MISTAKEN IDENTITY: A 9/11 Story

UNITED WE STAND...

Discovering Sikhs in America

Six days after 9/11 - six days after the wake of the Attack on America on 11 September 2001, it was 21-year-old Amanda Gesine who phoned me at midnight and said "Did you read there was one Sikh American shot and killed. The Internet news reported " ... he was mistaken for a Arab terrorist simply because he wore a turban and beard for religious reasons."

She felt it was a "senseless murder of 49 year old Balbir Singh in Mesa AZ who was killed by Francisco Roque who called it "a patriotic act".

"We've got to do something ... let's produce the film showing mainstream America who are Sikhs, what is Sikhism and what the Sikhs have contributed to America since 1880s, " she repeated.

We had been discussing the format of the documentary film and the effect of South Asians since day 2, after we learned that the first casualities were young Bangladesh waiters who served breakfast at IT Conference at the World Trade Restaurant in the sky. There was no mention of them in any American media.

By day 6, we found ourselves attending a candle light vigilance in Central Park where some Sikh Americans voiced their deep concerns and the need for greater understanding among their American neighbors. They emphazied the fact that they were next door ethnic immigrant neighbors, friends, business and professional associates and colleagues. American born Sikh children stood with their parents, who had considered themselves as part of the American family - attending public and private schools like all the children of America.

Everyone became conscious of the fact that New Yorkers and the American population needed to be educated. Amanda whispered: "Fear comes from ignorance ... from not knowing nor understanding".

How were we going to produce a film showing the neatly tied turbans and bearded practitioners of the Sikh religion and contrast them against those televised images of Osama Bin Laden, sporting a turban and beard ? He was constantly beamed and flashed across the front pages of newspapers, magazines, radio and TV sets throughout the country ? Bin Laden - the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

We both agreed the primary objective of the TV film program (working title): "Discovering Sikh Americans" - would focus on the inside story of Sikhs living in America, in order to inform, educate and dispel ignorance and fear. It would shed light on their traditional social culture, a 500-year old religion and the historical significance of Sikhism - a way of life. They are 20 million strong living on the sub-Continent of India, while over 250,000 were part of America's mosaic cultural diversity population.