Since the brutal assault in the Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul in March there has been a call for countries in America and Europe to accept Afghan Hindus and Sikhs as refugees. Canada has in the past received Afghan Sikh refugees and organizations like the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation are advocating for Canada to accept as many refugees as soon as possible as there seems to be no Sikh who wants to stay in such a hostile country at this time.
In the U.S. organizations like SALDEF and Sikh Coalition have made efforts to educate and encourage law makers to grant refugee status to these communities in this time of need.
Rep. Jackie Speier is a U.S. representative from California's 14th district (San Francisco) taken up the cause by authoring a bill titled:
H.Res.1085 - Condemning targeted terrorist attacks against members of the Sikh, Hindu, and other religious minority communities in Afghanistan and supporting refugee protection for Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan in recognition of the systematic religious persecution, discrimination, and existential danger faced by the members of these communities.
This condemnation and call for refugee status is a hopeful development. We want our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan to be quickly delivered to a safer environment where they won't have to worry about their lives every day.
We are grateful to all the law-makers who co-sponsored the bill named here: Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Costa, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Lofgren, and Mr. Raskin.
The bill (view below) concludes with the following 4 resolutions:
(1) expresses concern for the safety of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan;
(2) condemns all terrorist attacks, religious persecution, and discrimination against members of the Sikh and Hindu religious minority communities in Afghanistan;
(3) recognizes that members of the Sikh and Hindu communities face existential danger in Afghanistan; and
(4) supports resettling Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan in the United States under the United States Refugee Admissions Program pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157).
We are especially grateful to the Sikh orgs and individuals who have made efforts for this cause to be known and reached out to our representatives and look forward to see the destiny of this legislation.
To personally thank Rep. Jackie Speier click here for her contact information.
