Four years ago, my father asked me to go to a camp to which I refused initially but he was adamant that I must go. Half-heartedly I filled the forms and a few weeks later, there I was, The 73rd International Sikh Youth Camp.

After the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, I was often labeled with names like “terrorist” and “raghead” because I walked in the community with my father and brother, both wear turbans.

The camp not only emphasizes attaining religious wealth, but at the same time endeavors to surpass old professional achievements and attain new heights by bringing in the most precious value: DISCIPLINE

Communities under attack face the crushing reality that they are being targeted for who they are. Whether through vitriolic cartoons, flag burnings, or gunshots, bigoted violence towards an ethnic, religious, or racial communities constitute a genocide of the spirit - a threat to their very soul.