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Wednesday July 7, 2010 Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
Surrey broadcaster finds passionate patriots in South Asian community
Suspect sought in attempted abduction
Proudly Canadian S
17-year-old girl grabbed
by Dan Ferguson
urrey resident Jasbir Singh Romana was expecting most callers to a special Canada Day radio show would be positive about their new country. But the host of radio station Sher-E-Punjab’s Shamadaan (“lighthouse”) call-in show wasn’t expecting the depth of emotion displayed when he opened the telephone lines Thursday afternoon. It was part of an all-day marathon devoted to Canada Day at AM 1550, a Richmond-based broadcaster that serves the South Asian community. “I know most of you love Canada, but why?” Romana asked as he signed on at 1 p.m. The phones lit up with people eager to answer the question. Caller after caller spoke with emotion about living in a tolerant, democratic country that rewards hard work. One older listener, a White Rock resident, took the time to call back twice to describe how he went from living in a country where he didn’t have enough money to feed his cattle, to a land where he and his children can live well in nice homes. “I’m sitting here in my home watching the beach,” he said. In their home countries, callers said, if you are not some rich farmer’s son or very lucky, you will have a big struggle. In Canada, they said, all you have to be willing to do is to work hard. “They don’t have to be somebody’s cousin, somebody’s son or daughter” to succeed, Romana summarized. But their pride in Canada is about more than material success, the callers indicated. “It’s not only the dollars that are bringing them here,” Romana said, adding that if that was all they were looking for, there are other countries that offer as many, if not more opportunities. Callers to AM 1550 talked about the attraction of Canadian values of fairness, civility, respect for law and openness to newcomers. “Canadians are more tolerant,” Romana said. “That’s why the Canadian mosaic is being respected all See CANADA / Page 4
Black Press A MAN who tried to force a teenage
BOAZ JOSEPH / THE LEADER
Jasbir Singh Romana was overwhelmed with the emotional call-ins during a Canada Day radio show he hosted last Thursday. When Romana signed off at 3 p.m., the lines were still clogged with callers wanting to explain their love for Canada.
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girl into his car is the target of a Surrey RCMP investigation. The incident happened June 17 around 3 p.m. A 17-year-old female was walking in the area of 132 Street and 65A Avenue when she was approached by a man in a red four-door import sedan who invited her to get into his vehicle for a ride. When she refused, the man got out of the vehicle and attempted to pull the girl into the car. She managed to escape uninjured and ran from the area. The suspect was Police drawing described as 5’3” to of suspect. 5’6”, and about 200 pounds. The witness said the man appears to be South Asian, around 38 to 45 years of age. He has a round, chubby face with stubble, a larger nose with a bulge on the bridge and short, thinning hair. He was wearing a blue and gray horizontal striped short-sleeved shirt with a white collar, dark coloured jeans and brown flip-flop type sandals. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604 599-0502, or if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
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