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South Asian Network |
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South Asian Network
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THE CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZING In the wake of 9/11, what it means to be a person of South Asian origin in the United States has profoundly changed. A new lens of engagement that equates culture, religion, ethnicity and language with terrorism has caused a fundamental shift in how South Asians are perceived in the private and public domain, and how they perceive themselves and their place in this society. Along with other communities of color, particularly those who are, or appear to be, Arab or Muslim, persons of South Asian origin are bearing the brunt of post-9/11 “backlash” hate and intolerance. While the blatant violence that occurred immediately after 9/11, such as murder, physical assault and arson, has subsided, more insidious forms of racism and discrimination toward South Asians are on the rise in schools, workplaces, housing complexes and airports. Recent racial and religious bias incidents reported to South Asian Network include wrongful job terminations, hostile work environments, tenant evictions and restricted access to health and human services. South Asians have also been adversely affected by government policies and practices that threaten their civil liberties, such as the PATRIOT Act and Special Registration program. Large-scale criminalization of the entire community has involved FBI surveillance and investigations, detentions and deportations. For the first time in their American experience, South Asians are feeling the impact of racism and discrimination across class, gender, age, national origin, religion and immigration status. At this moment in U.S. history, South Asian Americans stand at a crossroads with regard to their individual and collective life. While the current climate of fear has the potential to encourage isolation and fragmentation along entrenched gender, class, national, religious and generational lines, there is also tremendous opportunity for South Asians in America to recognize their common concerns, bridge their internal divisions and form coalitions among themselves and with other marginalized communities to work toward a future of equity, peace and justice. It is also an opportunity to take stock of what “organizing” and “activism” means in our communities as compared with other sectors of the immigrant rights movement, to claim our own definitions of those terms in both content and stages of development and to move forward in bringing that unique voice to our common goals and aspirations. |