Thakar Basati
CHICAGO: Vision of Morton Grove, a suburb of Chicago, along with Cook County United against Hate Crimes and Cook County Commissioners Scott Britton and Maggie Trevor hosted successful screening of documentary movie. ” Waking up in Oakcreek ” about a shooting in Oakcreek, Wisconsin state on August 5th, 2012.
It was organized to get to know other communities and how to prevent such incidents from happening. Many other communities were invited. From Sikh community only Thakar Singh Basati, his wife Bibi Rajinder Kaur Basati and S Prempal Singh showed up although invitations went to over 100 Sikhs. One organizer couple said they lived in Morton Grove over 60 years and never had an interaction with a Sikh. Many people asked where they can get more information about Sikhs. Unfortunately there is little available in local libraries about Sikhs.
Thakar Basati knew 7 out of 8 victims. Just 2 weeks before the incident, he was in that Gurdwara Sahib. Eldest victim S Subeg Singh Khatra was from his area in India. Movie is made by S Pardeep Singh Kaleka son of late President S Satwant Singh Kaleka and discusses the whole tragedy along with support by local and national community. Bullet holes from the incident are still lodged in the building. Staff from both Commissioners was also available to listen to community concerns. Much detailed information about various help against hate crimes was shared.
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