American Born Confused Sikh

It pains me to write about this. It pains me to put the words "sexual abuse" and "Sikh" in the same sentence and the same title. But after watching two parents tell the story of how their daughter was sexually abused by a respected priest, I felt compelled to write this.  I like so many other American Sikhs grew up going to Sikh camps and Sikh retreats in my young adult life. I've been a camper and a counselor. I've been to retreats on the East coast and the West coast (and even Canada!) And I've always had amazing experiences from each of these retreats. I made connections with Sikhs around the country but most of all, at every retreat I always took away a little more knowledge and a little more renewed perspective, admiration, and love for my faith.  There was often a common thread at many of these retreats and camps that influenced my Sikh learning journey greatly: Bhai Gurdarshan Singh. In a sea of Punjabi-speaking priests, Bhai Gurdarshan Singh was ...