PARDEEP KALEKA and former white supremacist Arno Michaelis clasped hands during a radio interview on the first anniversary of a mass shooting that changed both of their lives. Their embrace was the ultimate symbol of brotherhood—two starkly different backgrounds united by a common goal of peace and understanding in an oftentimes cruel and unforgiving world.
Pardeep Kaleka is a member of the Sikh faith community. His father was one of the six worshippers killed on Aug. 5, 2012, at the Sikh temple, or gurdwara, in Oak Creek, Wis. Three more were injured that day before the man opening fire on the temple was wounded by the police. The gunman then prepared for one final pull of the trigger, taking his own life.
The shooter was Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist, acting on his own volition that Sunday morning. He had spent his life practicing violence and hatred toward all kinds of people he felt to be “different” from him. This hatred culminated in a final unthinkable act, killing six people in cold blood at their holy place of worship.
There was angst, confusion, and grief among the Wisconsin Sikh community after this terrible tragedy. But where many may have expected anger from those most deeply affected, the Sikhs responded with something thoroughly refreshing: peace.
IN THE 21ST CENTURY, peace seems to be more of a mental construct than a state of being. The world around us is filled with conflict, struggle, and anguish. But when the Oak Creek Sikh community had an opportunity to respond likewise to an act of hatred, they refused.
Instead, the Sikhs reached out to the world with a passion to promote peace. The Sikhs took the opportunity to educate the world about who they are—a faith community filled with peace and devotion. But more important, they taught the world an incredibly valuable lesson: Answering hate with more hate leads nowhere. Love and understanding is the only path forward.
It was with this in mind that Kaleka, the son of one of the victims, accepted a dinner invitation from Michaelis, a reformed neo-Nazi, shortly after the Oak Creek shooting. Although admittedly nervous, Kaleka resisted the urge to cancel the meeting. It was fortuitous that he did.
Michaelis, a former member of a white-power rock band, attributes his stunning transformation in part to becoming a single father and also to the unrelenting kindness of strangers—even those whom he tried so hard to hate. Racist tattoos that once covered Michaelis’ body have since been removed and replaced with messages of peace. Both Michaelis and Kaleka now wear the same “8.5.12” memorial tattoo on their left palms.
The two have formed a striking bond, establishing Serve 2 Unite—an organization that is “transforming society via the gentle power of fearless creativity, compassion, and service.” The organization works mainly with Milwaukee inner-city youth who are often deemed as “problem kids” or “underprivileged.” Serve 2 Unite uses the arts and service-learning activities to teach these young people the importance of spreading peace and connecting with all races and creeds.
“We bring former supremacists and survivors from around the world into the classroom to meet our student leadership chapters and to demonstrate that people are going through these same struggles,” Michaelis said. “For a kid from the inner city, it can be real hard to visualize the world beyond the block you live on, so connecting them with other global efforts can be very empowering.”
As a counselor for another global peacemaking effort, the Ulster Project Milwaukee, I had the privilege of hearing Michaelis and Kaleka speak last year. The Ulster Project brought 12 teenagers from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Milwaukee to stay with 12 U.S. teens for a full month. Half of the teenagers from Belfast were Protestant and half were Catholic, groups that have been warring for decades in Northern Ireland. For 35 years, the Ulster Project’s mission has been to foster unity in Northern Ireland by empowering future leaders of the country with peacemaking tools.
The 24 teenagers were still struggling with the mission of the project at mid-month when they were due to meet with the Serve 2 Unite leaders. Many of the Northern Irish students, especially those from well-off families, felt removed from the conflict in Belfast and didn’t grasp the importance of the project, as peacemaking didn’t directly affect their lives.
But when Michaelis and Kaleka started telling their story, a wave of understanding washed over the group. The teens began connecting on a personal level to the idea of spreading peace. They were mesmerized by the power in each man’s words. Before them were two people, from polar-opposite backgrounds, who somehow managed to overcome their differences and find an essential common value: humanity.
Serve 2 Unite emphasizes that we are all part of the human race, with no reason to hate one another. Kaleka and Michaelis exemplify this. They have managed to take their anger and personal struggles and transform them into a positive force in the world. The two men have formed an unlikely partnership that only came to fruition by taking the time to understand each other. We live in a time when that is far too rare.
On the first anniversary of the gurdwara tragedy, Kaleka spoke on the impact the shooting had on the local Sikh community. “That day we made a decision, that we’re not going to let this define us and that we’re not going to be known as victims. We’re going to be known as survivors,” Kaleka said. “Being a survivor means that you take responsibility for what has happened and you keep it from happening to someone else.”
Michaelis was awed by the way Kaleka responded to the shooting. “It was inspirational,” Michaelis said, “to see a person who just had his entire community and tradition assaulted in such a grievous way [and hear him] say, ‘What can I do better to prevent this from happening again in the future?’”
THE SIKH community held a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of the mass shooting. Shining lights gleamed from the top of the gurdwara, spelling out a simple message: “Uplift and heal.”
Despite losing several members to violence, the response of the local Sikh community continues to be forgiveness, compassion, and an appeal to the global community to make peace—starting with the simplest acts of kindness.
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