Among the minorities, Sikh community from South Asia is one of the oldest settlers who came to America to live their American dream. They live and abide by true American values. They are hard working, simple, loving members of our community who are known for their valor, humor, duty to their faith and commitment to their family. Their males can be recognized from distance because of their traditional colorful turbans. Their spirited religious festivities are a joy in which to participate.

This past Sunday, I took my friend, current Bothell City Council woman, Tris Samberg, to our local Sikh community temple, Gurdwara, to celebrate their religious festival of Visakhi with them and show our support. We were honored by their warmth and love by all, men and women, young and old alike. We got an intimate peak into our friendly Sikh neighbors who are peace loving, law abiding tax paying integral part of our community. There was joy all around. Visakhi is a Sikh celebration marking the beginning of the harvest season, beginning of Punjabi new year, start of solar year and birth of Khalsa. They allowed us to talk to the audience and offered us their traditional food. We learned the Sikh traditions and left with wonderful memories and lots of love from all of them.

I am grateful to Mr. Dilawar Purhar, Balwant Singh and Jaswander Singh for inviting me to join them in their celebration. I am appreciative of Tris for joining me and show the Sikh community that the Bothell residents are together in supporting our minorities and we are trying everything in our power to make every one feel included and safe. We want everybody in our nation to feel special and have the freedom of speech and freedom to practice their cultural and religious activities without fear like our forefathers envisioned.

I firmly believe that in togetherness lies our strength. In my visit to the Gurdwara, I encouraged my fellow American Sikh community to get active in mainstream community and political activities. I emphasized to them that they must reach out to their city and state leaderships to apprise them of their issues. I encouraged them to register with the King County to caste vote for the right person who will follow their vision into making our city better for them and their future generations. I want every body’s voice heard and include it in the democratic process by participating in community decision making.

Through your platform, I want to thank the Bothell Sikh community for giving me and my friend Tris this opportunity to attend the Visakhi celebrations. I also want to show my support to them as a Bothell city resident and a community volunteer.

Nadia Mustafa, Bothell