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Voice 1 Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2 And I’m Bruce Gulland. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1 In April 2019, Natasha Badhwar was preparing for a trip. She was going to visit a few small villages in northeastern India with a team of people called the Karwan-e-Mohabbat. In English this means “Caravan of Love”.
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Voice 2 Karwan-e-Mohabbat is a group that supports victims of hate crimes and other injustice. Since 2017, this group travels all around India. They meet with victims of hate crimes. They give legal and social help. On their website, Karwan-e-Mohabbat says that many places they go they meet minorities living in fear. These minorities often accept that hate and violence are a normal part of life for them. And many people in the majority community do not seem to care. What was Badhwar going to do there? Why would she travel with this group?
Voice 1 Today’s Spotlight program is the third in a series of ten programs. In this series of programs, we look at ten ways to fight hate.
Voice 2 Hate is powerful enough to destroy people and communities. So the Southern Poverty Law Center has made a list of ten ways to fight hate in your community. On today’s Spotlight program we will look at the third way to fight hate in your community: Support the Victims.
Voice 1 Natasha Badhwar wrote about her experience on Mint, a news website in India. During her trip, Badhwar met a mother named Manju Devi. Her son had been killed. In her community, it was not permitted for people to fall in love with someone who was not Hindu. People had killed Devi’s son because they thought he was in love with a Muslim girl.
Voice 2 After this attack, there was more violence. Four other Muslim men were killed. Shabnam Khatoon survived this violence. Khatoon said that he did not want revenge for his friends who had been killed. He told Badhwar:
Voice 3 “We want justice. We want peace. Do we not deserve to rebuild our broken lives?”
Voice 1 One of the other members of Badhwar’s group was Mohammad Aamir Khan. He had spent 14 years in prison for a crime he had not done. He spent time locked away alone in solitary confinement. Guards beat him. He had lost his parents. He did not deserve what had happened to him. It was difficult. But he refused to be defeated.
Voice 2 Khan encouraged the victims of hate crimes they met on their trip. After he had been mistreated, he found hope. He had found a greater vision. He told these people not to see themselves as victims who are alone. Instead, he said they should give their support to others who were also hurting. He told them many others do not deserve their hurt.
Voice 1 Badhwar was discouraged by the injustices that she saw on her trip. But she did not give up. She says:
Voice 4 “The healthiest response to frightening or overwhelming information is action. We can step out to face violence and hate. When we do this, we also discover the power and grace of those who stand up to it. We find the strength we were afraid we did not have.”
Voice 2 Hate crimes happen in every country in the world. People attack other people because of the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, their sexual preferences, their abilities, or just because they are different. A person is attacked just because of who they are.
Voice 1 The victims of hate crimes might feel alone and afraid. Sometimes, the victim of a hate crime will refuse to report the hate crime. He may be afraid that he will suffer again. Or he is afraid that the authorities will not help him.
Voice 2 The Southern Poverty Law Center believes that one way to fight hate is to support the victims of hate crimes and hate-based incidents. When a victim feels supported, he is more likely to report a hate-based incident or hate crime. And when victims report hate crimes, communities can do better at preventing future hate crimes.
Voice 1 Victims of hate crimes may feel as if they have no value in a community. So, the people of a community must show that they do value every member of the community.
Voice 2 You can do many things to support victims of hate crime. The SPLC says that even small and simple acts of kindness can make a victim feel as if he has value. A letter, a visit, or a telephone call can show your support and love for a victim of a hate crime. This is what Natasha Badhwar was trying to do. Listening to and being with people who are victims shows that they are valued.
Voice 1 If a hate crime has damaged a person’s property, you can offer to help fix the damage. You could ask other members of the community to help. Help to paint over harmful words. Help to clean up broken glass.
Voice 2 When communities support victims, they help to stop hate. They send a message to hate criminals that they will not accept hate.
Voice 1 If you are a victim of hate, you should not suffer in silence. The SPLC urges you to report your incident to the police. Often, unpunished violence escalates. It grows and gets worse. If it is reported, this can stop the violence before it escalates. You can also report your incident to the local newspaper. If you see a hate crime, you can also report it. Victims should not be the only people speaking out against hate.
Voice 2 Finally, the SPLC encourages people to research their legal rights. Many countries have laws against hate crimes. People who do hate crimes are criminals. The law can punish them.
Voice 1 The fight against hate includes all people. Every person can do something. It is important to act against hate. It is important to join forces against hate. And it is important to support the innocent victims of hate.
Voice 2 This is the third program in a series of 10 programs on 10 ways to fight hate. This list is from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a group that works toward racial justice. They monitor hate crimes, teach tolerance, and seek justice. Here are their ten ways to fight hate.
Act, Join Forces, Support the Victims, Speak Up, Educate Yourself, Create An Alternative, Pressure Leaders, Stay Engaged, Teach Acceptance, and Dig Deeper.
Voice 1 Keep listening to Spotlight to hear the complete series. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook and YouTube.
Voice 2 The writers of this program were Liz Waid and Amelia Berglund. The voices you heard were from The United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called “Ten Ways to Fight Hate: Support the Victims.”
Voice 1 Visit our website to download our free official App for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
Question: What do you think is the best way to support victims of hate crimes?