"It makes a difference that some folks are being supported and others are aware ofwhat's going on."
"We wanted to set an example of taking care of ourselves so we can take care ofcommunity."]

Triathlon and Social Justice Activists

By Sheila D'Amico

What does running a triathlon have in common with working to protect civil liberties? Plenty, if you are Maxwell Park residents Chris Lymbertos and Kimberly Aceves and their friend and former area resident Kanwarpal Dhaliwal. All three are civil activists working both professionally and personally on issues of social justice and, at the time of the Metro interview, in training for the July 19 triathlon in Pleasanton.

Describing why a triathlon, the women say that they are usually focused on community and wanted to reclaim their power and take care of themselves. With the ability to multitask, a triathlon is ideal for them. It allows them time together socializing, exercising, and being out-of-doors instead of what they are usually doing, which is working on issues. Most important, they wanted to set an example of taking care of themselves so they can take care of community.

"People of color don't feel we are allowed to take care of ourselves," Kanwarpal says.

"So much of our work comes from the heart and mind; we wanted to be able to bring balance," Chris says. "Physical training moves our experience to the body, puts more oxygen in the system, and releases a lot of the stress."

That stress comes from the work. Kim, Executive Director of Youth Together, works on issues affecting young people and with youth in high schools on race relations. Kanwarpal, a consultant for nonprofits, recently worked with Kim on training for a school in the Central Valley that was dealing with issues of hate. Chris, also a consultant, works on social justice and human rights issues. But that's for work. In their spare time, they work on issues affecting their communities, whether neighborhood, family, ethnic, or other affinity groups.

Some of the work involves instances of persons threatened with deportation by the INS, now Homeland Security, for example, as they are in the process of trying to obtain resident status. "After special registration started for persons from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, families have been targeted. We provide emotional support," Kanwarpal says. "It makes a difference that some folks are being supported and others are aware of what's going on."

Kim, because of her work with her organization, is particularly alert to what she considers violations of civil liberties against young people, for example, when students are questioned about their immigration status without a parent or guardian being present. Kim is also concerned about the climate of fear and distrust, and believes that ethnic studies training is needed for youth to understand their own and other cultures and, in the current political climate, especially to understand that Arab and Muslim peoples are not our enemies.

Each of the three women stresses the need for learning from history and is concerned that, as a people, we are allowing our freedoms to trickle away, our civil liberties to be limited. They are particularly critical of the media. And one of their biggest joint concerns is that each group of people forgets quickly how their group was the targeted group, the reviled group, and because of that, does not stand with the group currently being targeted. This is one of the issues, through their own work and their own example, that they are trying to teach.