Gdansk Airport, Poland.
I don't know if it's because it's September 11th, but this bearded brown guy was just subjected to the most disgustingly intrusive body search by an overzealous Polish customs employees. The bastard literally ran his (plastic gloved) fingers inside the line of my shorts. No, i didn't have any metal, no, the metal detector didn't buzz, and no, no one else got that treatment - except the other brown guy. I asked him.
The veiled woman was also searched thoroughly - including her hijab, which was patted, squeezed, almost pulled.
Thank you, America, for demonizing us in everyone's eyes, even some monolingual idiots from the Polish hinterland.
It is heartbreaking that over 3000 people have perished 10 years ago. I have myself visited Ground Zero on the fourth anniversary of the attacks. I held hands with 9/11 families and attended the memorial ceremony, including the reading of all the names of the victims.
(Which, i believe, is more than most Americans can say have done to honour their memory.)
But when will we move past this tragic incident that - keeps paying, sadly enough. Never mind that at least two generations of white people will forever flicker at the sight of me. The tens of thousands that face racism on daily basis because of their faith or skin colour. Popular racism, as well as institutional racism - from extra security checks to permits and visas rejections, for example. To jobs lost or applications rejected. To dirty looks in the subway, as I had something to apologize for.
And while every lost life is one life too many, on the scale of disasters, we as an international community have seen worse. Off the top of my head, since then, about 108,000 died in Iraq as result of an unjust war that was engineering by a vindictive mind. God knows how many in Afghanistan. In the past 6 months, 40,000 Libyans have been killed. As have thousands of Syrians. Thousands of Gazans. Tens of thousands have died in the horn of Africa famine due to our inaction. Add to those the various earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and natural disasters globally. Then add the millions dying around the world in the wars that don't make it to our newspapers.
I could go on. But you get my point.
I'm sorry, but this year, my sorrow is mixed with anger. I am tired of having to suffer because America has decided that a collective sin should be carried by all brown people everywhere.
My sincere condolences. May we, collectively, succeeded in getting past the memory of September 11th 2001.
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On board of airplane. Taking off now. The Polish man to my right just crossed himself.
But I cannot raise my hands in prayer - someone could see it and call an alert. So i keep my hands quietly on my knees.
Until when?
12 comments:
Until we absorb the hidden part of the truth. Until we understand that not only Americans died in 9/11 and the Arabs and Muslims did not delegate Bin Laden to commit this crime.
Only then our talks about one world and the human family will have a meaning.
I travelled on 9/11 a few years ago from Canada to the US. My passport still states that the country of origin is Egypt, I went through all the checking points with no problem while flight crews had to take their shoes off. كلمة حق وبس من غير ماأدخل في تفسيرات واجتهادات. أنا مسيحية بس زي ماأنت عارف الباسبور في البلاد دي مش بيذكر الديانة وأفتكر ان شكلي ولون بشرتي كان مختلف عن طاقم الطائرة اللي قلعوا الجزم. كلمة حق مش أكتر.
I hear you! I'm white as snow and I still got treated as a potential threat every time I tried to enter the US territory. I was threatened to be deported twice. Luckily South Americans have remained untouched by the gringo paranoia and remain wonderfully carefree!
I'm sure it's frustrating being treated like a criminal when you travel. At the same time, it's frustrating for me that there are a lot of places that would not be safe for me to visit that are fine for you. I look forward to the day when we can have real peace in the Middle East and I can drive my car to Amman for lunch, Damascus for dinner, or to Cairo for the weekend!
*** Thank you, America, for demonizing us in everyone's eyes, even some monolingual idiots from the Polish hinterland. ***
The Polish force was responsible for Najaf and Karballa in Iraq. So they are familiar with truck bomb attacks against mosques and markets, bodies drilled through with electric drills and such stuff. They know the region. They are also an obvious target for revenge attacks. They are not idiots
I too sympathize, and there needs to be a balance, but look over this list http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/08/9-11-anniversary-45-terror-plots-foiled-in-last-10-years.html. Even if some of the incidents are trumped up, there are still quite a few related to airline travel that were real, and either occurred or were immanent. Shoe bomber, underwear bomber, liquid bomb plot, etc.
You don't even have to be Muslim to get "special treatment" on 9/11. See http://shebshi.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/some-real-shock-and-awe-racially-profiled-and-cuffed-in-detroit/
"I am tired of having to suffer because America has decided that a collective sin should be carried by all brown people everywhere." — couldn't have said it better myself.
"In the past 6 months, thousands Thousands of Gazans have been killed " ????
http://bit.ly/nEClu7
Not all Arabs are terrorists(god forbid), but most terrorists are Arabs.
Amir
Poland?! Why on earth would you go to Poland?
Coming to Ramallah or Jerusalem any time soon?
Nothing personal -- it's just probabilities. Forgive me for not being politically correct, but men of Middle Eastern origin are more likely to blow shit up. Even a Polish peasant knows that hijackings have been elevated to an art form in those circles.
They know that even successful, middle class, educated families (lead 9/11 hijackers was the son of a doctor, as is Zawahiri) are equally susceptible to the virus.
While other folks are making life better (instant message was created by Israelis and Facebook by a Jewish American), others have made it their life's work to destroy, bemoan their fate, foment conspiracy theories, blame others, and let grievances fester. Those purporting to be Muslim have instead to make terror their greatest accomplishment.
And yes, they ruin it for others who share their superficial ethnic, national, religious and physical characteristics.
It's a crazy world, isn't it?
Apologies if I have offended.
It is unbearable to hear and see how people discriminate other races in public. The saddest thing is they judge this people in a very wrong and unfair way. Hope that the discrimination of muslimah will end soon.
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