NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Date: November 15th, 2005
Contact: Priyanka Sinha (404) 876-0670
Opening
Doors to a Stronger and Healthier South Asian Community
|
NEWS RELEASE |
|
Opening
Doors to a Stronger and Healthier South Asian Community |
Raksha
is concerned that the sting operation called Operation Meth Merchant enforced by Georgia’s law enforcement in conjunction with the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) selectively targeted Indian convenience
storeowners and clerks in North West Georgia.
The operation, directed at 24 stores, resulted in criminal charges
against 48 individuals. Forty-six of those arrested are of Indian descent, and
all but one of the stores targeted is Indian-owned.
Operation
Meth Merchant targeted owners and employees of
convenience stores who were believed to be selling key ingredients for the
making of methamphetamine, an illegal drug. These products included extremely
common and generally harmless, convenience store products such as cooking fuel,
matches, cold medicine, and charcoal.
“I’m
disappointed in the way immigrants have been targeted and blamed for many of
the social problems we have in Georgia. Our communities are being caught
between political agendas that look for quick and easy solutions to social
issues that are far more complex. These tactics leave us paralyzed and
disempowered. This seems really unfair and biased,” says Aparna Bhattacharyya,
Executive Director of Raksha.
From
our conversation with community members, those affected by this operation, and
local Northwest Georgia South Asian residents, Raksha is extremely concerned
that both the investigation and resulting charges in this incident were based
on questionable tactics including the use of a confidential informant with a
history of fraud convictions. In addition, about a dozen, mostly white
American, English-speaking informants who were convicted for the manufacture,
sale and/or consumption of Meth were promised
reductions in their prison sentences if they could make cases against
storeowners that could be “successfully” prosecuted. These informants in turn
found those most vulnerable in these situations – members of the South Asian
immigrant community with limited access to legal or social support, limited
English language skills, and a recent history of experiencing post 9/11
anti-immigrant sentiment. It is highly unlikely that storeowners and clerks
with limited English proficiency could understand the slang terms informants
used to indicate that the purchased products were for manufacturing an illicit
drug, e.g. the use of the word “cook” as slang for making the drug.
Deepa
Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), a
national non-profit advocacy organization, noted, “The U.S.’s drug policies and
enforcement have often had a devastating impact on communities of color whose
voices and political power are marginalized.
We are concerned that with Operation Meth Merchant in Georgia, South Asian community members have become the new targets
in our country’s War on Drugs.”
Indeed,
the real-life consequences of this operation on our community in Georgia are
clear. Now facing up to 25 years in prison as well as heavy fines, those
charged also face the threat of deportation, whether they are guilty or not.
Raksha is concerned about the real consequences of deportation – abandoned
families, fragmented community ties, isolation, extreme economic hardship for
those left behind, women and children with limited access to resources, and
loss of security built here in the US. The spouses, children, and other
relatives of those charged may also experience escalating ostracism and
discrimination from neighbors, schools, and community. This may make them
vulnerable to other forms of victimization
Based on our conversations with our constituency,
including those charged, we are calling on community members to learn more
about this issue and take a stand against this injustice. We are also calling
on national organizations to devote resources to investigating the possibility
of challenging the selective prosecution of the Indian community in these
cases. In collaboration with local and national community and advocacy
organizations and organizers, we will respond to family needs in this time of
crisis and also support initiatives that provide accurate and empowering
education to affected communities.
Raksha is a Georgia-based nonprofit organization
for the South Asian Community. Raksha's mission is to promote a stronger and
healthier South Asian community through confidential support services,
education, and advocacy.
SAALT:
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) is
a national non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the full and equal
participation by South Asians in the civic and political life of the United
States.
Contact:
Deepa Iyer
Executive Director
Phone: 301.589.0389
Fax: 301.562.8155
Email: deepa@saalt.org