By Jovelle Tomayo, Special Writer
MONROE — More than 100 locals, including a small group of Holocaust survivors, gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil at the Monroe Township Municipal Building, joining a national movement to honor the victims of the massacre in a Wisconsin Sikh temple Aug. 5.
”It’s hard to believe it was just Sunday,” said a tearful Kamal Kaur Kaila, of Monroe. “For the families in Milwaukee and for Sikhs around the world, we relive the horror of that day in slow motion, whether on TV, in the news or at the gurdwara (place of worship).”
Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran, allegedly killed six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Tree, Wisconsin, on Sunday, shortly before killing himself, according to published reports.
”The media has commented on how often Sikhs are mistaken for Muslims and how violence is often misdirected toward Sikhs,” Ms. Kaila said. “Why should violence against any faith be an explanation for what has happened?”
The Wisconsin shooting occurred only two weeks after a deadly theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, that killed 12 and injured 58.
”You can’t control people’s minds and their thoughts,” Ms. Kaila said. “But you can control how easily they have access to methods of hurt and pain.”
Ms. Kaila led the vigil and invited the crowd to light candles as a tribute to the victims before introducing Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci, State Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-14, Councilwoman Leslie Koppel and school Superintendent Kenneth Hamilton to speak at the podium.
Everybody must mourn anytime something like this happens, Ms. Greenstein said. She also pushed the idea of increasing nationwide gun control.
”We are always going to have people who hate, people with mental illnesses and people with all sorts of problems,” Ms. Greenstein said. “But guns are too easy for them to get.”
After all the candles were lit, Mayor Pucci told the crowd it is important to understand, in light of recent events, that prejudice exists everywhere.
”We have an obligation together to make sure we educate others,” Mayor Pucci said. “Because the killer is ignorance.”
Mr. Hamilton said educating children on the importance of diversity and tolerance is becoming more difficult, but the community has a responsibility to pursue that challenge.
”Even though we are here in Monroe Township — which is a microcosm of New Jersey, which is a microcosm of this country, which is a microcosm of the world — we have to erase the boundaries that separate and segregate,” Mr. Hamilton said.
The Sikh Coalition, a national organization standing up for Civil Rights for Sikhs and others, called for vigils Tuesday night and provided the event with 50 shirts, displaying the statement “We are all Sikhs,” according to sikhcoalition.org.
According to the organization, about 30 such vigils took place Tuesday, and others were scheduled.
”We are here to gather together for prayers. The world is with (the victims), praying for them,” said Monroe Township resident Harinder Panaser.
There are about 500 local Sikh families who often come together to bring awareness to and educate the township, Ms. Kaila said.
”It could’ve been anyone of us,” she said. “It could’ve been our church, our temple.”

