Hyderabad: Sunayana Dummala, wife of Srinivas Kuchibotla, who was killed in a hate crime in the US about a year ago, says she has after all found the answer to the question “Do we belong here?” Her sombre observation comes on the eve of President Donald Trump delivering his maiden State of the Union address to which she has been specially invited. She has finally made peace with life after the trauma she went through. She said she expected something positive to come out of the State of the Union address.
A week after Srinivas was killed, Sunayana poured out her pain in a widely read post on Facebook in which she asked if immigrants really belonged to the US. Eleven months after, Sunayana in yet another post on Monday wrote: “We do belong here. That is the answer I found in the last 11 months through the immense love and support I received from all corners.” Sunayana had told this newspaper, “As hard as it sounds, I must always speak about the tragedy and share our story in my efforts to spread the message of love, and acceptance of people from different cultures and backgrounds.”
Srinivas was shot by Adam Purinton who yelled “get out of my country” at a bar in Olathe in Kansas on February 22. After the hate crime, Sunayana wrote, “What can we do to stop more ‘Srinivas’ and ‘Suna-yanas’ from going through this trauma.” That triggered an outpouring of solidarity on social media. Encouraged, she launched a Facebook campaign ‘Forever Welcome’ which raises awareness about contributions to American society immigrants make, and assures them that they are “forever welcome” in US. Congressman Kevin Yoder extended to her an invitation to be there for the Presiden’t address in Washington DC. She responded, “This is a rare opportunity and honour to receive. With my presence, I plan to shine a national spotlight on #Forever Wel-come, our message of unity and empathy, and yes, we all belong.”
