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South Asians become targets of worst hostility since Sept, n attacks
On the eve of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), the leading national South Asian advocacy organization, released "Power, Pain, and Potential," the first comprehensive report documenting hate violence and xenophobic political rhetoric against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Arab, Hindu, and Middle Eastern American communities in the U.S. during the 2016 election cycle.
The report examined hostility and intimidation not seen since the backlash after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, with disturbing levels of anti-Muslim intolerance and violence electrified by the most divisive presidential election in modern American history.
The analysis also examined the rapid demographic growth of South Asians throughout the country, notably in the South, where SAALT documented large concentrations of hate violence incidents against South Asian communities and the significant rise of white supremacist groups.
"The unprecedented violence we saw following the September 11 attacks has returned, electrified by a hostile 2016 presidential election," said Suman Raghunathan, executive director of SAALT. "With over 43 million South Asians in the U.S., policymakers must make it a first priority to address and dismantle the paradox of our communities living at the intersection of growth and hate."
SAALT documented 207 incidents of hate violence and xenophobic political rhetoric aimed at these minority communities between Nov. 15,2015 and Nov. 15,2016...