Image at bottom right: the 9.11 hikackers.
Current Events
A Sikh Walks Into An Airport ...
by ANDREW BOWEN
The author has embarked on a personal journey of learning about other faiths. To understand Sikhi, he has gone about his quest in a unique way: immersion. For a specific period, he has adopted the Sikh articles of faith in order to experience first hand what it means to be a Sikh in a society in which, invariably, he is a minority. This is the third of his observant and insightful pieces we are presenting to you, the other two being "Kirtan: The Song of The Sikhs", and "U.S. Marines & Sikhs: Uniform Matters."
This article also forms the topic of discussion for this week's ROUNDTABLE OPEN FORUM (# 77)
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
In our post-9/11 world, most of us are sensitive about anything that looks “different” than the understood norm - especially at airports or any mass transit location. Humans are hard-wired to notice these differences in our environment; it’s what helped keep us alive along our evolutionary journey.
But the system is less than perfect and sometimes, many times, our warning systems give us a false positive.
Sikhs - especially males wearing the dastaar are all too common triggers for these false alarms. I’ve recieved more looks, stares, finger-pointing by kids (at least they did it to my face, instead of at my back, like adults) this month because of my turban than any other month this year. Despite my extra “garments,” when people treat me like this, I feel naked.
Having experienced this just out in everyday public life, I cannot imagine how Sikhs must feel in airports. You are a target for fear, anxiety, judgment, blame … all misplaced, but heavily present. In this day and age, Sikhs in many ways wear a stereotype as if it were the sixth addition to the Five K’s.
Many Sikhs try to alleviate this pressure and anxiety (at least for themselves), sometimes with humor, and other times with legal support from organizations like The Sikh Coalition. Personally, I think walking into any public space wearing a t-shirt like the one shown on the top of this page,is pretty awesome.
Conversation about this article
1: Harinder (Uttar Pradesh, India), September 27, 2011, 9:56 AM.
We are hard wired to identify danger signals. 1) Fear of religious persecution: a. Christians today are still suspicious of Jews, 2000 years after Jesus was killed. The fact is kept alive today by the symbol of the crucifix. So the distrust continues. b. Muslims hate Jews even 1379 years later after Prophet Muhammad's death in 632AD, because a Jewish woman poisoned him. c. Sikhs are wary of Muslims four centuries after two of their Gurus were martyred by Muslim rulers. This is reinforced by pictures we all see in our museums. d. The Shia-Sunni conflict is still alive today 1331 years down the road because Hussein ibn Ali was beheaded in Battle of Karbala in 680. The animosity has grown to national dimensions (Iran vs. Iraq). e. The behaviour of the Hindu majority in India towards Sikhs and other minorities is steadily creating it own history. 2) Fear of deaths: Things which brings death to our body are also identified through danger signals. Killer diseases like cancer, AIDS, infections, etc. create fear in our minds. 3) Fear of the unknown: The idea of aliens brings a sense of fear. 4) Fear of ideologies of supremacy: Like Nazis, Wababis, Communism, Hindutva, Colonialism (American, British, French, etc.) also give rise to fear.
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 27, 2011, 10:21 AM.
Stereotyping is done by all groups, mostly to highlight perceived negative traits. For example, here in the U.K., it is Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and the gypsies. In the U.S. it's the 'Afro-Americans' and 'Hispanics'. Until recently, Sikhs have actually enjoyed a positive stereo-type - Honest, Saint-Soldiers, protectors, seva, etc.
3: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 27, 2011, 12:57 PM.
As someone who flies frequently to cities around the world for over 27 years on a regular basis, I've had NO issues with my dastaar. Only once or twice my dastaar was 'handled' (as a naive youngster) at European airports, but after I requested the security personnel to wash their hands! It's all in the mind ... if you know and understand that the dastaar is a crown, then you will be treated like royalty quite literally everywhere on Earth.
4: Rupinder Mohan Singh (California, U.S.A.), September 27, 2011, 4:01 PM.
Coincidentally, I just blogged about a recent airport experience of mine, here: http://americanturban.com/2011/09/26/the-day-i-racially-profiled-myself/
5: Gurbux Singh (Chatsworth, California, U.S.A.), September 27, 2011, 7:29 PM.
On September 8, my wife and I went to LAX to start our long trip to Singapore and Malaysia which we are still enjoying. My wife went through security and when it was my turn, I asked that I not go through the walk-through scanner as I have an implanted defbrillator since my by-pass surgery in 2001. I showed them the card and they asked me, emphasis on asked me, to please stand to one side and offered me a private area for a pat down or in the open. I opted non-private and the pat down was done with dignity and not intrusive at all. Then came the turban, I was waiting for it and surprisingly he asked me to pat it down myself and he used a swab on my hands and said I was good to go. While he was using the swab, I told him 'Thank you for keeping America safe', and you should have seen the look of relief on his face. His reply was 'I wish everyone was like you'. They have a job to do and we have to understand how difficult it is. I have never had a victim mentality and always spoke up when I needed to. I travel a lot and a non-adversarial attitude goes a long way in defusing situations. U.S.A. has been our home for almost 38 years and I have seen the changes over the years.
6: Manraj Singh (Ottawa, Canada), September 28, 2011, 8:43 AM.
I recently visited California with family. On our way back we went through the security checks at LAX and in Detroit. I was asked to go through the full body scanner, but I think that was the case with all males going through the security, although, I did not pay specific attention. At both airports security agents asked very politely for the turban pat-down. In Detroit they did the pat-down and the swab. The whole procedure took just a few minutes, they were professional and polite. I did not feel that I was being profiled or subjected to anything undesirable.
7: Hardeep Singh (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), September 28, 2011, 11:58 AM.
From my past experiences at airports, the security personnel never asked for checking my turban by themselves, rather they requested me to pat it down myself to conduct their test. Thanks to SALDEF, the Sikh Coalition and United Sikhs and other organizations for taking up the issue with TSA and other authorities. Educating others and getting aware about others does help all of us.