Given by Guru Roop Kaur Khalsa, Sikh Community Spokesperson
Since September 11th, men, women, and children from all faiths and cultures have been affected by the acts of violence and discrimination that have taken place in the aftermath of 9/11.

Unfortunately, to this day we still have Americans killing Americans. Hate crimes and backlash murders continue to be the invisible causalities of September 11th and the war on extremism.

There were over 700 violent incidents targeting Arab Americans, Muslims, East Indians, and Sikhs in the first nine weeks following September 11th, including several murders. Balbir Singh Sodhi was the first such death categorized as a hate crime. As a nation and as a community if we as individuals and institutions do not continue to take action as we did today – we will continue to loose many more innocent people.

165 hate-related violent incidents occurred from January 1-October 11, 2002, a significant increase over most years in the past decade. There have also been over 80 cases of illegal and discriminatory removal of passengers from aircraft after boarding, but before takeoff, based on the passenger’s perceived ethnicity. It reminds us that targeting a person because of their ethnic or religious background or national origin is often the basis for bias reaction and violations.

The war we are fighting is against hate and fear, not against each other.

As Sikhs our basic tenant is one God many paths. We have devoted our lives to protecting and upholding the rights of all people to practice their faith in freedom. Sikhs throughout their history have defended the freedom of people of many other faiths.

Sikhs are hard-working Americans as you see through the life of Balbir Singh. His life exemplified the basic Sikh spirit to serve and reach out to those in need. Balbir Singh was killed because of the way he looked and in his heart and on his lips were the words, “Please respect and protect the innocent people.”

The founder of the Sikh faith established our religious dress 500 years ago which includes the turban and beard, symbolizing our devotion to God and the equality of all people. In the United States, 99% of the people wearing turbans are Sikhs.

After Balbir Singh’s death the President of the United States, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Prime Minister of India, the Justice Department, the US Attorney, the Mayor of Mesa, the Maricopa County Attorney, the Attorney General, the Governor, the police agencies, the Interfaith community, the media and most of all you the neighbors, and friends sent the message to the world “protect the innocent people.”

Today, the jury confirmed that message.

We honor you – you stood up at a time of extreme trial and said, “No gentle person, no child, no culture and no religion should be condemned, assaulted or targeted because of the unspeakable acts of others.”

Bless you for your bravery –standing up to hate and fear with love and kindness.

The fight against hate requires that all of us as community leaders take a strong stand and condemn acts of violence, the killing of innocent people and prosecute the offender so other potential victims, their families and community are not traumatized and targeted.

We are so extremely grateful to each one of you.

In the intensity after September 11th as a community we made a difference. Today, the world was watching and together we took the position no more hate – encouraging everyone to evolve past hate and fear by reaching out to others with increased understanding, respect, and support.

May our collective prayer be that God preserve and protect the honor of all people, our nation, and our world.

Bless you for your support, for embracing diversity, embracing us as your neighbors and embracing Balbir Singh Sodhi’s family.