SURVIVOR STORIES: Pardeep Singh and Arno Michaelis
Pardeep Singh’s father was killed during the mass shooting at a gurdwara in Wisconsin. He founded the organisation Serve 2 Unite in response to the attack.
After the Oak Creek gurdwara shootings, Pardeep Singh, who lost relatives in the attack, wanted to understand what drove the killer. He approached Arno Michaelis, a former member of the neo-Nazi Hammerskins movement, who was able to talk about his own experiences in a hate movement. The two men formed a partnership dedicated to spreading awareness about vulnerabilities to extremism, and building cross-cultural connections which help to diminish hatred and othering. They talk about the role of trauma in generating hate, and the importance of forgiveness – and self-forgiveness – in moving forward to a future beyond hate.