United Sikhs, the Sikh Coalition and Saldef, the Sikh American Legal and Defense Fund, issued a statement “unequivocally” condemning the attack, which left 13 dead and 31 wounded.

“We are united in concern and sympathy for the victims and their families, and for the community at Fort Hood,” they said.

But the organisations are also urging members of the Sikh Community to be alert to the possibility of “misguided retributive violence”.

They state: “As Sikhs, we are regrettably aware that, in the past, similar tragedies have led to the scapegoating of entire communities based on actual or perceived ethnicity, religion, and national origin. We call on political leaders, the media, and the public to set a tone of unity as the investigation unfolds and the healing process begins.”

They offer Sikhs advice on how to stay safe, recommending they read Los Angeles police department guidance on Being Street Smart, which can be found online at
http://www.lapdonline.org/prevent_crime/content_basic_view/1370

They call on local Sikh communities to develop proactive relationships with the law enforcement agencies  – including contacting the police, suggesting co-operative measures on hate crime prevention and asking for more frequent patrols around gurdwaras.

The organisations have drafted a message which could be sent out to appropriate bodies. It points out the possibility of a backlash against the Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities and asks that an emergency bulletin be issued to local law enforcement agencies and community members to ensure that police officers and the communities they serve take appropriate precautionary measures.

The organisations are in talks with federal government to implement a national rapid response system that will safeguard vulnerable communities from hate crimes.

United Sikhs are inviting volunteers to join in the preparation and delivery of hot food to rough sleepers and other needy people supported by two sheltered homes, in Bethnal Green and Bow.

United Sikhs volunteer organiser Gurpreet Kaur told Sikhs Online it was hoped that eventually some of the city’s gurdwaras would combine to increase the number of deliveries on a regular basis and give Feed the Hungry a bigger presence among the London welfare charities.

Gurpreet has personally identified a need for weekly deliveries of food to homeless people on the streets and the London Langar group wants to step up the occasional deliveries it makes to the sheltered homes – the Dellow Centre in Wentworth Street, Tower Hamlets, and Heather Lodge in Violet Road, Bow.

Food is dropped off at the Dellow Centre, where the Providence Row charity provides essential services such as food, showers and laundry facilities for people brought low by mental health and substance misuse problems.

Food is both delivered and served at Heather Lodge, which also provides support for people with mental health difficulties.

Gurpreet Kaur, an accountant by profession, has been preparing food and taking it out midweek to rough sleepers in the city since January.

She saw the need for such help after working for four years in the Crisis charity team that provides Christmas shelter and sustenance for the homeless in central London.

Gurpreet, a New Zealander, was struck by the plight of the homeless when she arrived in England because by comparison her home country was free of such visible misfortune.

She said: “I used to give them money but people told me: ‘No, no, no – don’t do that! They will only use it for drugs’.

“Then I came across Crisis and saw how many people were in need of help. And this time December and January were so cold that I decided to carry on helping by making my deliveries to people in the streets once a week.”

She is now well known to rough sleepers in the Strand and Waterloo areas – about 20 in all.

Gurpreet believes that more can be done and is inviting volunteers to contact her on 07904973460.

United Sikhs and London Langar combined to prepare food on Saturday April 11 for a Vasakhi festival distribution.

Gurpreet joined with Vineet Kaur and Rajinder Singh of London Langar for this effort which celebrated the first anniversary of the langar group’s food run to the two sheltered homes. Vineet can be contacted on 07956541536 for more information about the work of London Langar.

She is joining with Vineet Kaur and Rajinder Singh of London Langar for this effort which will celebrate the first anniversary of the langaar group’s food run to the two sheltered homes. Vineet can be contacted on 07956541536 for more information about this charitable endeavour.

Gurpreet said Feed the Hungry would not grow in London without the formation of a sizeable group of volunteers.

Central Gurdwara at 62 Queensdale Road, Shepherds Bush, is among the first to help. It made its langar hall available for food preparation and packing for the Versakhi distribution.

If you would like to help build London’s Feed the Hungry movement, call Gurpreet or email her at gurpreet.kaur@unitedsikhs.org

If you wish to find out more about the services provided for homeless people at the Dellow Centre you can obtain a short film, Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Dignity, from Providence Row by emailing a request to info@providencerow.org.uk

United Sikhs, the international UN affiliated, civil rights and humanitarian relief organisation, has written to the American president-elect Barack Obama pledging its support as part of the ‘citizen’s movement’ he believes he will need to effect change.

The letter is signed by United Sikhs’ president Kuldip Singh, who says the organisation, working for millions of Sikhs and other minorities globally, offers its prayers and support as Obama embarks on the enormous challenge of leading the United States of America, at a time of great challenges.

“We congratulate you on this momentous occasion, and we have high hopes of your administration,” he writes.

The letter continues: “Sikhs, through our principle of Sarbat da Bhalla, for the common good of all, support a broad moral agenda that includes a deep concern for poverty, peacemaking, ethics, equality, and respect for the environment. During the campaign, you said that, if elected, you would face powerful special interests trying to block change, and that you need a citizen’s movement to support and push you.

“Today, United Sikhs pledges to be part of that movement. It will be a movement that will seek social change, community empowerment, and protection of rights, but also hold you accountable to the things you promised. We urge you to give high priority to certain key issues, and we will support you in your efforts to:

• “Overcome poverty among unprivileged people in the United States and around the world. Your efforts to resolve the economic crisis must include those at the bottom, the poorest among us. You pledged during the campaign to mobilize the nation to cut domestic poverty in half in ten years and to implement the Millennium Development Goals to cut extreme global poverty in half.

• “Find better ways than war to resolve the inevitable conflicts in the world. It is time to end war and work towards restoring peace through policies and dialogues. We need better and intelligent foreign policy that is more consistent with our best national values.

• “Promote consistent ethics for all. We must end genocide, mass murder, enforced disappearances, the use of torture, stop secret and unlawful detentions, and the death penalty. We urge you to pursue common ground policies which help bring us together on this divisive issue.

• “Protect religious freedom post 9/11. The world has been gripped by fear since 9/11, which has affected religious minorities, such as the Sikhs, who have suffered attacks on their right to wear their articles of faith at airports, during flights, in schools, at the workplace and in other public places. We turn to you to reverse this tide by turning the clocks back on fear through positive legislation and policies both in the USA and through your foreign policy.

• “Prevent Profiling and Hate Crimes. Despite the Hate Crime Statistics Act, signed into law in 1990, to make hate crimes a federal offence in the USA, these crimes appear to be continuing in the new millennium. We urge you to construct prevention strategies to protect immigrants and ethnically diverse people of the USA and globally through your supportive foreign policy.

• “Reverse the effects of climate change. We need a spiritual commitment to stewardship and national policies that promote safe, clean, and renewable energy. You spoke of job creation and economic renewal with a new ‘green economy’.

“We pray for you and the United States of America. We need your presidential leadership for the transformation of our society, but we promise also to do our part.”

United Sikhs has a powerful voice in the US, working from its New York headquarters, but also maintains offices in India, Malaysia, Ireland, France and Canada.