Thursday, April 21, 2011

Yes We Can?


Tonight was a pretty big night for me. I got to see Obama live and in person...well not too personal, it was in a huge room with hundreds of other people. Still it was my first time seeing a president speak. I mean I've seen Bill Clinton a few times, but that was post-presidency. And if I ever saw George W. Bush, I probably would have lobbed a shoe at him and been tackled pronto.

Oh Bush, I still rage at you with my loafer

But back to Obama. I had mixed feelings about seeing him. When he first came into office, I remember watching his victory on TV in San Bernardino, CA with my father. I kept jumping up and down shrieking like a pre-teen boy band fan in excitement as his win became imminent. When Obama stood with his family and waved to the crowd after he won the election, my father, a 5o+ something Bangladeshi immigrant, started waving back at the TV. It still strikes me deep in my heart when I think of this moment, and what it meant to us.

Fast forward to tonight. Honestly part of me didn't feel so enthusiastic about attending. Although I was happy with many of the major reforms he was able to put forth, I was sorely disappointed about his stances (or lack thereof) on immigration issues, on the cuts to planned parenthood as the rights of women are in danger of being rolled back (particularly the rights of low income women) and how economic issues are being handled. Regardless, I still support him in a mopey way, so off to the Masonic Temple in San Francisco I went, along with my good friend Nwe Oo and my new friend Deborah Matthews.


Goapele, the neo-soul songstress from Oakland, performed before his speech and she was absolutely riveting. She sang Sam Cooke's " A Change is Gonna come" and it just sent chills down my back. The music in the auditorium before Goapele and after was funky. I was surprised to hear House of Pain and Montell Jordan, but hey, what other politician besides Obama can get away with playing that stuff?

Goapele being her usual breathtaking self

Oh and I got to shake Lietenant Governor and Former SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's hand, and I told him that I expected him to run for governor in four years. He laughed. The man looks like a ken doll and he's like 7 feet tall (at least to me he was).

Obama's speech was nice, I mean the guy speaks eloquently. What impacted me more than the speech was the way he admitted to the problems that were out there, and how more work needs to be done. He even jokingly called out the audience saying that he knew the "armchair political consultants" were out there. He pointed out the successes on health care reform, repealing "don't ask don't tell", and working to pull the economy out of recession. He did also admit to work that needs to be done to stop tax cuts to the wealthy (he included himself within this classificaton) and women's rights issues, among others.

We did...now what?

More than Obama himself, my attention was drawn to the crowd. It was very diverse, with faces of all colors, ages, fashion styles and yes, even economic backgrounds. I saw kids from YMCA programs attending and just a sea of colors around me. Yes it's San Francisco, but the variety of people that came out for a political event really made an impression on me. As I watched Obama speak, I looked at Nwe sitting beside me, who came to the US 5 years ago as a refugee. She was so excited to see him speak that you could just see the happiness radiating from her face when she listened to his words. The reaction, smiles and laughter of the crowd in support of our president was really what impressed me, and I hope that Mr. Obama saw the same spirit in the crowd that I did.

I'll end this entry with a quote of his from the night that I thought really rang true
"Everybody likes change in its abstract form, but change in the concrete is difficult"

It is hard Mr. President, but here's to hoping that there's more of it as your administration goes onto and hopefully beyond 2012.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Brown people STAND UP - Part 1

Last week I attended the SAALT Summit in Washington DC. SAALT is the acronym for South Asian Americans Leading Together, a group I affectionately describe as "the NAACP for Brown people". They do work from a social justice and civil rights framework and every two years they bring together South Asian activists, advocates and community members from all over the country for the summit.
I went to my first summit two years ago, when I worked as an advocate at Manavi, an NJ based organization that works to end violence against women in the South Asian community. This year however, I was representing myself and my blog Us Ordinary People, which I would be discussing at a panel session . This was my first time being a panelist at a conference so I was super excited.
The main theme at this years Summit was the 10 year anniversary of September 11 and what has changed in these 10 years. The issues that plagued the South Asian community when 9/11 hit are sadly the same issues today. Islamaphobia is rampant, and the recent shooting and deaths of two elderly Sikh men in Sacramento was one incident that highlighted this. Though the mood of the conference was friendly and unified, I sensed a somber air during the weekend. Issues regarding the rising number of deportations and the cutting down of labor rights added the sense of overwhelming odds for the movement as a whole. During my panel on community documenting, the need to document the stories of individuals and communities facing these issues was apparent. Alongside me in my panel were Dinu Ahmed and Moumita Zaman from Khadija's Caravan, an organization that provides photography workshop series for young Muslim youth in NYC, and Luna Ranjit from Aadikar, a Nepali human rights organization. All three of us were providing documentation in different ways, but the need was clear. If we did not provide the opportunity to tell these stories, then perhaps nobody would. I went to a few other workshops, but I must say that the highlight of my day was just lounging around with other activists. I made new friends, reconnected with people I knew before and I took a TON of pictures (as usual). I met the other co founder of NYTWA, Javaid Tariq, and we shared our love of photography and human rights. Seriously, with my hectic East coast trip, it was nice to just relax for a bit and actually connect with people, which I don't think always happens at conferences. I also loved listening to people tell me about their work, the passion behind what they do is apparent and it really pushes me to work towards my passions to help others as well.

The next day had some open circle discussions and roundtables with government agencies such as Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. I always love the open sessions at the Summit. It's really a chance to sort of kick back, sit in a circle and just share different perspectives. I attended an open space session on art due to my interest in photography. From radio hosts, filmmakers and playwrights, it was an awesome session where I was able to exchange e-mails and ideas with other artists. Afterward I attended the government roundtables, focusing on the ones relating to Immigration and Civil Rights Issues. I often wish that there was some way to work with the government instead of feeling like I am constantly fighting against government policies and budget cuts. I do feel that SAALT is taking the right steps to build those bridges between government and civic groups, this bridge building could be seen at the roundtables, as well as the next and final day of the summit, where summit attendees were able to advocate on capital hill at the house of representatives.

Article continued on next post...

Brown people STAND UP - Part 2

continued...

The final day of the summit was Advocacy Day, where summit participants and I had the opportunity to go to the offices of our elected officials and represent the interests of our communities. The day started with an troubling incident when some summit attendees and I came across members of the Sikh Coalition who were stopped and questioned by DC police for "suspicious activity". Many of those being questioned were lawyers, and some were wearing turbans. You can read about the incident on the Sikh Coalition blog. Luckily, once this incident was resolved, the rest of the day took a more positive turn.

The opening briefing started with an address by Congresswoman Judy Chu from California, the first Chinese American Woman to be elected to Congress. The briefing also included both community leaders and members who have faced and are facing the repercussions of 9/11. One particularly poignant moment occurred when the mother of a young Muslim man who was killed at ground zero spoke about her son, Mohammad Hamdani. Mohammad was 23 years old when he went to ground zero to help survivors after the planes hit. He was tragically killed when the towers came down. After the incident, officials and some media outlets pegged her son as a potential terrorist based solely on his Muslim background, Weeks later, his remains were confirmed and he was vindicated as a hero instead of being vilified as a terrorist. His mother, Talat Hamdani, started off with quiet tears, as any mother would after facing such a tragedy. Her tears came out again which she spoke highly of Congressman Keith Ellison, who mentioned Mohammads story during the infamous King hearings about the radicalization of Muslims in America. Ms. Hamdani also spoke of how her husband passed away just a few years after her son since he could no longer take the grief. This was a woman who lost almost everything due to 9/11, she was Muslim and American and her story is one that I wish everyone
would know. It was amazing to see her advocating on behalf of the memory of her son and for the families of September 11 victims. During this session, I also met some members of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) a membership led organization that works for the rights of working class South Asians in NYC. One member of DRUM was Shaheena Parvez whose son Shahawar Matin is serving a 30 year sentence for allegedly becoming involved in a terrorism plot in NYC. With a mix of broken English and Urdu ( which I vaguely understand) she told me briefly about her sons story. A Bangladeshi woman, who had also come along with DRUM, helped to translate for Shaheena. Shaheena told me to look up her son's story, she spoke of how agents had harassed her son and through entrapment had him arrested on terrorism charges. She told me "my son do nothing wrong". I took some photos with her along with Talat Hamdani, and it was heartbreaking yet uplifting to see these women, who had both lost sons to the effects of terrorism and the "fight" against terrorism come together and support each other at the Summit. Moments like these were truly the most valuable experiences for me that weekend.
After the briefings, it was off to Capitol Hill to get our advocacy on. I was assigned as the facilitator for my group, which in itself was very exciting, since I've never facilitated any congressional visits prior to this! I was able to go to the Congressional office of Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California and Rep. Keith Ellison (!) of Minnesota. Congressman Keith Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and is one of my congressional heroes. During the King hearings, Ellison stood up to the institutionalized Islamaphobia presented at the session and at one point his voice even broke when he was on the Congressional floor as he responded to the hearings. My advocacy group and I met with Congressional staff members of each Representative and expressed our group concerns with profiling, anti bullying legislation and anti immigrant policies that are having a negative impact on our communities.

As the day came to a close, I bid a tired farewell to my fellow summit attendees, took off my heels and walked barefoot through the cherry blossom petals in front of the Capital Hill Lawn. It was a warm and beautiful day, with tourists mulling about and cherry blossoms in full bloom. I felt grateful to have made amazing connections during the summit and I felt comforted to know that I am part of a network that can and is making this country a better place. There are so many challenges ahead, but it is nice to know that I will be facing these challenges with my friends and colleagues by my side.