New York: The Sikh Coalition, a community advocacy group, has launched a video wall inviting website visitors to upload videos and written accounts of backlash discrimination and violence in the post-9/11 environment.
Called Unheard Voices of 9/11 (www.unheardvoicesof911.org), the initiative commemorates the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
One year after the 9/11 attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recorded a 1600 percent increase in the number of reported hate crimes based on bias toward Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim, the coalition said.
To this day, Sikhs continue to be targeted for hate crimes, employment discrimination, and school bullying by ordinary citizens, and profiling by law enforcement agencies, it alleged.
This discrimination occurs because the popular image of the Sikh turban and beard being the face of a terrorist has hardened over the past 10 years, the coalition said.
"Members of the Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian American communities were twice victims of 9/11," said Amardeep Singh, programme director of the Sikh Coalition.
"Like all Americans we endured a horrific attack on our country by terrorists. We also continue to endure backlash discrimination and violence by our fellow Americans. The Unheard Voices project is designed to ensure that our history is documented and that our voices are not ignored."
IANS
First Published: Saturday, September 03, 2011, 11:56