Are You a South Asian Hero?

 

(22) Are You A South Asian Hero?

by Fazeel Aziz Chauhan

5-9-97

There is a famous African proverb "Until the lions have their historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter". Being minorities in America, we owe a lot of gratitude to African Americans. We enjoy a lot of freedoms and Civil Rights, because of their hard work. About seven years ago, three or four friends of Indian/Pakistani origin decided to start a community service organization called South Asian Network. This non-profit organization's mission is "People Helping People". The goal is to unite South Asians and network with other communities and organizations to empower people.

SAN is a non-religious organization which strives to overcome barriers of culture, race, country, gender and political orientation. SAN operates in a way which is respectful toward all human beings. They work for social justice and human rights but their main thrust is community outreach. Over the years, hundreds of people have participated and benefited from their programs. Monthly discussion meetings are held to address real issues faced by the common South Asian, such as cultural adjustment, solitude, relationships, conflicts of values and belongingness.

Since about a year ago, SAN's community center has been located right in the heart of the South Asian community in the Cerritos / Artesia area. Hamid Khan is one of the pioneers of SAN. Together with Pam Grewal, Assad Zaidi and other members, they have been doing the courageous and heroic work of reaching out and helping people. They serve as excellent examples of what one or two people can do to make a big difference in someone else's life.

A few days ago, a Free Heath Clinic was organized at SAN's office. The need for this service was realized because of the recent government cutbacks in health care. That eliminated the safety net for a number of people who ended up with no health insurance. Many can't afford to pay the high cost of common medical services. SAN's results were very successful, specially since 90% of the people were in genuine need of health care, because they didn't have it available. A bunch of volunteers showed up to help with various medical tests, as well as with general administration. Some even brought snacks and sweets to serve with the traditional free flowing hot tea.

A few doctors and a nurse volunteered their services to provide physical exams and counseling to the 64 people served. A pediatrician, two general practitioners, a dentist and a psychiatrist examined each person's case thoroughly. Various tests were performed on site and the results were given back right away. People were tested for Blood Cholesterol, Urinalysis, T.B., Blood Glucose, Hepatitis, HIV and Blood Pressure. After each case was evaluated, referrals were provided to the people for no-cost or low-cost health care which is available from various sources in southern California.

Look for the next Free Health Clinic at SAN, in June. Also coming up on May 18, there's a Free Legal Clinic, to help you with such issues as immigration. In the past, SAN has provided free mammograms for women over 40. SAN's ongoing programs also include English classes for senior citizens, Urdu and Yoga Classes, Job Search Workshops, Cultural awareness and much more. Since SAN is a non-profit agency, your Tax-Deductible Donations would be extremely helpful. Volunteers are always encouraged to get involved in "People Helping People".

Often, a person who wants to give back to his community finds that very few open channels exist. Frequently, leadership at our organizations actually discourages people from volunteering. Their scope can also be very limited and disappointing. Our organizations are usually politically oriented or are geared to serve only a subset of the South Asian community. In such an environment, SAN's example of community outreach is a great one.

As South Asians, we need to unite together, especially because of the recent backlash against immigrants in this country. Unfortunately, we often get caught up and focus on our differences. Taking a closer look, we realize that the differences are very little compared to the vast amount of commonalities. I for one, really wish that we could give the benefit of the doubt to the next person, and just draw on the richness of what we can offer to each other. The Jews are an excellent example of a group of people uniting and taking care of the real needs their people. Like Jews, South Asians are settled in all corners of the world. It's a fact that we are extremely spiritual people. Imagine, if we unite that spiritual power, we can truly change the world.

Maybe YOU are the Hero who will get a program started in your local community, to help somebody. Are you going to pass the buck, like the next person? As the Bolivian activist Che Guevarra put it "To be powerful, we have to work together, because by ourselves, we are nothing"