SUPPORT THE 2001 OCTOBER 22ND NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST TO STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, REPRESSION, AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION
Initiated by the Asians for Mumia/Jericho Network, New York
The October 22nd Coalition of New York extends our heartfelt condolences to all the families and victims of the September 11th attacks. We share in the sorrow and pain of the people in this tragedy that took so many innocent lives.
On this October 22nd, we will come together to combat domestic terror against innocent people. This Sixth annual mobilization for the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation is ever more important in light of the heightened repressive climate being put into place in the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedies.
Mayor Giuliani has called for a return to normalcy at this time of grief. However, for those of us who are the most vulnerable in society -- the poor, the youth, people of color, and immigrants -- we cannot afford to suffer amnesia. For us, normalcy means the continued repressive climate of racism and brutality. In the 1990's alone, over 2000 people were killed by the police in this country, as documented in the book Stolen Lives: Killed by Law Enforcement.
The increase in racial profiling and scapegoating of Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians should signal to us that this is a stepped-up continuation of past practices. Since 1996, the legal framework exists to easily imprison and deport immigrants. For even the slightest reasons, immigrants could be wrestled away from their families to spend two years or more in jail waiting for deportation, and the current proposal calls for indefinite detention of immigrants. The new set of legislation being rushed through congress will effectively strip away any due process of immigrants suspected of being "terrorists" -- a definition so broad as to include someone throwing a stone through a window. The INS's increased powers to monitor foreign students and non-permanent immigrants will have a paralyzing effect on any political activity by immigrants. The general crackdown on visa violations has had a severe impact on undocumented immigrants -- so much so that some have even lost their livelihood because they are afraid to travel through heavily policed and patrolled areas.
Let us not forget the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Let us not forget that just last year, Wen Ho Lee, a nuclear scientist working for the U.S. government, was accused of espionage and held without trial for months. Let us not forget the murder of Vincent Chin in the 1980's, a Chinese American who was beaten to death by two unemployed auto workers because they thought he was a "jap."
Presently, the Filipino community in Jersey City is subjected to racial profiling and harassment by the police. This is in retaliation for the alleged murder of a cop by two Filipino brothers, Benjamin and Alfredo Gavina. As is usually done in such cases, the police and mainstream media have distorted the facts and obscured the brothers' pleas of self-defense.
On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, an Indian Sikh, was fatally shot at his Chevron gas station in Arizona. Twenty minutes later, the same gunman shot at a clerk of Lebanese descent at a Mobil station and then continued his rampage at the home of an Afghani family. In a separate incident on the same day, Adelal Karas, an Egyptian Christian, was fatally shot at a convenience store in California, where a considerable amount of money was left in the cash register.
As Asians, we have much at stake in this anti-immigrant backlash. As the government's response to September 11th intensifies, so will the brutality against Arabs, Muslims, South Asians, and anyone else perceived to be foreign. Racist terror will be justified in the name of national security and unity. As he was being handcuffed, the gunman who killed Balbir Singh Sodhi said "I stand for America all the way."
Amidst the drunkenness of patriotism, there are the muted voices of dissent. Reporters have been fired for making "inappropriate" remarks. Ari Fleischer, the White House Secretary, warned all Americans that in times like these, "people have to watch what they say and what they do." Again, let us not forget the government's continued efforts to silence the voice of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has spent 20 years on death row. It is a chilling statement that Tom Ridge, the man who has signed two death warrants for Mumia, is the new head of "homeland security."
Racist terror is a recurring theme in U.S. history. So too is the resistance against such injustices by the people. We Asians are a growing voice in this movement of resistance against repression. We cannot stand aside and allow our voices to be silenced.
On October 22nd, the National Day of Protest, there will be Asian contingents around the country to protest the climate of police brutality and repression. The families of people killed by police will be out there, and as we mourn for those innocent lives lost at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we also mourn for those innocent lives lost from police brutality and racist attacks. We will stand firmly against these attacks and refocus our struggle against further repression.
On to October 22nd!
*Contact the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality: New York 212-673-6008 * email: Oct22ny@yahoo.com National 888-NO BRUTALITY * http://www.October22.org
*Contact Asians for Mumia/Jericho Network (New York) 917 421 3007 x2431 * email: asiansformumia@excite.com P.O. Box 520021, Flushing, NY 11352
Special note: Endorsements to this statement may be sent to the attention of Asians for Mumia/Jericho Network at asiansformumia@excite.com, or to office@october22.org
[posted 10/18/01]
Stop Police Brutality index | R&R Main Page
Join Refuse
& Resist!
305 Madison Ave., Suite 1166, New York, NY 10165
Phone: 212-713-5657
email: info@refuseandresist.org