Jun 30, 2008 7:32 pm US/Eastern
NYC Sikh's Fed Up With Harassment
Stage Protest March Through Queens After Another Racial Bias Incident; Study: 2 Of Every 3 Students Provoked
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Some residents in Queens are saying enough is enough after a few students were targeted in school because of their religious beliefs, and Monday staged a protest march.
Even though the offending students were immediately suspended, community leaders are still demanding change.
"What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now," came the chant Monday.
Covered in the turbans protecting their uncut hair, dozens of Sikhs young and old marched through Queens, denouncing what they see as bias and bigotry in the city's schools.
"Sometimes they'd touch me, they'd call me names, they'd tell me I was Osama bin Laden's daughter," former student Tei Kauran said.
Jagmohan Singh, who doesn't speak English, had his turban attacked this month in class.
"The kid came up from behind, removed it. Jagmohan tried to secure it, and the kid put keys between his knuckles and popped him right under the eye, then pulled on his beard, then hit him in the chest," Dalsher Singh said.
Also this month, a 12-year-old had her hair cut by another student who knew it was against her religion.
"When a Sikh's hair is cut it's like literally cutting off a hand. It's an intrinsic part of our body and it's as hurtful an injury as a Sikh can ever have," said Amardeep Singh, executive director of The Sikh Coalition.
The incidents bring to light what marchers say is everyday life in a place of learning.
In fact, organizers say two out of every three students have been subject to harassment or violence inside their own classrooms.
But NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein clams change is already underway.
"We are in fact in the process of promulgating a regulation on this, but let me be unequivocal -- any intolerance is unacceptable," Klein said.
But these Sikhs say the current course of conduct is unacceptable and promise to protest again if necessary.
Some of the changes the school system will bring include handing out anti-bias brochures to all middle and high school students, along with tracking bias related incidents when school opens again in September.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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