Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)

Pakistan Link
"AMV Workshop on Impact of Special INS Registration"
June 18, 2004
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2004/June04/18/06.html

San Francisco: The Second South Asian Progressive Conference was held on May 23, 2004 in San Francisco. The conference was attended by over a hundred people, primarily activists from the Bay Area. The focus of the conference was on brainstorming to build a strong and vibrant South Asian community.

Inter-community groups from South Asia and U.S. celebrate victory, and sound alarm, in campaign against Federal Immigration Discrimination.

San Francisco, California - On the announcement by the Department of Homeland Security on Dec 2nd of the dismantling of portions of 'special' registration, Bay Area Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and South Asian Americans celebrated the success of their united opposition to the program, while alerting the community to the program's continued dangers.

Exodus (published by the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant)
"Focus on EBSC Law Students: An Interview with Rupneet Sidhu"
August 2003
by Kathryn Fischer
http://www.eastbaysanctuary.org/Exodus200308.pdf

After spending only a few hours with Rupneet Sidhu over a cup of coffee, I knew how lucky EBSC is to have her. Going into her third year at UC Hastings Law School, she is kind, intelligent, and above all, committed to working with asylum seekers. As Rupneet said, “I was interested in hearing people’s stories. I like to hear people tell their history.” It was also immediately clear that Rupneet has a great sense of humor. In explaining why she was drawn to immigration law she said, laughing, “Because I’m an immigrant. Just like if I were a criminal I’d be interested in criminal justice!” Besides her humor,one of the reasons I enjoyed speaking with Rupneet so much was the richness she brought to each topic we touched upon, challenging me to rethink familiar assumptions.

India-West
"INS Registration Deadline Ends With Vigil"
May 2, 2003
by Sunil Adam

The gentle drizzle downtown failed to dampen activists of a medley of civil rights organizations, including a couple of South Asian groups, who held a vigil outside the INS office April 25.

Their few numbers, less than 100 (not including the many journalists present), were more than made up for by the volunteers' enthusiasm and obvious commitment to the cause they had come to espouse: Protest against the INS' "special registration" measure for people of select nationalities, more precisely, immigrant men from predominantly Muslim countries. The Friday deadline, the last of the five Federal deadlines, was meant for nationals from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Movement Formations: Bi-National Research Project on Social Change Initiatives in the Philippines and the United States
May 2003
by Francis Calpotura
http://www.arc.org/Pages/pubs/movementform.html

Pakistani Ambassador Calls for Humane Treatment

Pakistanis undergoing the special registration process,” Ambasador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi assures the packed crowd of his fellow countrymen at a meeting in Washington, DC in January 5, 2003. “We are here. Call us whenever you want.” Before the meeting ended, Ambassador Qazi promised to provide free legal assistance, disseminate relevant information through their website and community newspapers, and pledged to urge Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf to talk to President Bush about their concerns.

This piece originally appeared in the April 2003 issue of "The Force," the newsletter of Asian and Pacific Islanders for Community Empowerment (API ForCE)

ASATA, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, was formed 3 years ago, to address oppression and exploitation within and against the South Asian community. After September 11th, 2001, South Asian, Arab and Muslim communities faced a sharp increase in hate violence. ASATA immediately began working to educate community members on their rights and act as their advocate through media and youth programs. Simultaneously, ASATA recognized that the hostility against Muslims in the United States only served to aggravate the environment of increased violence against Muslims in South Asia. Although ASATA continued to focus explicitly on antagonism against Muslims in the U.S., these connections in anti-Muslim sentiment around the world provided broader context for its work.

San Francisco Chronicle
"Men from Muslim countries face deadline: Pakistanis, Saudis on temporary visas must report to immigration"
March 20, 2003
by Anastasia Hendrix

Friday is the third in a continuing series of special registration deadlines imposed by the Justice Department requiring that men from predominantly Muslim countries be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by immigration officials.

Sacramento Bee
"Pakistanis fleeing to Canada as registration deadline nears"
March 20, 2003
by Emily Bazar

Hundreds of Pakistani families from California to New York are fleeing to Canada, fearful that they would be jailed or deported if they complied with an end-of-week deadline to register with the federal government.

Friday's deadline for men from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has spurred an exodus, primarily on the East Coast, that has inundated refugee relief organizations in Vermont, New York and elsewhere.

San Francisco Chronicle
"Pakistanis, Saudis on temporary visas must report to immigration"
March 20, 2003
by Anastasia Hendrix
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/20/BA262510.DTL

Friday is the third in a continuing series of special registration deadlines imposed by the Justice Department requiring that men from predominantly Muslim countries be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by immigration officials.

AsianWeek
"Community Organizes Legal Clinics for Bangladeshis; Special registration deadline approaching quickly"
by Jennifer May Yuen
February 26, 2003

Ekushe February will carry a greater importance for the Bay Area's Bangladeshi community this year.

Feb. 21, Ekushe February -- a cultural holiday in Bangladesh -- commemorates the lives sacrificed to make Bengali one of the national languages when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. The West Pakistani regime tried to enforce Urdu as the national language, a move strongly contested by Bengalis. On Feb. 21, 1952, a procession by Bengalis was shot at by police, resulting in four deaths. The nascent Bengali -nationalism ultimately gave birth to the free nation of Bangladesh.

India-West
"Bay Area Activists Meet to Discuss War, INS Measures"
February 21, 2003
by Ashfaque Swapan

SAN FRANCISCO -- On a weekend afternoon at the California Institute of Integral Studies here Jan. 25, about 25 people sat huddled in a small triangular room lined with book-filled shelves.

During an animated discussion, participants discussed the challenge of involving the South Asian community in activities that they considered particularly important, in this case protesting the possible U.S. attack on Iraq and confronting what most considered an ethnic witchhunt by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

KPFA Apex Express
February 13, 2003 7:00-8:00pm

Vivek from ASATA and Rakesh from Trikone spoke about the South Asian Progressive Conference; Vivek discussed ASATA's work around special registration.

KPFA, APEX EXPRESS: 94.1 FM

Starting this Thursday, Feb 13th 7pm-8pm, kpfa radio 94.1 fm hosts a series called "Civil Liberties Showdown". The first of the series begins with members of the South Asian community filling us in on the South Asian progressive conference and also addressing issues around social justice for those deemed detainable in this time of fear and flag-waving.

AsianWeek
"Communities Brace for Second INS Registration Deadline"
Jan. 10 - Jan. 16, 2003
by Shirley Lin
http://www.asianweek.com/2003_01_10/news_ins.html

Husain Qazi, a Jackson Heights jewelry store owner from Pakistan, could hardly contain his anger at the Immigration and Naturalization Services’ latest initiative aimed at Muslim communities.

“You have successfully tried to harass people, snatching food from the mouths of families, you have done what you wanted, Bush. But you forget that our ancestors tried to bury this racism years ago,” he said, referring to the hard-won gains of the civil rights movement.