They may be a long plane flight from their birthplace – but they have had enough and feel the need to do something.
You will notice a caravan of vehicles driving through the streets of Penticton Saturday afternoon,
The Penticton Sikh Temple is hosting a car rally, and is asking all members of the Okanagan Sikh Community, and other residents, to come out, get the message, and show their support for farmers dealing with a serious problem back in India.
“I always want to spread the world to let this community know what's happening on the other side of the world, where we came from in India,” said Baljit Bhuhi, who was born in the province of Punjab.
Bhuhi is an executive member of the Penticton Sikh Temple, and owner of the popular Samosa Express truck, which provides free meals to many students in the school district.
Under the new legislation, farmers are free to choose where and at what price they would sell their products.
Stories on the subject can be found at www.republicworld.com.
“The government has passed these bills they feel are going to help farmers, but they will ruin the farmers. They want to set these laws, and farmers are going to lose their land and crops.
“There’s a big Punjabi community here, and we just want to support our brothers and sisters back home and know that we are standing with them.
The rally begins at the Penticton Sikh Temple at 1 pm, travels north through downtown Penticton, and back to Skaha Lake Park for a few speeches at 2 pm.
He insists everything will be peaceful during the car show rally, which he says took place in Surrey as well.
“Everyone is welcome to come out to Skaha Lake Park, which Bhuhi says is spacious enough to allow for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bhuhi believes that, even though the dispute is half a world away, it still affects many people in the Okanagan and British Columbia.
“It’s not just about the farmers back home. Here the farmers are struggling,” said Bhuhi. “We’re just trying to show the local community how the Indian government is treating farmers back there. It shows the local governments that maybe they can put pressure on the Indian government to take these bills back.
“When they’re suffering back home, we always act here.”
For further information on the Penticton Sikh Temple, click here.
