N.J.'s growing South Asian community continues to encounter hurdles

by Tom Hester/The Star-Ledger

Wednesday October 01, 2008, 6:28 PM

Language difficulties and bias are hindering the ability of New Jersey's growing South Asian community to get an education, earn a paycheck, and obtain justice and health care, community activists and public officials said today.

Nearly 200,000 people with roots in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka -- three-quarters of them immigrants -- call New Jersey home. The Garden State has the third-largest number of South Asians in the nation.

With over one-third of South Asians not fluent in English, Qudsia Raja of Jersey City, outreach coordinator for the New Jersey wing of South Asian Americans Leading Together, said language problems hurt their ability to get an education and services. She said South Asian-Americans also face bias on the job and from the public and it can escalate to hate crime.

"The people don't know services are available to them and the government is not aware of their linguistic needs," Raja said at a Statehouse conference.

A survey conducted by South Asian Americans Leading Together found 20 percent of the South Asians have difficulty finding help to learn English and 25 percent said they have faced bias or racial problems from non-South Asian neighbors. Of those who have problems finding information to deal with mental health problems, 70 percent are women. Abused women complained they have trouble finding support.

Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri, the highest-ranking South Asian-American in state government, urged people to become involved in government and politics as a way to help the community gain equality in New Jersey life.

"It's time to step up and become decision-makers," he said. "We've got to come together and bind our communities together. We need to understand and recognize our needs and go out and find other (ethnic) communities with similar needs."

Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula (D-Middlesex), the highest-ranking elected South Asian American in New Jersey and the conference organizer, added: "Political participation is very lacking and that (participation) in a democratic society is very essential."

With over 50 percent of New Jersey's South Asian population over age 50, Chivukula said day-care for senior citizens is lacking. He said another problem is that potential employers do not understand immigrant documentation and are leery of hiring them.