LEADERS PLEDGE TO FIGHT HATE CRIME
Cutting across the party lines, people in the United States (US) have called for combating racism, intolerance and violence during the fifth anniversary of the Oak Creek massacre that killed six innocent Sikhs in 2012.
Paul Ryan, speaker of the US House of Representatives, said, “Over the past five years, people of Oak Creek have proved that they’re stronger than hate and division.”
Ryan represents the Congressional district in Wisconsin, six people were killed in a shooting rampage at a gurdwara on August 5, 2012. “Oak Creek was rocked by the heinous attack on the Sikh shrine. Today, we look back on that act of violence with solemn remembrance of those we lost,” Ryan said.
“The Sikh community is in our thoughts,” said senator Ron Johnson. “We join together as one community on the fifth anniversary of the attack. I’m incredibly proud of the Sikh community,” said senator Tammy Baldwin.
“Five years after the senseless shooting in Oak Creek, we must combat racism, intolerance and violence, wherever it exists,” said Grace Meng, Democratic lawmaker from New York.
“Whether it is a gurdwara in Oak Creek, a church in Charleston, or a mosque in Quebec City, an attack on one faith is an attack on all,” said House Democratic chairman Joe Crowley, in a statement.
“A neo-Nazi killed six people at a Sikh shrine, five years ago. Remember Oak Creek and resist hate in all forms,” said Indian-American Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapala.
“The Oak Creek tragedy was a wakeup call for the Sikh community. It needs to engage, educate and empower. Sikhs need to do more on the awareness front,” said Indian-American from Indiana and founderhead of the Sikhs Political Action Committee, Gurinder Singh Khalsa.
THE INCIDENT
Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist, shot and murdered six people and injured four others at a Sikh shrine in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
This was considered as one of the worst shooting incidents in the recent American history. Those killed in the shooting spree were Paramjit Kaur, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, and Suveg Singh.