Update: Hate Crime

A young man is dead, the victim of hate and intolerance.
After many years of relative safety in the Sacramento area, the last several have seen virulent protest from radical fundamentalists including many Slavic church groups. Over the 4th of July weekend, the homophobic hatred turned deadly. Satendar Singh was killed in an attack at Lake Natomas on Sunday by a group of Russian-speaking men after they perceived him as gay. Satendar was a recent immigrant to America from Fiji, having won a lottery for a green card. Satendar earned the nickname "The Lucky One" among his family and friends.
A group of Slavic men picnicking with their families at the lake allegedly noticed that, Satendar did not have a female date, and he danced with both women and men in his party. Witnesses reported that the attackers began hurling anti-gay and racist invectives. As things escalated, the attackers sent their families home and called for backup. When a new group of Russian speaking men showed up, the party tried to leave, but were blocked by the attackers. One of the men struck Satendar, who fell unconscious, his head bleeding profusely. As the attackers went to their cars to get away, they hurled bottles at the members of Satendar’s party. One member of this party was a petite and young woman who is 6-months pregnant.
Satendar was taken to Mercy San Juan hospital. Tests indicated no brain activity due to the severe brain injury. Singh died on July 5th, 2007. His family and friends numbered over 100 at the hospital. Singh's parents live in Fiji with no way to come to Sacramento, so the painful decision to unplug his body from life support fell on his aunt and uncle. Singh’s body will be transported back to Fiji for burial.
A fund is being setup to help Satendar’s family with expenses. Information will be available shortly at http://www.satendar.com
Memorial services for Satendar are being planned by the family, details to be released soon. The family asks that people show up to express their support of the family and opposition to violence and intolerance.
Community Members held vigil at the California State Capitol on Friday July 6, 2007 to show solidarity against hate in response to the brutal crime.

Several investigators have warned the Sacramento community for years about the fact that American fundamentalists have been stoking the fires of homophobia in new immigrants from Russian and the Ukraine, in order to use them for political agendas.
A small number of Russian-speaking preachers presiding over huge congregations are allegedly spreading the message that it’s their God given right to kill homosexuals, among other radical interpretations of the Bible. Protests against homosexual events and others have been organized within a number of these churches. Over 80 of these churches exist within the Sacramento area; some have over 5,000 members.
Not all of these churches are intolerant and preach hate, but a small handful of politically and financially-influenced preachers are capable of moving vast numbers of faithful followers. A growing number of these churches are becoming organized along the West Coast of the United States. The result is a growing threat to our safety and freedom. Sadly these congregations are being manipulated and used as foot soldiers to promote complex political and financial agendas that they will never be told about.
The following video link is to Sacramento’s Pride Parade that shows some of the radical fundamentalist protestors. This video was shot on June 16th only 3 weeks before the tragic murder.

Before this crime took place, the LGBT and other minority communities had already begun planning a West Coast Diversity Summit to take place on the 21st of July in Sacramento. The focus of this summit will be the growing number of hate crimes and threats generated from radical groups. To become involved visit http://www.outsacramento.com
If you have information involving a Hate Crime please report it to your local authorities.
When doing so, be certain you demand the incident is filed as a hate crime, even if you meet resistance. Often the authorities may try to talk a victim out calling an incident a hate crime due to the increased amount of paperwork.
If you have information concerning the murder of Satendar Singh, please call the Sacramento Sheriffs Department at (916) 874-5115
For updates and more information as it becomes available, visit http://www.Satendar.com