Startling perspective uncovered at forum

February 10th, 2006 by admin

By Sheila Reynolds
Black Press
Source: peacearchnews.com
Jan 31 2006

In the past 10 years, there have been 107 Indo-Canadian murders in Canada – an average of one every 45 days.

There were three Indo-Canadian killings in B.C. in the first two weeks of 2006.

It’s estimated there are between 30 and 40 Indo-Canadian gangs in the Lower Mainland. Most of the members are from middle and upper class families.

There was virtual silence as those facts were presented to a standing-room-only crowd of an estimated 150 mostly Indo-Canadian teens in the cafeteria at Surrey’s Tamanawis Secondary last week.

Images of sheet-covered bodies, crime scenes and funerals flashed on a film screen during the youth forum Thursday night.

“We’re all part of the same community,” Punam Mann, a mentorship co-ordinator of VIRSA, said.

VIRSA is an organization formed in 2002 by members of the Sikh community concerned by the escalating violence among youth in that community.

“We’re not going to leave with any magic solutions…but we know every single one of us is going through this in one way or another.”

The purpose of the youth forum was to encourage input from young people in order to improve resources and programs for teens, to steer them away from a life of drugs, gangs and violence – and give them an opportunity to vent about issues affecting them.

The large group of students was broken into smaller discussion groups, based on age or gender.

In one room, a handful of Grade 10 boys spoke on what the gangster lifestyle is all about.

“Money, cars, houses,” one teen said.

“It’s fast cash,” said another.

“They don’t want to work a proper eight-hour-a-day job. They don’t think about it (the violence), they just want the money,” said a young man named Sat, noting most of the parents are from India, where they had to work extremely hard to get ahead.
“We don’t want to have to work as hard.”

They turn to the portrayal of Indo-Canadians in the media.
“They make it look so bad,” a teen said.

“It just gives us all a bad name,” his friend, Robby, added.
In another room, another discussion.

“I feel embarrassed…people look at me in a different way,” said a male student in a co-ed group of Grade 11 and 12 students.

But another teen has a different perspective, saying he looks up to people like murdered gangster Bindy Johal.

“They made a name for brown people.”

“But that’s not a good name,” retorts a girl across the room.

A mentor/volunteer questions whether the young man has ever heard the saying ‘kindness kills.’

“Ya, but revenge is sweet,” he answers. “It’s all about pride.”

Discussions covered everything from the pressure kids feel from traditional parents, to how the support of friends and having a goal in life has helped keep them on the right path – all information which forum facilitators will review in the coming weeks, says VIRSA executive coordinator Simi Brar.

Many teens also said more such conferences would be valuable, something organizers are considering after the success of the Jan. 26 forum, which was planned and publicized in less than two weeks.

“We originally thought we would do it once a year, but now we think maybe we’ll do it at every high school,” Brar said.

For information about VIRSA, phone 604-951-8363 or check out www.virsa.ca

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