(Image source from: White house assured Safety & Security to American-Sikhs})
American-Sikhs are assured of their Safety & Security from the White House. The move is in wake of the rising number of hate crimes against the Sikh community. The reassurance message was conveyed by Melissa Rogers, President Barak Obama’s special assistant and head of the office of faith based and neighbourhood partnerships office of the White House. She delivered the message during her visit to a Gurudwara situated in Maryland.
Rogers assured the community people that, the US government is always standing with the Sikhs. Mentioning the recently held hate crimes against community members, she expressed sympathy with the Sikh people.
Rogers said while addressing the Sikh community at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF) Gurdwara (GGSF) that, "I want to offer our deepest condolences for some recent violence and attacks against Sikhs and Sikh institutions. These reports are of tremendous concern to us as we, they are to you. We feel a deep sense of loss for victims of these crimes. When these kinds of things happen there is a kind of deep sense of violation and anxiety. We want you to know that we stand by with you during these challenging times," she added.
She said that, such incidents are a big threat to the country despite causing great sorrow to the victims and their surroundings. Diversity of people provides strength to the country, she added.
She said that, "We want you to know that we stand by you and we will continue to work until we stamp these incidents out. Like you, we believe that an attack on any faith is an attack on every faith. It is essential that all faith communities here and all over the world stand against hate motivated violence. We will continue to stand with you and we will continue to work to ensure that security and your civil, constitutional rights are protected," she added. Rogers said in her remark that, "Sikh community has shown tremendous resilience in the face of challenges and I am confident that you will triumph and we will be there with you to triumph over the current challenges that we face together."
Nandini
