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'I Forgive the White Supremacist who Murdered my Father'
'I FORGIVE the white supremacist who murdered my father': Man who only escaped massacre at Sikh temple because his daughter had forgotten her notebook reveals he bears no grudge against racist killer
- Pardeep Kaleka's father was gunned down in a massacre at a Sikh temple
- Came after Wade Michael Page, 40, entered the temple and began firing
- Mr Kaleka escaped the shooting as he was late in getting to the temple
- Now he says he forgives Page, a white supremacist, who killed his father
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A man who escaped a massacre in a Sikh temple because his daughter had forgotten her notebook has revealed how he has forgiven the white supremacist gunman who murdered his father.
Wade Michael Page, 40, shot dead six people and wounded three others in a mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek in August 2012.
Pardeep Kaleka's father Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, of Milwaukee was one of the six murdered as Page opened fire.
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Pardeep Kaleka, who has revealed he has forgiven the white supremacist gunman, who shot dead his father at a temple in Wisconsin in 2012
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It was only because Mr Kaleka's daughter Amaris, now 11, had forgotten her notebook for Sunday school and they were running late that the family - including his pregnant wife Jaspreet, now 36 - were not caught up in the shooting themselves.
Now, he has revealed he has forgiven his father's murderer, who was shot dead by armed police at the scene.
The former police officer, who is now a counsellor, aged 39, said: 'I do not feel bad towards Wade Page. I'm going to assume he was desperate and suffering, and in his desperation, that's what he did.
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Kaleka's father Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, top left, of Milwaukee and pictured with his family was one of the six murdered in the massacre at the temple
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'If I could have met him, I would honestly not have been mad at him. I can separate the act from the person.
'After the initial emotional trauma, the screaming, anger, frustration, and crying I have chosen forgiveness and optimism.
'What made me forgive was post-traumatic growth. After this happened, I started to care more about the little things in life. I hug my kids for longer.
'I knew my life wouldn't be the same again.'
According to witness statements given to Mr Kaleka, Page stormed into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin at about 10am, shooting two victims outside first in the parking lot, and then another in the hallway, before making his way into the prayer room where he shot his fourth victim.
As people scattered around the temple trying to find hiding spots, he shot his final two victims.
Meanwhile, a group of worshippers - including Mr Kaleka's mother - hid in a closet.
Mr Kaleka added: 'Page was part of the Hammerskins organisation, which is one of the most violent divisions within the white supremacist movement.
'They believe that white people are superior to any other race and will use history to show which countries they have conquered.'
Page shot dead six victims including Suveg Singh Khattra, 84, Ranjit Singh, 49, Sita Singh, 41, Paramjit Kaur, 41, and Prakash Singh, 39.
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Mr Singh Kaleka with his two grandsons. He was shot dead when a gunman stormed the temple he was worshipping in
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' When we arrived and I asked a police officer what had happened, he told me there'd been a shooting.
"I was thinking about mum and dad, but also about Amaris forgetting her notebook, and how we could have been in there too if she hadn't.
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Wade Michael Page, who carried out the shooting. He was shot dead by police after the massacre
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To help his forgiveness, Mr Kaleka contacted former white supremacist, Arno Michaelis, 43, of Milwaukee, US, to try and understand what happened and why.
Now the unlikely pair are as 'close as brothers.'
This is despite Mr Michaelis being one of the original founding members of the Hammerskins organisation, a sub division within the white supremacist movement, which Page had been a follower of.
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To help his forgiveness, Mr Kaleka contacted former white supremacist, Arno Michaelis, left, and the pair have now become friends
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Explaining about his and Mr Michaelis' rehabilitation programme, Serve 2 Unite he said: 'We wanted to get our community out into the broader community – a lot of people do not know about Sikhs.
'We realised quickly we were not the only segregated group and thought we needed to do something to minimise differences in society.
'I think it's exceeding what we thought it would be. We see different community members working together, and I feel like people are starting to cross bridges.'
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The pair have now started the Serve 2 Unite rehabilitation programme to help former white supremacists
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz430tgcGC0
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