Headhunter

From the liberally inclined Salon, a multi-part series examining the hardships that Arab and Muslim families have endured in America after September 11th.

It's ironic that positive contributors to society are now facing the dangers that they were accused of supporting.

Thank God that I live in Canada, where my liberties aren't as badly compromised. I'm under no illusions that Canada is a fairy wonderland, but the lesser of two evils is still preferable.

Thoughts/opinions?


Edited: Before anyone asks, I'm neither Arab nor Muslim in ethnicity, nor have I been discriminated against in this manner. But, I believe very strongly in bringing awareness to a very serious transgression of civil rights and interpretation by the letter, instead of the spirit, of laws.

[ 04-27-2004: Message edited Headhunter ]

meretwins

i read that at salon yesterday and was moved by the families story...what i wondered was why in all the time that the family had been in the states did they never declare status...it's sad that families such as theirs are caught in the cross hairs of the post 9/11 immigration laws and i sympathize for them and the life they have now but again i wonder why prior to all this did they never try to get legal status?...

it's truly sad what their situation has become i just hope that they're able to get out some way....

dayne

I remember one of my friends told me that his relatives, who were US (Muslim) citizens, got taken in and interrogated for close to one full day. Apparently, they were having some sort of family get-together. As more people arrived at the house, the neighbors noticed a lot of people wearing traditional Arab/Muslim clothing. They promptly called the authorities (I guess they thought some sort of terrorist meeting was taking place or got scared by the traditional clothes). The police/authorities arrived and took some poeple back into custody. They were only detained overnight, but I still think it must be pretty hard to go through something like that, and also be intensely interrogated.

n e r b l e

Well that sucks... But here's my question - What are we supposed to do to keep terrorists from planning something again. What if there were terrorists getting together and someone didn't report them. It's kinda a rock and a hard place.

Headhunter

Seems like they were hoping to fly under the radar, and avoid the situation that their son encountered when trying to enlist with the Navy. Bringing attention to the situation, instead of inspiring compassion and an honest effort to resolve the situation legally, would instead bring about unwanted scrutiny that only caused family concerns.

I understand that thinking, though it ultimately ended up being their legal undoing after 9/11...

dayne

I live in Toronto.It's probably the most multicultural city in the world (which is one thing I love about the city). It has a very large muslim population as well. There are some muslim families that live in my neghborhood. I sometimes see poeple in traditional Arab/Muslim clothes coming into their houses. But you don't see me calling the Metro Toronto Police or the RCMP. In fact, it never even crosses my mind. We also happen to know one or two of Muslim families. Afterall, they are our neighbors.

Irrational suspicion can be very dangerous, and borders very close to prejudice or racism. Suspicion can quickly spiral out of control.

Automatically interpreting a meeting between Muslims at a house or a restaurant as a terrorist summit or conference, is going way overboard. Being scared of someone who is wearing different clothing is also going way overboard.

My guess is that the traditional clothing sort of scared the neighbors. Perhaps, they weren't cultured folk and some people do seem to be scared or suspicious of anything they aren't familiar to.

[ 04-28-2004: Message edited dayne ]

Headhunter

Very well put, fellow T-Dot resident. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

dayne

Thanks.

n e r b l e

i'm not disagreeing that it's stupid to shout "terrorist" every time you see a musilim. my question is what do you expect people to do if they see something suspicious? and what would you consider something that would be suspicious?

ros2nz

I think that's the million dollar question here. And the scary part is getting it right. How would you define "suspicions" anyways? What's suspicicous for one could be a routine activity for someone else. IMO, the most difficult stage of preparing for terrorist attacks is this: how are we to take precaution?
Does calling the police every time a muslim in traditional Arab clothes call a get-together help the situation? Or does it just make matters worse?

There're no hard and fast rules to follow.

Just to add though, a friend of my dad was coming back from Canada via the US. He's a Bangladeshi although a Hindu. He'd been detained for over day, harrassed, in his words "driven crazy" all for the fact that he came from a country that's predominantly Muslim. Never mind the fact that one glance at his name would've show he's a Hindu. It takes only common sense to know he wouldn't be helping Al-Queda ineviegle its way into the US.
I think it shows that we're getting overly-cautious. Desperate and panicked is what I'd say. This is only making it easier for terrorists.

So, coming back to my question: what's the right way to deal with "suspicions"? How much is enough?

Headhunter

The right way? Responsible, intelligent government authority making decisions on a case-by-case basis.

A Muslim who was born and raised in North America, without a criminal record, should not be treated the same as a tourist/immigrant with a criminal past. Not to say that tourists/immigrants are automatically guilty of anything, but authorities need to look at context as well as content.

There's no perfect solution, but procedures as they are now need some drastic change...

ceilirose

Originally posted by dayne:
That's what I believe too. Logically speaking do you think any group planning a terrorist act on the U.S. would be doing it out in the open? In a restaurant or other public place so they can be overheard? That they would be so open about their activities? The 9/11 terrorists lived among Americans and didn't raise any suspicions. There were just bits and pieces of evidence that the agencies could gather but none could put it all together.

I do feel for this family. I wish they had continued to press for their green card. It seems like the father had family legally in the US so I wonder why they couldn't do anything for them.