The racist scribble on the wall of a gurdwara in Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada shocked and distressed city’s Sikh community. Scribbled in black ink, the graffiti read: “Welcome 9-11 Contributors.” It was in view of all worshipers driving to the temple.
Members of the close-knit Sikh community who have been living in the area for decades and visit the temple almost regularly were both shocked to find hatred so near to their abode.
Video footage obtained from the gurudwara confirmed that a man dressed in dark hurriedly wrote the graffiti in the wee hours of the morning.
While they could have reported the matter to the law authorities, what members of the Williams Lake Sikh community did was noteworthy. They offered the suspect to come and have a cup of tea with them so that they can explain their faith better to him.
The local newspaper Haida Gwaii Observer quoted Balhar Dosanjh, a gurdwara member, and a long time Williams Lake resident, as saying: “We are peaceful people. We follow a peaceful religion.”
Dosanjh told the news outlet: “We are peaceful people. If somebody wants to come in and know who we are, what we do and how we preach, they can come in or phone us and have a cup of tea with us. If they spend time with us they will learn … that is my message to everybody. Come in, phone us, we will sit together.”
Back in 2006, the temple suffered a huge arson causing damage of more than $1 million. The community is making an effort to assure that such extreme hatred is rooted out in the bud and there is no repeat of any hate-based violence.
