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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