Racism, gang culture & genocidal trauma: What the BBC didn’t show you

“The BBC did a good job but I just wanted to explain a bit more from my angle…”

In November 2019 the BBC Stories outlet shared a feature they created called “My Turban Journey”, based on the experiences of Jaskanwal Singh, a Sikh man from Ontario, Canada.

The five-minute video relayed Jaskanwal’s childhood experiences which led to him cutting his kes (unshorn hair) before eventually keeping it again as part of his journey with Sikhi.

The video largely focused on Jaskanwal’s experiences of bullying, a desire to be more attractive, conforming to western values and his issues with drinking. Jaskanwal felt that there was a lot more to his journey towards Sikhi which was equally important but unfortunately overlooked, such as his identity crisis at a young age, generational trauma, a lack of Sikhi knowledge and the gang culture he grew up in which taught boys emotional suppression. These issues will be more deeply discussed in Jaskanwal Singh’s recently released book “Feminism Saved My Life” based on his own experiences.

We are to be able to support Jaskwanal Singh in furthering his own story by detailing what else led to him moving away from practicing Sikhi and eventually coming back towards it. Check out his video on this below and do not forget to comment and share!

You can follow Jaskanwal Singh on Instagram @jaskanwal.singh.