Leaves Falling From A Tree

“I don’t know what happened, but the kids took my head and banged it into a metallic pole. I just collapsed, and then all those kids ran away. When I got up, my head was throbbing and bleeding.” - Gurwinder Singh, advocate for the Sikh Youth of New York.

Before I pour out my thoughts about this issue, I’d like to give all my love, thoughts, and prayers to those who struggle with bullying. It’s not something anyone should have to go through, and it just ain’t cool. Love to those who are being bullied & love to those who find the need to bully. Everyone has a story, but to cause pain to another isn’t right.

Upon attending a special program (which I don’t wish to elaborate much about) I had the opportunity to watch an interview of the advocate of Sikh Youth of New York named Gurwinder Singh who has faced racial bullying throughout his education. Imagine going through elementary school being taunted for what you look like to middle school for who you are and high school for what you just simply cannot change. But that’s the thing-we sometimes hit this brick wall thinking maybe if we changed, we wouldn’t be punished by others. During this hardship that many people face, they start to lose a sense of who they are, as Gurwinder did. Gurwinder was bullied and the bullying reached such a peak where he was psychically harmed which led to his decision to become “normal”.


To fit into society’s norms, he cut his hair. As Gurwinder’s hair was cut he wrote, ” I thought of leaves falling from a tree, and a tree doesn’t look good without leaves. The leaves make it look more beautiful.” He didn’t understand the importance of his hair until he realized what he had done and how much value it had to his persona. The story takes an amazing turn when Gurwinder, who still faced bullying even after cutting his hair, realized that his hair was a part of who he is and he wouldn’t change for anyone. After such realization, Gurwinder kept his hair once again and decided to take a stand against bullying. According to Gurwinder, more than 65% of the Sikh youth are bullied in schools and the Sikh Coalition in New York has been working hard to overcome this issue and they have pretty much solved lots of cases. Today, he is helping our youth realize that no one is alone, and there is always help out there if needed. Kudos to him!!


Along with that, I also got another opportunity whereby I was able to sit in a discussion at a local rehab center* (for bullying) amongst 10-12 year old kids about bullying. A group of older kids from the program ran the discussion (which was amazing) and I learned a whole lot. One- I was amazed at how our youth was handling the discussion on their own, Two- I was amazed at how much the youths these days knew about bullying and how to put an end to it, and Three- I was amazed at how willing these kids were to not only keep themselves strong but also to help their peers in their struggle. Such a great idea to have the youth to teach the youth. This kind of system creates the ability for kids to actually take leadership and feel like they can take a big role in society. Shout out to each and every one of them for all their effort.

The discussion started off with an ice-breaking session and then they opened the floor about further discussion about on how they’re facing their bully problems. About 90 percent of the kids sitting in the discussion raised their hands and shared their experiences with bullying. Names called and physical threats were all in the midst of this discussion. A few kids also said that their own teachers have called them names, just adding fuel to the fire. I believe legal action can be taken for this and then I got to know, that an average of 16 teachers per month are reported for bullying (mentally and emotionally) and for racism in Malaysia. …Pure disgust .


But once everyone got to say what they wanted about this topic, pamphlets were handed out about information on how to seek for help and what to do when being bullied.The discussion ended on a high note where the youth left feeling like everyone in the room understood each other, and I felt like that was one of the main points of this discussion - to understand that we are never alone.


And yes, I have to mention that all these youths are from vary of race and religions. I had around 35 of them with me, I had Malays, Punjabis, Indians, Christians and a small number of Chinese participants. They all stood for each other without being racist. It was great pleasure meeting all of them, and to know how strong these youths are, is something I am proud of. Very proud actually.

I’d end this by thanking all those who was supporting me through out this programme. Thanks to Gurwinder Singh from the Sikh Youth of New York, also not forgetting the Sikh Coalition of New York. Thanks to the local rehab center for their trust in me. Thanks to all those 35 strongest youths I’v ever met.

And, to whom I may not forget, the most deserving, Thanks a million to God Almighty for this golden opportunity. It was an amazing experience to me. It may seem nothing on the outside, but to share your shoulder with people who really appreciate you is indeed a great feeling. Probably, words could never say enough. Thanks for reading, and we all shall hope for a change.

Signing off with lotsa love, Lyana.