SAALT Summit: ‘We’re in this Thing Together’

Gathering Draws nearly 400 Participants

By Jennie L. Ilustre

The annual National South Asian Summit, held in the nation’s capital April 19-22, drew nearly 400 community and business leaders, educators, lawyers and students from across the country, discussing top issues and holding skill-building advocacy sessions.

Held days after the Boston Marathon tragedy, SAALT leaders sent “our thoughts and prayers to the families” affected by it. The summit theme was In Pursuit of Justice. “We’re in this thing together,” said Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), concluding the all-day sessions on April 20. She added, to applause, “I tweeted that a lot today.”

Technology, particularly Social Media like Twitter and Facebook, has given advocacy organizations, as well as the general public, the tools in fighting for justice in an unprecedentedly collective and instantaneous way. Utilizing the Internet for social justice was one of the sessions’ topics.

When SAALT’s Manar Waheed told participants “how much we’ve grown” as a community, another panelist, Groundswell’s Valarie Kaur,  noted that lawmakers using the Boston tragedy as an argument to resist immigration reform have to contend with technology.

She pointed out: “There is an infrastructure now. We have technology now. We can hold the media accountable now. We can hold our government officials  accountable now.”

Pawanjit Kalra spoke in another panel about hate crimes, and the “amazing” way people came together to help in the healing process after a tragedy. Ms. Kalra started Sikh Healing Collective after the August 2012 Oak Tree mass shooting of Sikhs in a place of worship.

SAALT is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit organization that advocates for the South Asian community. Its goal: To build “a more just and inclusive society” in the country.

SAALT is the coordinating entity of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations. NCSO is a network of  41 organizations that “serve, organize, and advocate” on behalf of the South Asian community nationwide.

ChangeMakers

The summit opened on April 19 with the ChangeMakers Awards reception. Venue was True Reformer Building, located in the District. The awards honor individuals, programs, and organizations that have made a significant impact on social justice in the South Asian community

Recipients included Pramila Jayapal, founder of OneAmerica; Sukhjinder Kaur Dhariwal, a Sikh American public school teacher, served as a critical cultural link between the U.S. Department of Justice and the community following the  Oak Creek, Wisconsin mass shooting last year; and Bupendra Ram, a student activist, advocates for the undocumented, queer and Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities at California State University.

Silk Road Rising, a Chicago-based performance group, uses online videos and theater to tell stories through the eyes of primarily Asian Americans and Middle Eastern Americans. A posthumous award was given to Aparna Sharma. Ms. Sharma was a long-time advocate for immigrant and women’s rights.

An Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill (US Congress) capped the summit activities on April 22. It included  roundtable discussions with representatives from government agencies and the administration. Participants also attended a briefing with top congressional aides of the on the impact of immigration reform on the South Asian community.

 

Youth

SAALT hosted the summit with the South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA), with Benish Anver as president. Sessions took place at American University Washington’s College of Law on April 20-21, as part of the Founder’s Day Celebration.

As usual, the gathering attracted the youth. At well-attended plenary sessions, students and young professionals took part as panelists. They stood up to share their views and experiences on current issues. They actively engaged in Q& A periods. At 9 a.m. on opening day, Victoria Meany and other SAALT interns, were busy signing in attendees. “We have at least 370 participants,” Victoria said later.  People kept coming in till the afternoon.

Participants had over 40 sessions to choose from. The sessions focused on enhancing leadership and organizational skills, expanding networks, and formulating strategies.

Among the topics: Effectively challenging anti-immigration laws; utilizing the Internet for social justice; building multi-racial political alliances in the US; diversifying funding; bringing Art to the struggle; South Asian Queer community-building; and South Asian Seniors concerns.

After the serious sessions, attendees eagerly moved to another venue to take part in Open-Mic Night. Story-tellers, singer and comic wannabees took turns onstage.

 

Collective Healing

In a panel discussion, Pawanjit Kalra recalled how she started Sikh Healing Collective  after the 2012 Oak Tree mass shooting in a place of worship.

She said the response was “amazing” when she emailed-blast a call for medical health professionals: 500 responses the following day. The organization now has 50 health professionals from ten states. “We have South Asian Americans, non-South Asians, Christians – all the barriers came down,” she stressed.

She added: “It’s really something new, a New Frontier. We have built relationships. Whether they’re having nightmares, whatever, they contact us.” Before, she noted, people were hesitant, “because usually, there’s a stigma attached” to mental illness. Now people they’ve helped write to thank them, because “they’re sleeping better.”

The organization has also started a mentor program for children and teens who lost their fathers in the massacre. The program has expanded to leadership and social skills training for the young Sikhs and other South Asians. “We are doing something right,” Ms. Kalra said.

 

Fundraising Tips

“It was very brief, just 8 minutes, but the fund raising one-on-one was useful,” said Lakshmy Parameswaran, board member and Founding member of Daya (Sanskrit for compassion). Based in Houston, Texas, Daya needs an additional $2,000 this year to help women victims of domestic violence. Sunil Oommen also gave her his card, “to contact him for further questions.”

Oommen is Director of Development of A Better Chance, based in New York. He told her that to obtain a first-time grant, her group has to answer the questions: What will you do with the money? Who will benefit? What are the changes necessitating the additional money?

Paramswaran said, “Our clients have increased. Last year, we had 300, and we fielded 5,000 Helpline calls. We are also helping eliminate the stigma attached to this issue.”

She added, “We have to increase our information outreach – a lot of women are not aware of their rights under new laws.” A law was signed recently, granting more protection. It also included protection for the undocumented women suffering from physical violence or verbal abuse from their husbands or other men in their lives.

Since the recession, Oommen said private foundations have limited funds. “It’s easier if your organization has received funding from them through the years. That means you are already in their budget, and that they know about your track record, your accomplishments.”

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