Fellow Community Members Support Victims of Hate Crimes

Community groups with members of south Asian American descent have teamed up with several other civil rights organizations to publicize the news of Indian American from San Francisco, CA who had been the subject of a racial assault during a vacation in Lake Tahoe, CA.

"Hate crimes against any individual of any community are absolutely deplorable and when they happen, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law so the message gets out that this type of incident is not acceptable in our communities," stated Shirin Sinnar, who happens to be the staff attorney for the Asian Law Caucus.

A husband and wife were arraigned on the 22nd of August and charged with hate crimes. 53-year-old Joseph Frank Silva and his wife, Georgia Ruth Silva, 49, were both charged with misdemeanor hate crime charges in El Dorado County Superior Court after the incident that occurred on July 14th of this year. The attack resulted in the victim having broken bones in his face. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Mr. Silva also pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges.

"I've been involved in hate crimes issues since before 9/11," stated Harmeet K. Dhillon, a member of the civil rights committee of the South Asian Bar Association. "I guess my first reaction to this incident was deep disappointment and sadness that so many years after 9/11, which really triggered this wave of hate crimes against South Asians in this country and northern California, these types of incidents are still happening and, if anything, they seem to be accelerating in terms of their number and level of violence."

It is unfortunate that the world has to hear about issues like this one, but hopefully it will raise awareness about the dangers and consequences that hate crimes can create.