In An Emotional Address To US Media, Indian Techie's Widow Asks Americans, Do We Belong Here?
The Kansas shoot-out came as a huge jolt to Indians across the world, particularly those living in the US. Trump's 'America first' policy is turning out to be a harsh reality for Indians now. And this is exactly what Sunayana Dumala, wife of the slain Indian techie addressed at a new conference. Her rhetoric. 'Do we belong here?' throws up a number of doubts about the safety of Indians living in the US.
At the conference organised by GPS-maker Garmin, where her husband Srinivas worked, she expressed concerns over the country's plan to mitigate the growing violence against immigrants. Even before the unfortunate shooting at a bar in Olathe city, Dumala had her own apprehensions about continuing life in the US. However, her deceased husband assured her saying that "good things happen in America."
"We always wondered how safe it was to stay in the United States of America, but he always assured me that only good things happen to good people. He did not deserve a death like this." said a grieving Dumala
For now, Consul General of India in Houston, Anupam Ray, is supervising the current situation and providing all possible help+ for the grieving family and the community in Olathe area of Kansas.
The Shooting
On the Wednesday night incident at Austin's Bar and Grill in Olathe, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed while Alok Madasani, an Indian engineer from Hyderabad, was injured. American Ian Grillot, 24, was shot, but survived after he chased down the attacker.
Witnesses say the gunman, Adam Purinton, yelled at the two Indian men to "get out of my country" and opened fire. Purinton, who was arrested five hours later at a bar in Missouri, allegedly told an employee that he needed a place to hide because he had killed two Middle Eastern men. He now remains jailed on murder and attempted murder charges.
After the incident GPS device maker Garmin, the place where Srinivas Kuchibhotla worked, posted their heartfelt condolences on Facebook
Atmosphere of hate and fear
¡°The situation seems to be pretty bad after Trump took over as the US President. I appeal to all the parents in India not to send their children to the US in the present circumstances,¡± Madasani¡¯s father Jaganmohan Reddy told Hindustan Times.
Indian immigrants in the US has spiked from about 200,000 in the 1980s to more than 2 million today, states AP report. But, ever since Trump's inauguration the climate of hate against immigrants only seems to have worsened.
The New Indian Express quoted V Rasagnya, a techie working in New York, as saying,"After Trump came to power, all the hidden racism is being surfaced. Earlier, people never had such feelings to show, but with the Republican President in power, the racial attacks are being perpetrated against Indians and immigrants. This is the darkest time in the history of USA."
RIP #SrinivasKuchibhotla, another victim of a white supremacist terror attack, the kind Trump's Republicans never acknowledge or decry.
¡ª Anil Dash (@anildash) February 24, 2017
