Harper’s Air India apology stirs emotions

Surrey, B.C: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology about the Air India disaster reverberated across the country, stirring strong emotions among a new generation of Indo-Canadians.
“It means a lot,” said Romy Jassal, who was only seven at the time of the terrorist bomb explosion.
“I respect it, just in memory of those who passed away,” he said Wednesday at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., moments after the apology was made.
Accompanied by his one-year-old daughter Navaeh and wife Manjit, he said he could not imagine his grief if his family had boarded a plane to India and something happened.
Even though the apology comes 25 years late, it is still important, he said.
Bikramjit Singh Sandhar, president of the temple executive, said the apology extends beyond the families of the victims.
The terrorist bombing has cast a shadow over the entire community. “But we are the same as every other Canadian. We also want answers,” he said.
Several Sikh gurdwaras in Canada held a special 48-hour non-stop reading of Scripture to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the bombing.
As Mr. Harper was delivering his apology at a memorial in Toronto, reader Ranjit Kaur Dhillon was reading Scripture at the Surrey temple.
Sukhminder Singh Virk, who was one at the time of the terrorist bombing, said he learned about the disaster 10 years ago. “For me, it is history” he said.
He had a typical Canadian upbringing and the disaster was not treated as a Canadian tragedy, he said. It was viewed as an Indian tragedy.
The apology is significant but does not remedy all the hurt, Mr. Virk, a member of the temple executive, also said.
“It shows an acknowledgment of what happened,” he said. “But it should not stop there.”
23/06/10 Robert Matas/Globe & Mail

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India - International Jun 2010, Foreign Jun 2010, NACIL Jun 2010, Safety Jun 2010