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South Asian Network
18173 S. Pioneer Blvd
Suite I, 2nd Floor
Artesia, CA 90701
Tel: 562.403.0488
Fax: 562.403.0487
Email:
saninfo@southasiannetwork.org

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jun. 11, 2008

For more information contact:
Manasi Tulpule, South Asian Network, (562) 403-0488 x 122

National Day of Action Demands Justice for
Guest Workers on Day 26 of Hunger Strike

Organizations Call on U.S. Department of Justice to Grant Workers Continued Presence to Investigate Human Trafficking and Abuses of Guest Worker Program

(LOS ANGELES, CA) – The South Asian Network (SAN), The National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), the National Lawyer’s Guild – Los Angeles, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU), the Friends of South Asia (FOSA), the Korean Resource Center (KRC), and the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) joined other immigrant’s rights and human rights activists on a National Day of Action in Downtown Los Angeles to express resounding support for immigrant workers in India currently on a hunger strike in front of the White House. The protestors called on the U.S. Department of Justice to grant the workers continued presence in the country to investigate the slave-like conditions which they were routinely subjected to, to halt the expansion of all guest worker visa programs, and ultimately quell the exploitation of foreign workers.

The mood of the demonstration was positive as the protestors chanted slogans about worker’s rights and marched in front of the Federal Building. Ahilan Arulanantham, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, declared, “Like the persecutions carried out by the Ku Klux Klan from 1866 to 1871, the plight of the Indian Guest Workers is modern day slavery, and every American should be ashamed of the treatment the workers have faced. Ultimately the workers deserve justice, and the Department of Justice needs to be vital in bringing this to them.”

Protestors at the Action were also asked to call their local Congressional representative and request that their representative sign the Kucinich Letter, a letter written by Congressman Dennis Kucinich to the Department of Justice asking that the Department of Justice allow the workers continued presence in the United States. “Calling representatives was an effortless way to show support for the guest workers, and was also a means for everyone to contribute to the workers’ fight for justice,” stated Shiu-Ming Cheer, Civil Rights Coordinator at SAN.

Now on the 26th day of the hunger strike, these guest workers were first lured from India by Signal International, a Northrop-Grumman subcontractor, which promised the workers
permanent residency, decent wages, and the chance to bring their families over from India. Instead, the workers were forced into indentured servitude, effectively imprisoned at a Gulf Coast shipyard. The workers escaped the Signal labor camp in March 2008 and recently won an important victory when the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to open an investigation into Signal’s involvement in an international labor trafficking ring. However, the workers are now having to fight to stay in the country to participate in the investigation.

During the Action, Saket Soni, the lead organizer for the New Orlean’s Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, as well as one of the Indian guest workers, spoke by phone. The worker graciously thanked all the protestors for their support and maintained that he and his fellow workers “will not stop the hunger strike until the Department of Justice supports our call for justice.”

The protestors called further attention to abuses the workers faced from the guest worker program as well as the fact that abuses of this kind occur frequently and globally.

Hamid Khan, Executive Director of SAN, declared, “Like the sweeping ICE raids terrorizing immigrant families across the country, guest worker programs are intended to keep immigrant workers disempowered. Guest workers face relentless intimidation, surveillance and policing by their corporate employers under these programs, whether they are from India or Latin America, whether they build ships or pick strawberries.”

Khan continued, “The millions of immigrants who bravely marched in the streets during the last two years demanded full worker rights and human rights and real legalization, not corporate-led schemes to crush wages and bodies. The only thing guest worker programs legalize is modern-day slavery. The abuses of the guest worker program is symbolic of what is going on globally.”

Similarly, Nativo Lopez, National President of the Mexican American Political Association, proclaimed that, “These workers are part of a guest worker program, but when have they ever been guests in the house of America? The workers have instead been abused, harassed, and victimized by a company that has done the same to others. The guest worker program is a form of modern day slavery and the workers ultimately deserve justice.”

Protesters march for justice for the Indian Guest Workers

Protesters march for justice for the Indian Guest Workers

Protesters listen to speeches given by leaders of South Asian Network (SAN), Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), the ACLU, Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), and the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA).

Protester and SAN employee Preeti Sharma calls her local
congressional representative, asking the representative to sign
onto the Kucinich Letter in support of the Indian Guest Workers.

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18173 Pioneer Blvd. Suite I • Artesia, CA 90701 • Phone (562) 403-0488 • (800) 281-8111• Fax (562) 403-0487
E-mail: saninfo@southasiannetwork.org • website: www.southasiannetwork.org
Tax Exempt 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit Organization • Tax ID No. 33-0608166

For more information contact:
Joyti Chand, South Asian Network, (562) 403–0488 x 108
Sanjay Chhugani, Satrang, (626) 379-3649

Release of Historic South Asian LGBTIQ Community Needs
Assessment Report & Community Procession on
National Coming Out Day

ARTESIA, CA – October 11th is National Coming Out Day. It is observed by members of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/intersex/queer & questioning (LGBTIQ) communities and their allies. In commemoration of this, South Asian Network (SAN) and Satrang are joining together to release the first ever South Asian LGBTIQ Needs Assessment report.

SAN is the only nonprofit organization in Los Angeles County that is addressing the racial, economic, and social justice issues of the South Asian community. Satrang is the only social, political, cultural and support organization providing a safe space to empower South Asian LGBTIQs in Southern California.

The press conference to release the report is taking place at 4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the SAN office at 18173 S. Pioneer Bl. (corner of Pioneer Bl. & 183rd St.) in Artesia. Speakers include representatives from South Asian Network, Satrang, and the South Asian community.

“On this historic day we come together as communities that embrace the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, intersex members of our community. We cannot and will not accept the exclusion of, violence against, and dehumanization of LGBTIQ people,” said Hamid Khan, Executive Director of South Asian Network.

Sanjay Chhugani, President of Satrang, stated, “Social isolation, hate, prejudice and stigma lead to the invisibility of the South Asian LGBTIQ community. Both the mainstream LGBTIQ and South Asian community members and service providers are not aware of our needs since there is no data available. That is why Satrang collaborated on the Southern California South Asian LGBTIQ Needs Assessment.”

The Southern California South Asian LGBTIQ Needs Assessment Committee set out to determine the most critical unmet needs for the health and well-being of South Asian LGBTIQ individuals. A survey of 94 SA LGBTIQ individuals reveals the prejudice, discrimination, lack of access to healthcare, and mental health issues that this community faces.

Based on these findings, the Committee recommends several strategies to provide services, advocacy and infrastructure building in the South Asian LGBTIQ community. The report
suggests specific ways for South Asian LGBTIQ individuals and their allies to empower this community and improve their safety, health and well-being.

The press conference is followed by a procession along Pioneer Boulevard, in the heart of “Little India,” to raise awareness about the South Asian LGBTIQ community. Allies from the South Asian community and other community based organizations are showing their support by joining in the procession.

“This is the first time in our community that members of both the LGBTIQ and straight/heterosexual community are walking together to demand the rights of the most marginalized members of our community. Today, we are showing that we are in solidarity and sending a strong message that we can no longer deny the existence of LGBTIQ community members and our needs,” said Joyti Chand, Community Advocate at South Asian Network.

Copies of the report are available to the press, community organizations, and other groups/ individuals that are interested in the report findings and recommendations.

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 7, 2007

Police Violence Against Immigrant Families
Continues the Criminalization of Immigrants

LOS ANGELES, CA – On May 1st, staff, volunteers, and community members from South Asian Network (SAN) joined in the two immigrant rights marches to demand human rights for all and an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and police harassment and violence. The spirited marches ended in terror as the police unleashed their batons, tear gas, and 240 rounds of rubber bullets on the peaceful participants gathered in Macarthur Park.

 

South Asian Network condemns the attacks as well as accusations that “youth” or “anarchists” antagonizing the police officers led to the attacks. These accusations serve to divide the community against ourselves, while the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers who are responsible for the violence on May 1st are not held accountable.

“Excessive force was used. The police did not need to attack everyone. There was no need to attack the people selling food and the reporters. This shows that the law does not protect poor people and immigrants,” said Prakash Ghimire, SAN Health Advocate.

Immigrants fleeing civil wars, corporate globalization, and persecution in their home countries come to the United States for safety and instead find a police state. The unjustified police violence shows the state terror faced by immigrants and other people of color on a daily basis. Since 9/11, the government’s attacks on South Asians has intensified with coordinated campaigns of harassment, surveillance, raids, prolonged detentions, and deportations. In 2002, ICE conducted raids in Pakistani jewelry stores in 20 cities across the country. Special Registration has resulted in the placement of over 13,000 immigrants from primarily Muslim countries in deportation proceedings.

After last year’s massive immigrant rights marches, the Bush Administration intensified its attacks on immigrants. ICE’s mass raids at workplaces and in immigrant neighborhoods resulted in 14,356 immigrants arrests from May to September 2006. Over 4,700 of those arrested have already been deported. In January 2007 alone, over 761 immigrants were arrested in Southern California. The people torn apart from their families and communities include Indians, Bangladeshis, and other South Asians.

These federal actions have gone hand in hand with local policies such as gang databases, gang injunctions, and mass incarceration that have criminalized youth of color and immigrant youth. May 1st was not the first instance of LAPD violence – the police repression during the 2000 Democratic National Convention and the killing of 13-year-old Devon Brown are just a few examples of the history of police brutality in Los Angeles.

 
SAN stands in solidarity with other groups to make the following demands:

1. Full comprehensive and independent investigation of LAPD with a community report. The City must appoint an independent panel that includes true representation from the immigrant community to hold hearings and review evidence.

2. Internal and Structural Changes in protocol for first amendment marches and rallies as well as addressing the issue of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment within the LAPD.

3. The Mayor, City Attorney, and the City Council must work with the community to develop policy and procedures to end the LAPD’s overuse of deadly force and military-style policing, and implement a system of community policing.

4. The LAPD must uphold and strengthen Special Order 40, and must not be involved in screening or deporting immigrants.

SAN will continue our community work in coalition with other social justice groups to fight for immigrant rights, including an end to the raids, detentions and deportations, living wage and better living and working conditions for all, legalization and human rights for all, and an end to violence by the police, military and ICE.

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Apr. 24, 2007

For more information contact:
Sumaiya Islam, SAN, (562) 403-0488 x 120
Shiu-Ming Cheer, SAN, (562) 403-0488 x 120

Bangladeshi Banners Installed
Along 3rd Street in Koreatown

LOS ANGELES, CA – On Friday, April 20th, twenty-seven Bangladeshi street banners were installed on poles along Third Street between Vermont and Western Avenues in order to raise the visibility and public awareness of the strong presence of Bangladeshi residents and businesses. This is the first public visual art project that speaks to the experience and aspirations of the Bangladeshi immigrant community in Los Angeles.

A team of Bangladeshi young artists (ages 16-26) created the banners. The team gathered stories and images from community members at festivals, celebrations, townhalls, public story sharing and art making workshops, and in interviews along Third Street with business people and community members. “What do I want out of this: I want every person walking on Third Street to look up and see a part of themselves in the banners,” said Aditi Mahmud, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi resident of Koreatown who helped create the banners.

The youth team worked in collaboration with South Asian Network (SAN) and LA Commons. SAN is a grassroots, community based organization dedicated to advancing the health, empowerment and solidarity of persons of South Asian origin in Southern California. LA Commons engages communities in the creation of public art and culture that tells their diverse stories and serves as the basis for dialogue, interaction and a better understanding of Los Angeles.

Estimates of the number of Bangladeshi residents in Koreatown range from 10,000-15,000, but the community has remained largely invisible. “The Bangladeshi community has multiple needs – housing, immigration, lack of knowledge about health, employment in low wage jobs. We need to raise awareness of these issues, provide information about finding better jobs, and educate women about their rights,” said Nina Sharmin, SAN Health Advocate.

The banner designs advertise an event on April 27, 2007, “Voices of the People: A Koreatown Community Town Hall.” Fifteen years after the Civil Unrest, Koreatown is coming together to discuss the state of our neighborhood and to create a community agenda for Koreatown. Representatives from the State Labor Commission, Area Planning Commission, and L.A. Housing Department will hear from community members, including a Bangladeshi youth and tenant, about issues of work and health, housing, and race relations.

Generous donations from the Liberty Hill Foundation, City Council members Garcetti and LaBonge, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, and South Asian businesses and community members made the banner project possible.

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Sept. 11, 2006

For more information contact:
Hamid Khan, SAN, (562) 403-0488 x105
Joyti Chand, SAN, (562) 403-0488 x 104

Five Years After 9/11:
Muslim and South Asian
Communities, Still Under Attack

Artesia, CA – As the 5th year anniversary of the September 11^th, 2001 attacks approach, members of the South Asian and Muslim community unite to speak out against discrimination, hatred and racial profiling.  Since 9-11, South Asians and Muslims have been targets of an alarming number of hate crimes, racial profiling and other acts of discrimination by their employers, apartment managers, business owners and the U.S. government.  Domestic anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policies, enacted in the name of “national security”, have created a sense of insecurity and fear within the community, and have deterred some community members from standing up against discrimination and violations of their Constitutional rights.

 

Today, members of the community continue to live in constant fear.  Farhana Shahid, a Pakistani woman who immigrated to the US in 1991, states that, “Women in the community are scared of identifying as Muslim.  We are afraid to practice our religion, wear a hijab, state our name or even be ourselves.  Since 9-11, our children are treated as lesser human beings and are always looked at suspiciously”.  Ms. Shahid’s husband, Raja Shahid, has been a taxi worker in LA for 11 years.  Mr. Shahid has been harassed since 9-11 because he “looks Muslim”.

 

Mr. Shahid’s colleague, Sher Zeman, also a Pakistani immigrant, has frequently experienced verbal abuse while working.  He states “I feel these assaults will continue as long as the government doesn’t do anything to protect our rights”. 

 

Furthermore, when community members have reported hate crimes and discrimination, they have been routinely re-victimized, encountering indifference, incompetence and hostility from government agencies.  As our government continues to focus on national security, the South Asian and Muslim community believes it is crucial to expose these biases in order to hold our government accountable for our “human security” as well.

 

Victims of anti-Muslim/anti-immigrant hate crimes that occurred soon after 9-11-01 continue to fight for resolution of their cases.  Mr. Mujibar Badal, an immigrant and political refugee from Bangladesh, is a survivor of a hate crime that occurred in November 11^th, 2001.  Since then, Mr. Badal has been engaged in an uphill battle with the State of California Victim Witness Compensation Program, seeking compensation for lost wages.  Mr. Badal states: “The handling of my hate crime case has further victimized me, because of the completely unprofessional attitudes of government officials I have encountered.  Hate crime and discrimination cases, such as mine, must be given proper attention and aggressively investigated”.

 

In addition to government indifference to victims of hate crimes, the South Asian community has experienced an unrelenting wave of government surveillance, interrogation, and violence by local and federal law enforcement officers.  These attacks have occurred in public, private and religious spaces.  Maulana Junaid Kharsany, religious leader of a Los Angeles Mosque, states that since 9-11, “Surveillance and racial profiling is taking place at all mosques.  Racism and xenophobia have crept into the most sacred spaces, and this is a reflection of the insecurity and fear that historically exists in the American public and culture”.

 

Laws enacted since 9-11 such as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration Systems (NSEERS), which mandated registration (forced fingerprinting, photography and interrogation) of foreign nationals from 25 Middle Eastern, South Asian and “Muslim countries”, and the USA PATRIOT Act, which authorizes law enforcement officers to search, investigate, and detain community members without trail or hearing, have served to officially sanction discrimination and profiling.

 

To date, the government has collected information on over 82,000 people.  Over 1,200 people of Muslim, Arab and South Asian descent have been detained, the vast majority on technical immigration violations, not terrorism related charges.  Some remain in indefinite detention.  Over 13,000 immigrants have been placed in deportation proceedings as a result of Special Registration, hundreds have disappeared, and thousands more have voluntarily left the U.S. due to persecution and an atmosphere of fear and suspicion.  Ban Al-Wardi, an immigration lawyer, states that, “Much of the local enforcement has resulted only in deportations -- allegations of terror have been false or lacking.  Arab and Muslim men have been targeted as terrorists, but basically they're just immigrants punished for their ethnicity and faith through detentions and deportations.”

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