CHANDIGARH: Partap Singh moved to Peru nine years ago from Spain where he had gone from India to study Spanish and work as a travel consultant. His is the lone Sikh family in Lima.

While Mr. Singh worked as tourist guide and occasional translator, his wife supplemented the family's income, conducting meditation classes. They have a daughter, Manpreet Kaur and son, Vikram Singh.

The 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York changed their world. Mr. Singh's employer persuaded him to cut his hair and do away with the turban, as he "resembled Osama bin Laden."

His son was refused admission to grade I in a nearby school because of his unique headgear and he had to be enrolled in another institution some distance away, where too the child faced problems.

No response for weeks

Mr. Singh lost his job and sought help from various Sikh discussion groups on the Internet, but did not get any response for many weeks.

Finally, he communicated with the New York office of an international organisation, United Sikhs, which could not ignore the message that the family had no food. Its volunteers agreed to donate for his emergency needs for three months and look for long-term help.

Last weekend, when the Ghania team of the United Sikhs was mobilising its Katrina relief volunteers to New Orleans, Doris Reynoso, a colleague of the organisation's director, offered to carry donations for Mr. Singh in Lima, where she was going to visit her family.

Ms. Reynoso found his family living in a single room, the rent of which had been unpaid for months. His wife's surgery bills were pending. There was no Sikh community in Peru to turn to.

"The conditions became so bad that sometimes people threw stones at me and my family," Mr. Singh told the United Sikhs. Meanwhile, Jaspal Singh Tiwana from Canada helped to raise Mr. Singh's problems with the Peruvian Ambassador in the country.

The United Sikhs has offered to help the family settle down in Kochi, where Mr. Singh hopes to work as travel guide and translator for European travellers. His wife plans to re-train as Ayurvedic practitioner.

The United Sikhs has sought help to fund the family. Benefactors may contact the organisation's web site - helppartapsingh@unitedsikhs.org

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