SAVE THE DATE: 11am on Saturday, 25th Oct 2014, Vancouver
Further details on the Walk are here
You may read this Press Release in Panjabi here
“We will walk not because we can change the perpetrators, but so that the violence will not change us; that we remain a bulwark against forgetting, against silence and against violence,” says Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS International Legal Director
Vancouver, BC, Canada – 23rd Sept 2014
The November 1984 pogroms against Sikhs in Delhi and throughout India are still open wounds. Surviving widows and orphaned children have not received justice, and their voices have not been heard. “Where Are Our Dead” is a UNITED SIKHS documentary that reminds us that the November 84 violence continues today. Watch it here
However, learning from these acts of atrocity, the Sikhs as a community stand with all victims of violence: of hate crime, domestic violence, bullying, drugs, suicide, human trafficking, disappearances, war or genocide. In this spirit, UNITED SIKHS is organizing a Good Will Walk against Violence on, Saturday, 25th Oct 2014, in Vancouver, which will be hosted by the Sikh Community of British Columbia, Canada, who will walk to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Nov 1984 Sikh Genocide.
The Premier of BC, Christy Clark, has been invited to inaugurate the walk. We are inviting participants from the First Nations, congregants from mosques, churches, temples and synagogues, students and NGOs who serve victims of violence. UNITED SIKHS has joined forces with local leaders and organizations to ensure that all cross sections of the community are well represented in this monumental walk whose slogan is ‘End the Silence on Violence’.
“Today we are witnessing the continuing violence against innocent victims in Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine; continued violence against women; and against children traded for slavery and sex. In the response to this we cannot remain silent and so we stand up and say NO,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS International Legal Director, who is organizing the walk.
“All forms of violence is bad. And when we remain silent about it we are as guilty as the violent person. I am participating in the Good Will Walk against Violence because I want to show that I am thriving after surviving horrendous abuse,” said Kamal Kaur Dhillon, whose own experience in the hands of violence has made her an award winning international author-advocate against violence.
UNITED SIKHS has received a very good response from Gurdwaras in BC who will prepare vegetarian roti roll langar which will be served to the public during the walk to promote the community spirit and humanitarianism. They will also arrange for their congregation members to join the Good Will Walk against Violence. We are also visiting schools to enroll students for the Good Will Walk against Violence. We have requested each Sikh walker to invite a non-Sikh neighbour, colleague or friend to join the walk to ensure that a cross section of the community walks to uphold the walk’s slogan: ‘End the Silence on Violence.’
If you would like us to make a presentation about the Good Will Walk against Violence to your group, organization, school or place of worship, email us at gww-canada@unitedsikhs.org.
On behalf of the Sikh community, we ask you to join thousands of walkers in an act of solidarity against violence, from the Totem Poles (Stanley Park) to the Komagata Maru Memorial, Coal Harbour, Vancouver. You may view the Good Will Walk route map here
The Good Will Walk Against Violence Details
Date: Saturday October 25th, 2014 from 11am – 2pm
Starting Point: The Totem Poles, Brockton Point, Stanley Park, Vancouver
Ending Point: The Komagata Maru Memorial Site, Coal Harbour, Vancouver
Previous Similar UNITED SIKHS Projects
The first Good Will Walk organized by UNITED SIKHS, took place in Malaysia in May 2014 and was dedicated to the families of the passengers and crew of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared mid-flight on 8th March 2014. During the Malaysia walk participants walked for ten hours a day and covered 300 kilometers in eight days. Further information about that walk can be found at https://unitedsikhs.org/Good_Will_Walk_2014/.
UNITED SIKHS organized Langar 2012, when 25,000 roti rolls prepared by 20 Gurdwaras were served along a 30 kilometer route, on the day the then 101 year old Bhai Fauja Singh ran with the Olympic torch in London, UK. Further details of this event can be found at https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-20-07-2012-00.html
Issued by –
Mejindarpal Kaur,
International Legal Director
UNITED SIKHS
Gww-canada@unitedsikhs.org
Tel: +1778.833.0973
