Attack on Afghan Sikhs: Call to action by World Sikh Organization

NINETEEN are dead in the July 1 suicide bombing in Jalalabad, Afghanistan and the World Sikh Organization is calling upon the community to contact their local representatives. Devastation and sadness cannot be our only response; it must be followed by action, it says.
Once a thriving population of well over 200,000, Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan now number less than 2,000. Daily persecution and discrimination have forced many of them to flee the country, while others face a reality that for some ends only in death. In 2015, the late Manmeet Singh Bhullar, who was an MLA in Alberta, began what he called ‘his life’s work’ to help Afghan Sikh and Hindu minorities flee the country.
Today, because of Manmeet’s work, over 200 Afghan Sikh refugees in India are awaiting approval of their private sponsorship applications to Canada, and will hopefully soon have the honour of calling this great country their home. We must protect his legacy, says the WSO.
WSO urges the community to contact their local MP and relevant Ministries (contact information can be found below) and let them know that the Government of Canada must recognize Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan as vulnerable minority groups that require immediate Canadian assistance.

Contact information:

Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Email: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Ottawa Office Telephone: 613-992-4211
Constituency Office Telephone: 514-277-6020

Chrystia Freeland
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Email: Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca
Ottawa Office Telephone: 613-992-5234
Constituency Office Telephone: 416-928-1451

Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Email: Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca
Ottawa Office Telephone: 613-995-0777
Constituency Office Telephone: 416-656-2526

Your local Member of Parliament
Find your local MP here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP

 

ON Wednesday, NDP International Human Rights Critic Cheryl Hardcastle issued the following statement regarding the terrorist attack targeting Sikh and Hindu minorities in Afghanistan:

‎”Like all Canadians, New Democrats are alarmed by the recent attack on religious minorities in Afghanistan by ISIS militants. According to reports from hospital officials, up to 19 members of the Sikh and Hindu communities were killed earlier this week in a suicide bombing that was subsequently claimed by ISIS.
“These senseless attacks are a horrific violation of the freedom of religion of Hindus, Sikhs and other religious minorities in Afghanistan. The attacks follow decades of violence and discrimination faced by religious minorities in Afghanistan, leading many to flee the country and leaving only around 1000 members of the Hindu and Sikh communities left.
“Canada must condemn this recent suicide bombing targeting Hindu and Sikh minorities. New Democrats call on the government to speak out forcefully in defence of the rights of all religious minorities in Afghanistan.”

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