Current Events
Remembering Tragedy by Embracing Faith:
Oak Creek One Year Later
ERIN TONER
Every Sunday, hundreds of worshippers descend on the Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, USA, just south of Milwaukee. They come here to pray and to eat a weekly meal together, called a langar.
On August 5, 2012, as women were preparing the meal, a gunman -- [a white supremacist who had had no previous dealings with any of them] -- entered the building and opened fire, killing six people, including the gurdwara committee president, a granthi, fathers and a mother, before turning the gun on himself. Photos of the victims now hang in the lobby of the gurdwara.
Traditionally, when worshippers come to the gurdwara, they wash their hands, have snacks, and then sit down and listen to the service, says Dr. Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, the current president. He's urging members of this congregation to keep their spirits up as the shooting anniversary approaches.
"The community has been gradually sort of healing and settling down," he says. "Of course the families who lost their loved ones will never probably lead the [same] life. .... Their lives changed forever."
This weekend, the gurdwara will hold a series of events to honor the victims, including a continuous recitation of the Sikh Scripture, cover to cover. It's a practice that happens at both celebratory and solemn events, and is intended to bring peace and solace.
Sikhism began in the 15th century in the Punjab region in South Asia. Its basic tenets are equality, living by honest means and helping the needy. But since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, some Sikh-Ameticans have been harassed or attacked by people in the United states, wrongly assuming they're Muslims or extremists.
A security guard now sits just inside the gurdwara's front entrance -- a constant reminder of the violence that erupted there last summer. Nirmal Kaur Singh says she still gets nervous when she walks in from the parking lot, and her kids still have questions.
"Especially my youngest daughter, she's 6 years old. She'll be like, 'Why this has to happen?' And I say, 'You know what? We live in a world where anything could happen, not only shootings, but anything,' Nirmal says. "So that's what I tell them. I say, 'Just be safe.' "
While some worshippers remain fearful of violence, others seem even more determined to confront prejudice against their faith, like Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka. He looks down at a string of orange prayer beads around his wrist, as he sings a traditional Sikh hymn.
"So, they're very simple words," he says, "and really the basis is that if you can even just say God's name, or keep God in your mind, that will help you become one with God."
The prayer is one Kanwardeep's uncle used to sing at the end of Sunday services. His uncle was the gurdwara president who was killed while trying to fend off the gunman. Today, Kanwardeep Singh works at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he just earned a Ph.D. in Alzheimer's disease research.
The 30-year-old started meditating after the gurdwara shooting last year. He also let his beard and hair grow long, and now wears a turban in his daily life, as do most observant Sikhs.
"People who died in that shooting looked different," Kanwardeep says, "and I found this as a valuable opportunity to show the world that no matter how different anybody looks, that we're just as much of a human being. And in America, we're just as American as anyone else."
While much of the reaction to his long beard and turban has been positive, he says some still look on with fear, especially at airports.
"I got to the gate, and there was this young kid," he says, "and he just looks at me in absolute terror. He says, 'Don't kill me, don't kill me!' "
That was actually a great moment, he says, because he was able to explain who he was and assure the family they had nothing to worry about.
"By the time our plane landed, like, me and that kid were high-fiving and hugging," Kanwardeep says, "and that's sort of the notion that for me, is what it's all about."
[Courtesy: NPR. Edited for sikhchic.com]
August 2, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), August 02, 2013, 4:17 PM.
Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka is one of my favourite Sikh role models.