lfhri.org/ � Lawyers for Human Rights International

Books: Government-organised Carnage, by Gurcharan Singh Babbar

Events:
Candle Light Vigil, 12pm - 7pm, Wednesday 5th November, 2008
Chamberlain Square, Birmingham
http://www.boss-uk.org/

--
WHY TRY TO FIT IN? YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!

And The Hate Continues

I seem to be posting a lot of disturbing pictures of Sikh brothers these days. I wish these pictures didn't exist. I wish I didn'y have to post them. But this needs to be known.

I heard someone on TV say that the election of Barack Obama - if it happens T-5 days and counting - would herald the end of racism in America. I don't think so. In fact, I know not. How very naive.

This is from SALDEF:

Hate Finds Another Victim in New Jersey


SALDEF concerned about potential backlash in the coming weeks after historic Presidential election

Washington, DC – October 29, 2008: On Monday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, documented a violent hate crime against a Sikh American man in Carteret, New Jersey.


Before dawn on Monday morning, Mr. Ajit Singh Chima walked out of his home in Carteret for his daily exercise. As he walked around his neighborhood, Mr. Chima was violently struck in the head by a Hispanic male who appeared to be in his twenties. As Mr. Chima fell to the ground, the assailant continued to violently punch and kick Mr. Chima in the head, neck and face before casually walking away from the scene. Nothing was stolen from Mr. Chima’s person.


Mr. Chima suffered four broken bones around his jaw and eyes. Other medical tests are ongoing to diagnose any possible effects on his vision or greater head injuries.

As of today, no arrests have been made. Upon learning of the incident, SALDEF alerted local police, the Mayor of Carteret, the FBI and other Justice Department officials and urged them to investigate the attack as a possible hate crime. Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman acknowledged SALDEF’s concerns about post-9/11 hate crimes against Sikhs and reassured SALDEF that the attack would be properly investigated.


“In light of previous hate attacks against the Sikh American community, if theft isn’t an issue, and if the assailant isn’t known to the victim, we are left with a presumption that bias was a motive,” said Rajdeep Singh Jolly, Legal Director of SALDEF. “We want law enforcement officials to investigate this attack as a possible hate crime.”


The Potential for More


Over the past year, SALDEF and many other organizations have expressed concern about the use of ethnic and religious slurs in the context of the presidential campaign and the perceived acceptance from both campaigns that to be or perceived to be Muslim or Arab is negative. SALDEF has also documented an increase in verbal assaults directed toward Sikhs in the past 30 days.


For example, last month, a community member came to SALDEF regarding an incident that occurred in Providence, RI which could have resulted in violence. While waiting on the sidewalk for a companion to park their car, a Sikh American man was approached by a white male who got out of his vehicle and accosted him. The white male approached the turbaned Sikh male and allegedly stated, " I have a gun in my car and since you are a hajii no one will care if I kill you. You know why the police won't do anything? Because I got blond hair and blue eyes." As the assailant left, he screamed, "F*** Arabs and F*** Obama."


“The bias-filled rhetoric has reached a new high this campaign season and our community must be prepared for any potential increase in hate and bias crimes,” said SALDEF National Director Rajbir Singh Datta. “Individuals who feel no shame about verbally assaulting members of the Sikh American community usually just need a spark to turn violent. We fear the spark may be the outcome of the presidential campaign, regardless of who wins.”


This should not prevent Sikh Americans from voting on November 4, 2008. SALDEF urges all Sikh Americans to exercise their democratic right to cast a ballot for the candidate of their choice this election year.


As always, however, Sikh Americans should be aware of their surroundings; stay in contact with friends and family; and immediately report any incidents of harassment or violence to the police and to SALDEF at legal@saldef.org or via phone at (202) 393-2700.


CONTACT: Rajbir Singh Datta; media@saldef.org; 202-393-2700 ext 127