More
than 90 NRIs have been murdered in the past 10 years
due to gang and drug violence in BC
Vancouver, Aug 20, 2005
Mohinder Chahal
NRI press
More than 90 NRIs have been murdered in the past
10 years, many due to gang and drug violence. There
have been several arrests at the U.S. border of Indo-Canadian
drug couriers, some claiming they were coerced into
the role. An Indo-Canadian, Francis Devandra Raj,
was among the three men arrested last month, accused
of constructing the elaborate smugglers' tunnel under
the border from Raj's property at Aldergrove, B.C.,
to a home in Lynden, Wash
The alarming toll and resulting outcry prompted the
provincial Liberals recently to create the Integrated
Gang Task Force. It now has 50 investigators in place;
20 more will be added by fall. Its first priority
"will be violence and major crimes involving
South Asian, particularly Indo-Canadian crime groups,"
says police spokesman Kirk. The veteran officer draws
on his own upbringing to explain how gang activity
has flourished within a segment of the community.
There used to be a culture of denial about crime,
and a reluctance to seek help from society at large,
he says. "You really didn't want to deal with
it."
Govt.
announce Ten Members
of Group
to prevent gang violence among NRI Canadians
VANCOUVER, August 4, 2005 -- Minister of State (Multiculturalism)
Raymond Chan and Minister of Health Ujjal Dosanjh
today announced the names of those who will make up
the Group of Ten: Integrated Community Response to
South-Asian Youth Violence. The group will bring together
a representative cross-section of community members
from within the South-Asian community to develop,
adopt, and promote an integrated regional action plan
to reduce the violence among young people in the community.
"We have consulted considerably with community,
government and agency stakeholders concerning this
issue and we have heard some great ideas," said
Minister of State Chan. "We must now take the
next step, which is to take those ideas and do something
with them. The Group of Ten will create the strategy
that will implement those solutions to deal with youth
violence in the South-Asian community."
"The progress being made is tremendous,"
said Minister Dosanjh. "The Group of Ten's action
plan will give direction to a community that is committed
to preventing youth violence and providing concrete
recommendations from within the community itself."
The creation fo the Group of Ten is based on a recommendation
from a study entitled South-Asian-Based Group Crime
in British Columbia (1993-2003). The Multiculturalism
Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage commissioned
this study.
Group of Ten: Integrated Community Response to South-Asian
Youth Violence brings together a representative cross-section
of community members to develop, adopt, and promote
an integrated action plan to reduce the incidence
of South-Asian youth violence in the Lower Mainland.
Group of Ten Members
- Kashmir Besla
Counselor for youth, families, and women.
- Rosy Deol
Involved in Four Pillars Community Dialogue sessions.
- Andrea Dulay
Teacher, Delta School District
- Avtar Gosal
Retired; National Vice-President for the National
Indo-Canadian Council and Vancouver Chapter President,
Vice-President India Cultural Centre of Canada,
committee member of Lower Mainland Sikh societies,
Past President of Vancouver Khalsa Diwan Society,
and former Secretary of the East Indian Canadian
Citizens' Welfare Association.
- Sweetie Sanghera
Program Manager of the DEAFBLIND Services Society
of British Columbia
- Sharma Sepia
Community Developer, Vancouver Coastal Health; involved
in the implementation of the South-Asian Information
& Crisis Line.
- Harjit Singh
Degree in Criminal Justice - University College
of the Fraser Valley; author of a report on South-Asian
Gangs in the Lower Mainland.
- Robinder Singh Sandhu
Social Studies Teacher - Vancouver School Board;
former coordinator of a summer "head-start"
program for immigrant children.
- Jet Sunner
Corporal - Richmond RCMP; Team Leader - IZZAT, a
volunteer organization of police officers working
with youth.
- Gary Thandi
Probation Officer - Abbotsford Community Corrections
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