Widow Of Kansas hate crime victim makes touching plea for American diversity

Sunayana Dumala

THE WIDOW of Srinivas Kuchibhotia, who was shot dead in a Kansas City restaurant as the shooter shouted, "Get out of my country," asked friends and well-wishers to add her plea for tolerance to their New Year resolutions.

Since her husband's death, Sunayana Dumala has been thrust into the public spotlight as  a spokesperson against hate and an advocate on immigration reform.

Eaerlier this year, participating on a panel on hate crimes, she talked about the tremendous love and support she received after her husband's death. “This is what America stands for ... We are one people. We might be different cultures or races or ethnicities, but we should put energy into embracing our differences.”

She called 2017 the worst year in her life in a Facebook posting. Not only did she lose her husband in a hate crime, but she is fighting to keep from being deported.

Following is her Facebook message:

As I sit to begin writing I am finding it difficult to find words and a long pause. Like every other year both me and Srinu welcomed year 2017 with lot of hopes. A year of promises to be with each other and hopefully grow our family by adding new addition. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way because of one man’s ignorance, hate and anger, giving our family an irreparable loss and shattering our dreams. I lost my beloved Srinu the one who is an epitome of love, friendship, and generosity making 2017 one of the worst years of my life.

Though life is not the same and has been filled with constant struggle and pain, I was able to stand up and move forward because of a lot of people’s support and prayers. Family and friends who stood by me in one of darkest phases of life and helping me recuperate from the loss. Mom and Dad especially who thought their responsibilities were done with their daughter having a great companion, are now again forced to become parents to take of their daughter. Thank you for everything amma and dadda, there were many days and nights I would just confine myself to a room, but you still stood by me as I am adjusting to my new life. A special mention to Intouch Solutions, Garmin International, and to a larger community for your constant support. You are the ones that are still giving me the hope that there is still kindness in this society.

Srinu you are very dearly missed by everyone and nothing can replace your natural aura and charisma that made you special. But it is your positive attitude that is driving us forward and it is with same positivity I welcome year 2018 with the hope that we spread the message of love and empathy.

I am committed in my mission of spreading the message and to save others going through same pain. I need all your support too, so I urge all my friends and well-wishers to add one more resolution to your 2018 list and that is too take some time to understand and embrace diversity in race, culture and religion. It is in our hands to make our society safe and secure for our future generations and create a fearless world. Please, make this as one of your priorities and work towards it as even though we know life is uncertain we are never prepared for that uncertainty. You can also share your ideas and suggestions in the comments section.

Sunuyana Dumala and her late husband, Srinivas Kuchibhotias.

She says that almost immediately “The same night I lost Srinivas, I knew,” Dumala said in a call from Kansas this week, where she has since returned to work as a database developer.

Though the Kuchibhotias had been waiting for permanent residency for seven years, she was dependent on her husband’s H-1B visa to stay in the U.S. When he was killed, her immigration status was lost and she became vulnerable to deportation.

After her husband's funeral, the company that she works for applied for the H-1B visa for her. For the time being, she’s on a 12-month work authorization while she waits for her visa to be approved.

The U.S. allots 120,000 job H-1B visas each year, but no country can receive more than 7 percent of the prized visas.

So, even if she does get the visa, she would have to get to the back of the line for workers from India, a wait that could be decades since India iuses its full quota of skills-based visas every year.

Ddumala's congressman spoke up for her visa application, “We are not going to deport the widow of the victim of a hate crime,” said Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas, in The Kansas City Star.

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