A special day for ‘the Sikh. A community of Montreal will make Christmas more special for thousands of Montrealians down on their luck.
In a display of charity Sun Youth Organization founder Sid Stevens called unprecedented, the Sikh community of Gurdwara Sahib Temple on Wellington St. turned over 8,000 packages of food for Sun Youth’s Christmas baskets for the needy.
Stevens and Gerry Weiner, federal minister of state for Immigration, were at the temple for the Presentation, which coincided with celebrations marking the 518th birthday of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak.
Weiner said the Sikhs’ kind ‘gesture “brings tears to the eyes”,
“I’m proud of the contribution they’re making. Almost all of them make a tremendous contribution to society,” he said.
“There should be more of a reaching out by the rest of us to find out more what they are all about.
Stevens said no community group had ever contributed so much food at once to Sun Youth. He estimated the value of $10,000.
All Sun Youth did was offer its help to the 174 Sikhs who claimed refugee status after landing off the coast of Nova Scotia in July, Stevens said. That help was not required, however, since most re fugues preceded from Nova Scotia to Vancouver and Toronto.
Sikh spokesman Baljinder Sandhu noted that Sikhs in Canada would “like to turn around” the negative image they’ve had to en due in recent years.
The controversial arrival of the would-be refugees came after the June, 1985, bombing of an Air India jetliner, blamed falsely on Sikhs.
“We’re not doing this strictly to counteract that,” Sandhu said.
“It’s to show what Sikhs stand for “It’s the basis of Sikh religion to help people who need help,” added Inderal Singh, another community leader.
Montreal’s Sikh community to tales about 10,000.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 20, 1987
