Lena
Junior Member
:salam2:
Something I wanted to share..........please read on!
No one has forgotten 9/11 and what happened that day. It changed American history forever, but who else was affected other than Americans? I was still in Yemen when the Twin Towers collapsed. It was horrifying, and I was scared because that’s where I was moving to, New York. I cried and made a lot of calls to my family in New York to make sure everyone was alright. What surprised me is that even though everyone was fine, my relatives were worried about what they would be facing after what happened. I didn’t understand why they were even worried; maybe they thought they would be blamed for it. I realized then I was wrong. After 9/11 my family faced horrible things including: getting insulted, robbed, and shot at; just because we are Arabs.
For Arabs, getting insulted after 9/11 became common. I entered the United States five months after the 9/11 incident. I knew what I would be getting into, but was shocked by how people treated us. People’s views of Arabs changed, and I don’t think their views will improve anytime soon because of what happened in New York. It was frightening going outside and communicating with Americans; because some of them gave us the look that meant don’t even think about talking to me. For example, our neighbors didn’t get to know us until a year after we entered the United States, because they didn’t know if they can trust us or not. I really hated my first months here in the United States because I felt unwanted and I should leave the country. My excitement at living in the United States faded away as time went by. I was so scared to even go to school because I thought if my neighbors took them a year to talk to us, how long will it take me to know people at school? As much as I loved education, I hated going to school. It felt like people tried so hard to make me weak and quit school. They called me names that I never heard before like: “Osama lover, terrorist, and other names that are hard to say.” This made me feel so threatened and insulted that I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to quit school but I knew if I quit school now my future is over.
Another way we were getting insulted was by people making fun of our clothes and trying to embarrass us a lot. They would tell me and my family that we are in America and should act like them. I’ve always questioned where the freedom that America is known for was then? Is making fun of other people and insulting them freedom? This led to a lot of problems. My brothers used to get angry a lot, and hate how people treated us, so whenever someone called them a name, they would fight. One time this happened in high school with my brother, and even though everyone knew my brother did it because he was insulted, the school president suspended him for a week. We felt what we were going through was not fair, because we toke blame for everything even though we were the victims.
After a while, besides getting insulted, my family was also getting robbed more often. We expected to get robbed more after 9/11, because we owned stores with gas stations. People used to come up to us, and would tell whoever was working that we don’t deserve being in this country and earning money. The worst thing we could have done at that time was to talk. It was like there was nothing we could say or do to change their mind about us. Most of the time, my dad and brothers tried to let it go and say nothing to avoid problems. Not because my family was scared, but because they understood how hard it is to lose someone close, and Americans lost so many relatives on 9/11.
My mom always said we should leave the United States because with all the threats there were no way we could live peacefully. We didn’t want to give up though because we came here for better opportunities and a future. So, we had to really have patience with everyone. Then, something unexpected happened; a guy put a gun to my dad’s head and threatened him. My dad knew that if he didn’t do whatever the guy wanted, then he would kill him. The guy looked like he had just taken drugs, and my dad told us that at that moment all he thought of was us and what would happen to us. My dad gave him everything like: money, credit cards, ID, everything he had! I remember this because after the guy ran away, my dad called the police and then called me. I was shocked and started crying and called all my family to go see my dad. This was also so hard for my mom, and she wanted to go right back to our country. It was awful and after that day, we became more protective of each other and with each other all the time. For example, if we would go out, we would go as a group and not as an individual.
The worst thing my family went through was when my cousin got shot at. It was just another day in New York City; my cousin was working at the store like always. It was almost mid-night, and he was getting ready to close with my second cousin. A couple of African American guys came in holding guns and pointed at my cousins. They did not come to rob. All they did was say bad things about Arabs and started shooting my cousins without mercy. One of my cousins got shot in the leg, but the other one was shot in both legs and in the back of the head. They shot him a lot because he talked back to them. After my family knew what happened, we felt heartbroken, shocked, and angry. When my aunt got the news she fainted and cried while calling for her son to come back.
After the incident with my cousins, everyone asked us what happened, and we always replied by saying “Alhmud la Allah” (meaning we thank god for everything no matter what). My first cousin was treated and his leg healed fast. My second cousin fell into a coma for one year. When he woke up, the doctors knew that he lost his memory. Not only that, but he also was paralyzed and could never walk again. He didn’t know us nor his wife or children. It was heartbreaking especially for his family. His family (wife and children) took him home, and now he’s living with them. He can’t remember living with them before, but he’s getting used to the idea that those are his family. His wife went through a hard time to make him comfortable at his home that he can’t remember.
No one lived peacefully after 9/11 because we all felt frightened of what tomorrow might bring us. Some people went through horrible things more than others, and some thanked God a million times for the safety of their family. So, in the end, not only Americans lost someone they loved on 9/11. A lot of Arab people lost their life trying to be free and have some sense of security, but instead their life were as well taken. We all are humans no matter what country we came from or what religion we practiced. Our differentiation is what makes us so special. I hope this generation, as things are becoming clearer to us, not repeat those who made bad choices that we pay today.
This was written by my sibling in her English class. Our college is trying to publish it in the college newspaper. I hope they do so others realize that we all are humans and should peacefully coexist and respect and love one another and be kind. Or to just smile at one another. Is that too much to ask?
Something I wanted to share..........please read on!
No one has forgotten 9/11 and what happened that day. It changed American history forever, but who else was affected other than Americans? I was still in Yemen when the Twin Towers collapsed. It was horrifying, and I was scared because that’s where I was moving to, New York. I cried and made a lot of calls to my family in New York to make sure everyone was alright. What surprised me is that even though everyone was fine, my relatives were worried about what they would be facing after what happened. I didn’t understand why they were even worried; maybe they thought they would be blamed for it. I realized then I was wrong. After 9/11 my family faced horrible things including: getting insulted, robbed, and shot at; just because we are Arabs.
For Arabs, getting insulted after 9/11 became common. I entered the United States five months after the 9/11 incident. I knew what I would be getting into, but was shocked by how people treated us. People’s views of Arabs changed, and I don’t think their views will improve anytime soon because of what happened in New York. It was frightening going outside and communicating with Americans; because some of them gave us the look that meant don’t even think about talking to me. For example, our neighbors didn’t get to know us until a year after we entered the United States, because they didn’t know if they can trust us or not. I really hated my first months here in the United States because I felt unwanted and I should leave the country. My excitement at living in the United States faded away as time went by. I was so scared to even go to school because I thought if my neighbors took them a year to talk to us, how long will it take me to know people at school? As much as I loved education, I hated going to school. It felt like people tried so hard to make me weak and quit school. They called me names that I never heard before like: “Osama lover, terrorist, and other names that are hard to say.” This made me feel so threatened and insulted that I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to quit school but I knew if I quit school now my future is over.
Another way we were getting insulted was by people making fun of our clothes and trying to embarrass us a lot. They would tell me and my family that we are in America and should act like them. I’ve always questioned where the freedom that America is known for was then? Is making fun of other people and insulting them freedom? This led to a lot of problems. My brothers used to get angry a lot, and hate how people treated us, so whenever someone called them a name, they would fight. One time this happened in high school with my brother, and even though everyone knew my brother did it because he was insulted, the school president suspended him for a week. We felt what we were going through was not fair, because we toke blame for everything even though we were the victims.
After a while, besides getting insulted, my family was also getting robbed more often. We expected to get robbed more after 9/11, because we owned stores with gas stations. People used to come up to us, and would tell whoever was working that we don’t deserve being in this country and earning money. The worst thing we could have done at that time was to talk. It was like there was nothing we could say or do to change their mind about us. Most of the time, my dad and brothers tried to let it go and say nothing to avoid problems. Not because my family was scared, but because they understood how hard it is to lose someone close, and Americans lost so many relatives on 9/11.
My mom always said we should leave the United States because with all the threats there were no way we could live peacefully. We didn’t want to give up though because we came here for better opportunities and a future. So, we had to really have patience with everyone. Then, something unexpected happened; a guy put a gun to my dad’s head and threatened him. My dad knew that if he didn’t do whatever the guy wanted, then he would kill him. The guy looked like he had just taken drugs, and my dad told us that at that moment all he thought of was us and what would happen to us. My dad gave him everything like: money, credit cards, ID, everything he had! I remember this because after the guy ran away, my dad called the police and then called me. I was shocked and started crying and called all my family to go see my dad. This was also so hard for my mom, and she wanted to go right back to our country. It was awful and after that day, we became more protective of each other and with each other all the time. For example, if we would go out, we would go as a group and not as an individual.
The worst thing my family went through was when my cousin got shot at. It was just another day in New York City; my cousin was working at the store like always. It was almost mid-night, and he was getting ready to close with my second cousin. A couple of African American guys came in holding guns and pointed at my cousins. They did not come to rob. All they did was say bad things about Arabs and started shooting my cousins without mercy. One of my cousins got shot in the leg, but the other one was shot in both legs and in the back of the head. They shot him a lot because he talked back to them. After my family knew what happened, we felt heartbroken, shocked, and angry. When my aunt got the news she fainted and cried while calling for her son to come back.
After the incident with my cousins, everyone asked us what happened, and we always replied by saying “Alhmud la Allah” (meaning we thank god for everything no matter what). My first cousin was treated and his leg healed fast. My second cousin fell into a coma for one year. When he woke up, the doctors knew that he lost his memory. Not only that, but he also was paralyzed and could never walk again. He didn’t know us nor his wife or children. It was heartbreaking especially for his family. His family (wife and children) took him home, and now he’s living with them. He can’t remember living with them before, but he’s getting used to the idea that those are his family. His wife went through a hard time to make him comfortable at his home that he can’t remember.
No one lived peacefully after 9/11 because we all felt frightened of what tomorrow might bring us. Some people went through horrible things more than others, and some thanked God a million times for the safety of their family. So, in the end, not only Americans lost someone they loved on 9/11. A lot of Arab people lost their life trying to be free and have some sense of security, but instead their life were as well taken. We all are humans no matter what country we came from or what religion we practiced. Our differentiation is what makes us so special. I hope this generation, as things are becoming clearer to us, not repeat those who made bad choices that we pay today.
This was written by my sibling in her English class. Our college is trying to publish it in the college newspaper. I hope they do so others realize that we all are humans and should peacefully coexist and respect and love one another and be kind. Or to just smile at one another. Is that too much to ask?
my beloved brothers and sisters. I shared this story not to get sympathies. I shared this story so we can learn not to treat others with evil but with good. We all are special and just want to live in peace. Nothing else matters to me more than Allah. Allah is everything for me and because Allah alone I'm happy with my life despite difficulties. Keep smiling 