Mar 10, 2016 - Amritsar: Members of the World Sikh Council, A representative body of the Sikh Institutions of America, organized an event in Florida, US to generate awareness about the appearance of Sikhs and their distinct features, which make them vulnerable to hate attacks.
Apart from Sikhs, the event was also attended by white and black Americans, including those involved in crime investigations, academicians and community workers.
World Sikh Council (WSC) chairperson Gulbarg Singh said they put up an exhibition and disseminated literature about bullying of American Sikh children and the Sikh faith. They educated more than 385 people from 47 states of the US, Canada and UK, who attended the event.
He said 125 participants, including school administrators, counsellors, school resource officers, juvenile investigators, prosecutors, child protective service specialists, internet crime investigators, probation officers, psychologists, community workers and teachers got turbans tied.
WSC secretary general Kavneet Singh informed that on the occasion, Karanveer Singh, a 17-year-old high school student, who wrote and published the book, 'Bullying of Sikh American Children - Through the Eyes of a Sikh American High School Student,' delivered an hour-long presentation highlighting the insidious bullying faced by American Sikh children in schools across the nation and strategies to mitigate the menace.
World Sikh Council member Ishwar Singh said Karanveer's book raised a rarely discussed issues and also offered suggestions and solutions to prevent bullying. "I am of the view that efforts like these will go a long way in establishing the identity of Sikhs among Americans," he said.