As a trainer and volunteer for SALDEF’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program, I can personally attest to the impact and importance of the great work being done in local areas across the country. I have been fortunate to conduct Sikh Awareness trainings for law enforcement across New Jersey for the last 5 years. These annual trainings help build a strong partnership between law enforcement and agencies tasked with protecting the Sikh community and our civil rights, throughout the state.
In all of our trainings, the law enforcement officers and leadership took great interest in trying to understand more about Sikhi and how our beliefs relate to their specific jobs. In the beginning, we noticed a majority were unfamiliar with the religion and articles of faith. As we have conducted more trainings, we have seen the understanding and familiarity with Sikhism grow and law enforcement has had many positive interactions with the community and better understand who we are.
That being said we still have a lot of work to do. Hate crimes and xenophobia have been on the rise throughout our state as well as throughout the country. Sikh Americans deserve to live in peace, to be able to pursue opportunities, and freely practice our religion in this wonderful country we live in – the United States of America.
This is what SALDEF advocates for every day and with your support they will continue to successfully advocate for these ideals in the future.
Please consider making a year-end donation to help continue this important work across the country at www.saldef.org/donate, to ensure other cities, counties, and states have access to information about Sikhs and Sikhi and treat your sangat with the respect and understanding they deserve.
Sincerely,
Kiran Kaur Gill
Won’t you support our work to ensure we can continue these impactful programs? Please consider a monthly contribution of $21, $31, $51, or $101 or a generous year-end contribution to make sure we can continue this work in 2018.
Thank you for investing in our community!