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.

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Brown people STAND UP - Part 2

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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.