St Petersburg Times September 22, 2001

Sikhs should not be targeted

I am writing on behalf of the Sikh-American community of the United States. We are pained and shocked by the horrific attack on the people and property of the United States. Our hearts are full of sadness for the thousands who have been devastated. We hope that the perpetrators are found and brought to justice soon.

We feel that is a time for the countries and people all over the world to rally against these heinous terrorist attacks.

We also want to point out that Sikhs, with their turbans and beards must not be mistaken for any terrorist group. There are approximately 500,000 Sikhs in the United States and Canada and 24-million worldwide. Sikhs have been living in North America for more than a hundred years. During the tension with Iraq and Iran in the last decade many Sikhs became the target of hate by the ignorant. We are already receiving news of hate attacks on innocent individuals in New York, California, Boston, Iowa and Florida. The numbers keep on adding up.

You are requested to raise the awareness of the masses at this critical time so that the Sikhs do not become an unfair target in the backlash of this horrific attack on the United States. My uncle called me the other night to inform that one of his friends, a truck driver, had been killed in California as he stopped to get something to eat. And my parents keep telling me not to go out anywhere because they are afraid the same will happen to me. Please help the Sikh community bring these acts to a stop so that we can grieve in the same way that everyone else is, and not have to worry about being injured or killed.

Sam Saini, New Port Richey