Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)

Creating Safety in the Bay Area, Pakistan, and Around the World

May 13, 2010

Last week, Faisal Shahzad was arrested for allegedly trying to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square. Local and federal branches of U.S. government have responded by spreading hateful messages that feed into a renewed fear of immigrants. These messages put immigrant communities at risk of being targeted by racist violence in the U.S. and our homelands.

Mainstream media and many progressive groups within the U.S. have been noticeably silent about what these messages mean for the safety of immigrant communities in America. The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA) is responding to this silence and countering some of the dangerous statements put out by government officials. Additionally, ASATA shares some thoughts on building the long-term, broad-based, multi-issue alliances needed to counter violent government repression that is currently targeting Muslims, South Asians, Arabs and members of other immigrant communities.

In President Obama’s inauguration speech, he said: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." We agree with that message. But we’re seeing government agencies do the exact opposite.

The coordinators are restructuring ASATA general meetings to make them more exciting and useful for our members :)

Till then, members are welcome to plug into the Education Circle meetings (it meets 2x/month), ASATA's work for the US Social Forum, and our online conversations. We're also hard at work on our member survey, which will help shape the direction of ASATA.

The best place to keep up with all the meetings, events and discussions is our members-only ASATA-internal listserv.

There's also our (high-traffic) Yahoo! group, which has current events from the South Asian diaspora and a whole lot more. Click on the "Get Involved!" link at the top left of this page to sign up.

If you're a member but you're not on the listserv, or if you want to meet up with a coord to share feedback or ask a question, email us at asata_coords@asata.org.

love,

ASATA coords

From Arizona to Afghanistan, No One Is Illegal!

The Land Belongs to the People who Work It!

International Workers Day- Fruitvale Rally and March
Saturday, May 1st

1pm-2pm program at Fruitvale BART Plaza

2pm March to Federal Building

In the midst of national marches for immigration reform, attacks on immigrant communities and working class people still continue.

Please join the ASATA coords for the May Day march and rally for workers rights and immigrant rights: 1pm-2pm at Fruitvale BART Plaza.

An Open Letter to Our Communities
With Love and Solidarity
from The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)

We are saddened to learn about recent violent acts against members of our communities here in the Bay Area. We are equally saddened to learn about some proposed responses that will further attack our communities.

Quick Details:

A coalition of South Asian community members, agencies and allies is hosting a vigil to remember the life of Seetha Vemireddy. One of the many victims of Lakireddy Bali Reddy, she died of carbon monoxide poisoning on November 24, 1999.

November 20th Action
Time: Noon
Location: in front of Pasand Restaurant (2286 Shattuck Ave. near downtown berkeley BART station)

Action: The rally will gather for 20 minutes and then march to Bancroft to the building where Seetha (also referred to as Chanti) died, for a memorial and press conference. (please NOTE we will NOT be traveling to city hall)

As of June 8, 2007…

What happened with the Senate immigration bill:

• Bill was problematic to begin with (see below)
• Bill was made worse by adding anti-immigrant amendments (see below)
• Vote to limit debate (to help speed bill’s passage) failed on June 7
• Senate majority leader Reid tabled further work on the bill
• Immigration reform now stalled, not dead, in Senate — White House and Reid say the bill’s coming back (no timeline, but maybe later in ‘07)

ASATA co-sponsors a new exhibit at the Asian Resource Gallery in Oakland’s Chinatown.

“One Nation Under Surveillance: Reimaging the South Asian Community” opens Thursday, August 10, 2006, at the Asian Resource Gallery in Oakland Chinatown. Opening reception at 6pm with refreshments, performances and film screening of “Punjabi Cab.” Gallery hours: M-F, 9am-6pm, 310 8th St., Oakland. Free.

We’re heartbroken. Birjinder Anant died last week in Oakland.

We knew him as a builder of activist movements, teller of bad jokes, reader of good books, connector of communities, tapper of shoulders, and a good friend to so many of us.

Birjinder has been the heart and soul of ASATA since his first meeting on September 18, 2001. His strength, commitment, and humility were an inspiration to many, and he was a driving force behind much Asian American and South Asian American activist work in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. His loss has truly shaken us. We offer our deepest condolences to others who knew and loved Birjinder as we did.

An earlier version of this article appeared on the front page of Bayosphere

Lodi Revealed
by Mini Kahlon

Bombs in the UK, the shock and fear of my relatives living in London, and my recent trip to Lodi, CA jostle with each other in my mind. Action, Reaction, Reality.

On June 8th, 2005 the media received a copy of an affidavit from the FBI accusing two men they had picked up in the Central Valley town of Lodi, California, of terrorism. As more men (including two imams) were arrested in Lodi, the FBI filed their affidavits with the court. These affidavits did not mention terrorism, but were changed to accuse the men of lying to the FBI. By then, the truth was too late; the media blitz had occurred, and “terror,” “mosque,” “Al Qaeda,” Muslim-sounding names, and the city of Lodi had all been conflated.

This article was widely reposted. It elicited discussion on Sepia Mutiny, Ihsan Blog, SF Bay Area Indymedia, and the Pacific News Service. It also appeared in American Muslim Perspective, Bay Area United Against War Newsletter, Not In Our Name, Infoshop News, Tokyo クリ, and Nha Hang Chay's blog. It has also appeared in India Currents (August 2005), and a different version appeared in Siliconeer (July 2005).

The FBI "Witch-Hunt" in Lodi
by Veena Dubal and Sunaina Maira

On June 7th 2005, national and international media attention focused on the small, agricultural town of Lodi, located approximately forty miles south of Sacramento. The FBI arrested and detained two individuals, both Pakistani-Americans, who they suspected had AL-Qaeda affiliations.

This article has appeared in India West and The Voice of the Turtle.

Very American Crimes
by Raj Patel and Maninder Kahlon

This April, we witnessed that increasingly rare thing in Californian politics -- a good day. On Wednesday 7 April, the mostly African-American and Hispanic residents of Inglewood in Southern California were faced with a ballot measure sponsored by Wal-Mart, an attempt by the corporation to buy its way around democracy, and drop a "supercenter" into the center of Inglewood's community. The community said, overwhelmingly, no. On the same day in San Francisco, in Courtroom #9 of the U.S. District Court, we saw a rather more muted community victory in a civil suit against Lakireddy Bali Reddy. In 1999, when Reddy was Berkeley's richest landlord with an estate valued at $100m, Chanti Pratipatti, a 17 year old girl whom he had trafficked into the country, died of carbon monoxide poisoning in one of his properties. On 7 April, the suit brought by Pratipatti's estate was settled for an undisclosed sum.

This letter to the editor appeared in the October 1, 2003, issue of India Currents. It was selected as the best letter for the month.

NO ON PROPOSITION 54

Coverage of California’s upcoming election has focused mostly on the gubernatorial recall, but there’s another part of the ballot that our community needs to be aware of.

This op-ed was published in the Sikh Sentinel

OP-ED
Vote No on 54!
Birjinder Singh

September 11, 2003: California

With all the media hoopla surrounding the gubernatorial recall vote, a little-known initiative will also be voted upon on October 7. This initiative, known as Proposition 54, spells bad news for Sikhs in California.

ASATA members wrote this piece for the September 2003 issue of Siliconeer magazine.

Vote No! on Prop 54
by Birjinder Anant and Bhavna Shamasunder.

An initiative on the Oct. 7 is receiving little press, but has potentially tremendous consequences for the lives of all Californians. Proposition 54 advocates statewide censorship — a ban on racial and ethnic data collection throughout the state. If enacted, Proposition 54 (CRECNO—Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color, National Origin) would censor essential data collection on public health, employment discrimination, racial profiling, education, and consumer protection. If passed, this initiative would have devastating impacts on the South Asian community, particularly in the areas of health and civil rights.

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.