From The Peopling of New York City

What is your name, place of residence, and current occupation?

My name is Sasha Neha Ahuja. I grew up in Valley Stream, which is right outside New York. I’m a senior at Hunter College now, and will be attending graduate school at Columbia University very shortly. I’ve been working in the South Asian community in a variety of ways since I started college. Right now, I’m working at SAYA as a coordinator of the Academic program.

What is SAYA?

SAYA stands for South Asian Youth Action. It has been around for 12 years, working on youth development. Its located in Elmhurst, Queens, close to the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Corona, and Woodside. SAYA is the only organization in the whole country that specifically focuses on low-income youth and families. This covers an extremely huge and very heterogeneous population. We come in contact with so many different languages, religions, as well as family and economic situations.

There are two branches of SAYA. One is academic programs and the other is youth development. I work in the academic programs right now. My colleague and I, we run an SAT program, a college prep program, a career prep program, and a tutoring program. And then in youth leadership, there’s a co-ed education group called ARISE and a young woman leadership group called Desi Girls on ‘da Rise. Those are the programs directed here on site. These programs comprise of workshops and political/ human rights education mostly, which then translate into a community-based project the youth decide on. We put their work on display at out final show at the end of the month.

How long have you been involved in SAYA?

I have been working at SAYA since October 2008, and will continue to work here after I graduate college. Since I’ve been teaching the academic programs, Ive been able to make a strong bond with many of the kids.

Where does the funding for SAYA come from?

Some the money comes form the city government; other funding comes from private grants and donation. It varies based on the program and also the financial situation of the time. Not only in terms of SAYA, but also the economy as a whole. For instance, at this time, SAYA is really struggling to make ends meet because of the recession. Community based organizations are always the first to get hit when rations get slim. It's sad because something like SAYA is necessary for growing youth, but our capacity is limited in terms of the space, staff, funds etc..

Is this a strictly ethnic organization?

Not at all, there are all types of youth. Not only across South Asia, but also other parts of the world. And anyway, South Asia is not a homogenous identity or location. The diaspora is world wide, after all. We have Guianese, Afro-Caribbean, and Tanzanian students. The student backgrounds reach across the board, but they ARE mostly students of color and immigrant students. And also, just because of the area that we’re in, there are a lot of immigrant students.

Are the participants of SAYA mostly neighborhood kids?

To some extent. A lot of youth come from Newtown High School, which is right around here. But our youth come from all over Queens. Mostly everyone lives in Queens right now.

I’m trying to gain insight into the new multi-layered ethnic identity that Indian-American youth are creating among each other. Do you think that being part of an organization such as SAYA helps youth establish and ground this sort of collective identity?

I don’t think it is necessarily new. I think Indian-American youth identity exists and has existed, and is just totally overlooked. Culture is something that is always there, and its just that people are paying attention to India a whole lot more now than they ever did. They’re paying more attention to diaspora, and South Asia’s economic development as well. Youth culture is always part of the diaspora, because immigrant children must make a place for themselves in the society. So yea, I don’t think a new youth culture is necessarily emerging, but at the same time, I think there’s a lack of space for immigrant children to be young and even have their experiences validated. That doesn’t usually happen in school. These youth don’t learn curriculum telling them where they come from.

Do you have any music or dance programs at SAYA?

Yes, we do. Music is a very visible part of South Asian culture. A lot of our students do Bhangra, and are DJs.

Are you a frequent visitor of Jackson Heights? Termed “Little India”, do you consider it accurate to label Jackson Heights as a microcosm of the motherland?

I used to go to Jackson Heights a lot more when I was younger. It was fascinating to see all the bustle as a child. Now at days, though, it seems like people my age only go to Jackson Heights for basic things like groceries and clothes. It’s a place to get whatever you need to get. Its true, Jackson Heights does reflect the ethnic economy of India on a smaller scale. But it is also just a result of the clustered settling of South Asian immigrants.