WASHINGTON DC: The United States Department of Homeland Security released a poster on Monday to be distributed to 8,700 federal government facilities to sensitise security personnel, law enforcement agencies and airport security screeners about the Sikh religion and the significance of the Kirpan, the dagger worn by practicing Sikhs that represents the principle of upholding justice.
The poster was jointly designed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF), a Washington-based advocacy group.
“It is a tremendous accomplishment,” says SALDEF Chairperson Manjit Singh. “For over 100 years, we were just another invisible immigrant community. However, since the events of 9/11, Sikh Americans have undergone various negative experiences because of their turbans and the kirpan. This will, hopefully, no longer be the case.”
The poster shows six photographs - three of various kinds of the Kirpan and three of Sikh Americans wearing it in different positions.
“The kirpan was causing problems for security screeners,” says Singh. “There have been several incidences of mistreatment and harassment. We would file formal complaints, but the incidents continued.”
SALDEF worked on the poster for six months this year before it was finally approved for distribution.
“It was an arduous process,” says Singh. “We had to go undergo several language, design and photograph changes before we agreed upon the poster.”
Singh feels that it will take around three to six months before the poster would take effect in the minds of the over 50,000 airport screeners and the security personnel affiliated to the Federal Protective Service.
“We were encouraged by the response to the previous poster we created in 2004 which informed them about our turbans. I remember a Sikh musician from Australia who complained that airport security screeners asked him to remove his turban when he landed in Los Angeles in 2003. The next year, the same immigration officials greeted him ‘Sat Sri Akal’.”
Singh hopes that this poster will be that crucial step forward in bringing the American community closer to Sikh Americans. “I am sure we will see a marked difference in how we are viewed.”
