Newark in New Jersey is gaining viral traction for all the wrong reasons. The town has become the brunt of many a jokes after it was revealed that mayor Ras Baraka had been duped into forming a sister city partnership with a delegation from the ‘country’ Kailasa, which was found out to be fake six days later.
A signing ceremony was held on March 6 between the delegation from the fake country and city officials of Newark where Baraka had said:
“I pray that our relationship helps us to understand cultural, social and political development and improves the lives of everybody in both places.”
Last week, Newark officials admitted that they had been scammed by the Indian fugitive Swami Nithyananda, who was the head of the delegation from ‘Kailasa”, but said they were still committed to partnering with people from diverse cultures:
“Although this was a regrettable incident, the city of Newark remains committed to partnering with people from diverse cultures in order to enrich each other with connectivity, support and mutual respect.”
The partnership lasted for only six days, until it was dissolved for baseless.
The head of Kailasa, Swami Nithyananda, is an Indian guru who is currently charged with rape and child abduction by the Indian government. He has denied the accusations.
Nithyanananda writes that Kailasa was founded in order to ensure the “restoration, preservation and propagation of authentic Hindu culture and civilization after centuries of oppression and subjugation. It is the home and refuge for the international Hindu diaspora.”
According to its website, Newark is not the first town to be duped into forming the partnership, as so had Virginia, Ohio and Florida.
Residents of Newark found the incident to be shocking. Shakee Merritt spoke to CBS that he was suprised no one did a simple Google search on whether the country was real or not.
