Sports
Thank You, Canada!
SIKH MEDIA SERVICE
From J.J. SINGH
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Shortly after 10:00 am this morning, Brigitte Frot, Executive Director of the Quebec Soccer Federation, announced that its ban against turbans and patkas is being withdrawn with immediate effect.
She also said “Sorry!”
We -- Canadian children and youth, in particular -- accept the apology made on behalf of herself, her Federation and, I hope, the racists within the Parti Quebecois that stood behind them.
There’s one clear winner in the Quebec soccer turban/patka ban fiasco that has been played out here this month, especially after it’s long-anticipated conclusion … which was reluctantly and begrudgingly announced by the Quebec Soccer Federation this morning.
And that winner is … C-A-N-A-D-A!
The Quebec Soccer Federation has not fared well in this tournament. They were red-carded by the national, overseeing soccer authority early on in the game.
Nor have the Parti Quebecois, the province’s current ruling party, and its less-than-fearless leader, Pauline Marois, come out smelling good. They have emerged from this appearing all the more narrow-minded, bigoted and racist than ever before.
But Canada and Canadians have risen to the challenge effortlessly, and shown the world that it is easy to be decent and fair, as well as open and welcoming to the diversity which is the hallmark of humanity itself. And that there is no real risk to doing the right thing, and when you do it right, everyone wins.
The Sikh-Canadian community … indeed, 30 million Sikhs worldwide … are grateful for the support shown by Canadians.
The truest indicia of a civilized society is not that no mistakes will be made amidst its ranks, but that it moves swiftly to rectify a situation when an anomaly is identified, and addresses the issue that gave rise to the problem, in order to prevent its recurrence.
Canada and Canadians have acted honourably and shown the world that there is no downside to this basic human decency.
A miilion thanks to the good children of Brossard who donned patkas, and all the other soccer players and teams, who joined in their grand gesture of showing solidarity with the Sikh-Canadian children even when it appeared that a majority in the province seemed to be subscribing to the bigotry being purveyed in their name.
And to the courageous coaches and parents, as well as the daring media columnists, commentators and editorialists, who brought out the facts and put them unwaveringly before the world.
Again, a big Thank You, Canada!
June 15, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Gurdip Singh (London, United Kingdom), June 15, 2013, 11:28 AM.
Congratulations to all parties in this entire matter. An excellent resolution! Now, let the games begin! God bless our children -- all, Sikh and non-Sikh.
2: Harleen Kaur (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), June 15, 2013, 11:44 AM.
Indeed, a win-win for all! Yes, thank you, Canada! No place on earth like this wonderful country!
3: Harinder (Uttar Pradesh, India), June 15, 2013, 11:53 AM.
Canada is a GEM and a darling of a country. God bless Canada.
4: Mehtab Singh (San Diego, California, USA), June 15, 2013, 12:43 PM.
Canadians are generally good people ... more, they are role models for the world, in so many ways. Including the Quebecois. I love them all. Why then this strange behaviour on the part of some Quebecers? I worry that their desire to protect their own heritage -- an important but uphill battle, I'm sure -- is making them blind to the same need of others within their society. They need to adopt the Sikh approach -- protect the rights of others, and your own automatically get valued.
5: Jaimal Singh (Patiala, Punjab), June 15, 2013, 1:00 PM.
I must say I'm most impressed by the maturity shown by Canadians in this matter. Even the Quebecers. The matter came to a head quickly ... and before it develops a history of its own, it's been resolved. The "winners" have been gracious, the "losers" have accepted the verdict. Truly civilized! I only wish people in our country could see how this entire story has unfolded and concluded. We have so-o much to learn from you, Canada!
6: Inder Singh (Mumbai, India), June 15, 2013, 2:26 PM.
I salute your country and your people, Canada, for reminding us all that there is often only one way out of many a conundrum: the simple and the right way! Thank you!
7: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), June 15, 2013, 5:49 PM.
If Canadians were able to visit the birthplace of the Khalsa or the Darbar Sahib, it would blow them away!
8: G C Singh (USA), June 15, 2013, 7:00 PM.
Today, Canada's values of tolerance, inclusiveness and basic decency have scored a huge win on the soccer field as well as in the political sphere when the country's leaders like Kenney, Mulcair and Trudeau unequivocally stood for justice and fair play for all Canadians.
9: Parmjit Singh (Canada), June 16, 2013, 5:15 AM.
What a brilliant article! Thank you. In my view, the real heroes were the courageous Canadian people who went out on a limb, such as the kids and coach of the team in Brossard that wore patkas, the Canadian Soccer Federation, the brave parents who pulled their own kids from soccer, some of the media who did not pull punches and identified this for what it was -- ugly bigotry. At the same time, anyone following this knows there was no shortage of those who were intolerant.Many of the politicians supporting Sikhs and being applauded were in fact disappointing in their soft condemnation and not calling this out as an extremely dark and ugly and racist moment for Canada. The latter is important because as Sikhs it is our responsibility to empower and promote courage when it comes to respect for all Canadians and all citizens moving forward in the future.
10: Karamjeet Singh (Chicago, Illinois, USA), June 16, 2013, 8:46 AM.
It is good to see all minorities thrive in Canada, especially the Sikhs as a community. It is robust, vigorous and dynamic due to the sense of competition within itself. Thanks to all the Canadians who stood by us in this hour ...
11: Blighty Singh (London, England), June 16, 2013, 3:08 PM.
It's not often the word 'Canada' even gets mentioned in world news media, so in that respect I suppose even bad publicity is better than no publicity. Let's all draw a line under this issue now and move forward. Sikh-Canadians can do this by reminding themselves that the game is called football and it is played on a pitch.
12: Jaspal Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), June 17, 2013, 8:02 AM.
Most media have done an excellent job and have said it how it is. A stupid move by the QFS!
13: Satin Pal Singh (Jammu, J & K), July 27, 2013, 6:07 AM.
Thank you, Canada, for this approach. I think Canada is indeed the best place in the world to live.
14: Ullas Singh (Delhi, India), July 27, 2013, 6:14 AM.
I think that Canada had done a great job in supporting all minorities, including its Sikh citizenry.