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Chicago Police gets its first desi-American sergeant

CHICAGO, OCT 11: Tomi Methipara, the first Indian American to join the Chicago Police and also be promoted to the rank of sergeant, does not let racial epithets flung at him get in the way of his job.

Methipara, who grew up in Kerala, India, and worked in a bank in Alwaye in that state and in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, before immigrating to the US and joining the 14,000-strong Chicago Police in 1990, said he has had quite a few culture shocks as a new recruit.

"Initially, I was shocked at how they treated dead bodies. We (Indians) give a lot of respect to the dead. But in the police, you realise that a dead body is like a log - it has no feelings."

As a rookie, Methipara would also be upset by racial epithets flung at him when he went to investigate a crime, or make an arrest.

"Over time, you learn not to take it personally. Even back in Agra, there were people calling me a 'stupid Madrasi'. You learn to put it in perspective."

Methipara has another consolation.

"At the end of the day, I tell myself I am going home to sleep in my own bed, while these people are going to jail."

Methipara was a familiar face on Devon Ave (Chicago's Indian business district), before he was promoted sergeant and moved to the adjoining 17th district.

When he joined the Chicago Police in 1990, it was a rather non-traditional choice for an Indian, but Methipara did not deliberate much.

His entry into the police was fortuitous. "I just walked into it without adequate preparation," he recalled. He was selected after a written test, which attracted 25,000 applicants, an interview followed by a physical test, medical and psychological examinations and a background check.

In Chicago's 17th police district, Methipara is part of a 300 strong police team, which includes the district commander, 35 supervisors, three captains, four lieutenants and 50 plainclothes officers. They are all part of the tactical team that deals with gang violence and narcotics.

The computer is Methipara's link to the outside world - it gives him a minute-by-minute update of reported crimes in his jurisdiction and the status of the cases his men are investigating.

Methipara has become quite an expert on the investigation methods of the police force.

"There are a number of factors that help us identify such criminals," he says.

"Spent casings from a gun give precise information like a human fingerprint. Cigarette butts and DNA testing can narrow down the list of suspects. The offender's crime record provides clues."

Discussing the kinds of problems that crop up on busy days, he says: "On some days, the chatter (over the police radio) is incessant. When the weather is nice, there are a lot of problems. Some people go haywire with alcohol and partying. Some days it is crazy. The police gets a call for the silliest reasons - even if someone is yawning too much"

As sergeant, Methipara has to keep tabs on his men. "I have to know what each officer is doing at any given time."

Methipara always wears a bullet-proof vest. "In the summer months, it is a bit of a bother," he says, "but you get used to it." In his holster, Methipara carries a semi-automatic weapon. "It is double action and does not fire by accident," he explains.

In his years as a police officer, Methipara has drawn his gun, but never fired it. "It is a last resort, you use it only when all your options are gone."

Every shooting leads to an elaborate investigation.

"Within two hours of a police shooting, there is a round table conference. The officer better have a good reason for shooting. If not, he or she is in big trouble."

Methipara also carries the non-lethal TASER gun, which only supervisors are allowed to carry. The TASER releases an electric shock of 50,000 volts that causes muscle dysfunction, temporarily incapacitating a person. (IANS)

Muslim women’s paintings being exhibited in New York

WASHINGTON, OCT 11: An exhibition of paintings by five Muslim woman artists has opened in New York, attracting a good deal of critical attention, The exhibition has been organized by Ms Atteqa Ali and one of her American associates. All but one artist whose work is on display were born in Islamic countries, yet in the words of a New York Times reviewer, “No two of them take the same approach to the theme - at once a stereotype and a reality - of the veiled body in Islamic culture.” The theme of the show is: ‘Cover Girl: The Female Body and Islam in Contemporary Art.’

In a video by Pakistan-born Ms Ayasha Adil, a bride adorned for her wedding in layer upon layer of makeup, jewelry and fabric is transformed from a person into a “confection” before our eyes. Aisha Khalid, also Pakistani, suggests in collages made from layered fabrics, that clothes, and specifically veils, can serve as protective covering, a safe vantage from which to view the world. “And Naiza Khan takes henna, a dye traditionally used to ornament a bride’s body, as her primary medium. With it she paints nude figures of women on public walls in Karachi and records in photographs how they are received. Some are defaced, others casually buried under posters, still others are carefully preserved. There is no predictable reaction,” writes critic Holland Cotter in the New York Times.

Atteqa Ali is the daughter of well-known Pakistani journalist Iftikhar Ali, currently US correspondent of The Nation, Lahore.

According to the reviewer, “Images of exposed flesh did get a response in Saudi Arabia when Emily Jacir’s family lived there, forcing her mother to ink over areas of bare skin in the issues of Vogue’ brought from Paris. A mural-size drawing by Ms. Jacir is composed entirely of the shapes of the inked-out areas of flesh in the magazine. To some eyes the black marks will be evidence of sensuality suppressed; to others, evidence of impropriety. Which cultural response is the norm? For the Indian-born artist Rummana Hussein, who died of breast cancer in 1999, covering the body had political and personal meaning.

In photographs made the year she died, Ms. Hussein wears a veil, but pulls it partially aside to expose her surgery-scarred back and chest. In performances she had the photographs projected on her figure as she read from a text she had written on, among other things, women, bodies and veiling.

‘Have you defined her? Does she have any options? Are her beliefs an escape? Or a security? Or a habit? Or a choice?’’ The complete text, displayed in a wall in the gallery, is long and composed entirely of questions.” (Daily Times)

Saudi Arabia to deport foreigners violating Ramazan

RIYADH, OCT 11: Saudi Arabia on Sunday warned non-Muslim foreign residents that they face deportation if they eat, drink or smoke in public during Ramazan.

“Non-Muslim residents must respect Muslims’ feelings by refraining from eating, drinking or smoking in public places during Ramazan, an Interior Ministry statement said. “Authorities will take deterrent measures, namely ending work (contracts) of and deporting violators,” said the statement carried by SPA news agency. (AFP)

3 Pakistanis held in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, OCT 11: Three Pakistani men have been arrested for alleged involvement in the rape of two European women in June, Hong Kong police said on Sunday.

The men, all in their early 20s, were arrested on Saturday evening but were yet to be charged, said Edwin Hung, a Hong Kong police spokesman. He declined to identify the men.

It wasn’t clear if they were ethnic Pakistanis living in Hong Kong or visitors from Pakistan, Mr Hung said. (AP)