News
Community Updates
Town Hall Meeting: Burglaries Targeting South Asian Community - 10/29/09
On October 29, 2009, SABA-DC hosted a Town Hall meeting at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville, VA. The event was organized in conjunction with a group of victims and citizens that maintains a blog updating the community on developments in the investigation. There were between 300-350 members of the community in attendance and approximately 20 members of law enforcement from districts all over Fairfax County, including the Chief of Police. Also in attendance were an investigator from Loudon County, a representative from the Commonwealth Attorney's office, a representative from the Department of Justice, and a District Supervisor from a district of Fairfax County.
SABA-DC has offered to aid victims by providing access to attorneys from the South Asian community and will remain available to the community as the investigation continues.
Pictures from this event can be found here. Local media coverage of this event and the issue can be found at the following sites:
SABA-DC Alert: Burglaries Targeting South Asian Community - 10/22/09
Over the past 12 months, a series of burglaries targeting the South Asian community has taken place in Northern Virginia and Maryland. The crimes have focused on the jewelry, wedding attire, and gold commonly kept by many South Asian families. These crimes have left a trail of victims who have lost family heirlooms, priceless memories, and their overall sense of security. It is estimated that more than 30 families in the DC metropolitan area have been burglarized and have lost value collectively estimated in the millions of dollars.
As members of the Bar, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to help those in our community who have been victimized and need help restoring order to their lives. SABA-DC is seeking volunteers to help victims working to repair the damage caused by these crimes. Attorneys interested in providing pro-bono services to victims are requested to contact Dharmesh Vashee at president@sabadc.org. Some victims are dealing with law enforcement with limited success and would simply like an attorney to aid in communicating with investigators. Others are hesitant to deal directly with law enforcement and have avoided participating in the investigation.
Additionally, some victims are seeking to hire counsel on civil matters related to these crimes. If this is of interest to you, please send a brief email with your contact details to president@sabadc.org.
If other professionals have an interest in contributing their time, they are also encouraged to submit a brief email indicating how they would prefer to get involved. On October 29, 2009 at Colin Powell Elementary School, SABA-DC will host a Town Hall forum with the community and law enforcement to address these issues and to educate the victims. We hope to see many of you there. SABA-DC would like to thank you all in advance for your willingness to help us to address this issue.
The following link is to a Washington Post article highlighting a recent robbery and noting the overall trend: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101603653.html
Program Updates
SABA-DC 2009 MENTORSHIP APPLICATION FORM
