Community Corner
One Year Later, Sikh Temple Members Try To Heal, Move Forward
A year after the attack that left six people dead, the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin continues to heal.
The last time Pardeep Kaleka saw his father was Aug. 3, 2012, when his dad helped him celebrate his birthday.
He remembers the little things, like his dad using a knife to serve him a piece of birthday cake.
"He often improvised when he didn't have a fork," Kaleka told a crowd at a memorial 6K run Saturday.
Two days later, a white supremacist killed Satwant Singh Kaleka in the temple he built, moments after Kaleka rushed the gunman with a butterknife trying to protect other worshippers.
The shooter, Wade Michael Page, also took the lives of Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Paramjit Kaur and Suveg Singh. He injured several others, including Punjab Singh, who remains in a rehab facility unable to communicate, as well as the first responding police officer to the scene, Brian Murphy.
Monday marks exactly one year since the attack. For family members of those killed, they have now gone through a year's worth of birthdays, holidays and anniversaries without their loved ones.
"Some days are better than others," Kaleka said.
In the last year, Pardeep and his brother, Amardeep, have tried to channel their grief and anger over the shooting into something positive. They have both pushed for government leaders to come up with solutions to gun violence, and Pardeep helped found a nonprofit organization called Serve 2 Unite.
Still, it's been challenging to work through the stages of grief, Amardeep said in an interview.
"It feels like it was 10 years ago," Amardeep said.
Kamal Saini saw his mother at 10 a.m. that Sunday, just 25 minutes before the shooting started. The shooting is still "fresh in our minds and fresh in our hearts," he said.
"She was a great woman. She was very unselfish. I'm sure she's very proud of my brother and I both," he said at Saturday's 6K.
The anniversary has affected temple members in different ways, temple President Kulwant S. Dahliwal said. It's hit family members of victims the hardest, but it's also been difficult for many other temple members still on the path to healing.
"We are gradually healing with the help of families, friends, community," Dahliwal said during a ceremony Friday at the federal courthouse.
The shooting led to big changes at the temple in the way of security enhancements, Dahliwal said, and temple members have been forced to be more vigilant as well.
A year ago, when Page visited the temple a few days before the shooting and started asking questions, nobody thought twice about it.
"As a Sikh, everybody's welcome," Dahliwal said in an interview. "We had no reason to question him. It's just another person who ... wants to see what is happening. But we are more vigilant now."
Despite the heartache and hardship of the last year, Dahliwal said the temple is more focused than ever on carrying out its mission. It's not only part of the recovery process, but a way to continue the work of those killed.
"They were pioneers of temple," Dahliwal said. "We can carry on our mission in a positive way that I think we will be a tribute to them."
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