Sikh kids in US target of hate: Survey

Washington, USA: More than half of Sikh children in US schools endure bullying with over twothirds of turbaned Sikh children among its worst victims, according to a new national report.

Sikh children have been punched kicked, and had their turbans ripped off by fellow students, it found.

The report is based on surveys and focus groups of over 700 Sikh school children and interviews of over 50 Sikh students in Seattle, Indianapolis, Boston, and Fresno, California metropolitan Areas and is titled “Go Home Terrorist,” – A Report on Bullying Against Sikh American School Children,” was released last week on Capitol Hill. The bullying of Sikh children is often associated with post9/11 bias, the report found with epithets such as “terrorist” or “Bin Laden” frequently accompanying verbal and physical abuse. According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, 32% of all students aged 12 to 18 report that they are bullied in school.

Turbaned Sikh children therefore likely experience bullying at more than double the national rate, the report said.

Consistently Sikh children have called on educators and administrators to teach more about Sikhs and the Sikh religion in order to build understanding in school, it noted.

The report cites lack of federal data on the bullying of Sikh school children as a systematic concern that should be addressed in order to better diagnose and target efforts to solve the issue.

Source: HT