Quote:
Originally Posted by ktspktsp
And despite being treated differently at US airports, thankfully no American I've met was openly hostile towards me because of those events.
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sadly i cant say that even though australia is in the very corner of one side of the world, that ive been immune to what you speak of.
she-lish has been abused in the street and on public transport for being an arab, for being muslim. she was forced off the train because of some guys threats. she fled the train in tears. a man threatening a helpless female university student who had no connection to the events that day, except that she shared the same religion as a few nutters.
That day, people forgot that innocents weren't legal fodder. That day, all sides forgot what was right and what was just. From that day onwards people lost their innocence and treated everyone with suspicion and caution. i remember walking through sydney and it was a ghost town. people would look at me like an alien. i wasnt anglosaxon, therefore i was a possible enemy.
i would never forget that day. i remember going into work and listening to talk back radio. the pure hate and vengeance that would come from peoples mouths was pure fanaticism. i remember listening and disbelieving that some of these things were not only being said, but being allowed on the airwaves. That day incitement became order of the day, and anything foreign became fairgame.
i am sad for those innocent lives lost. i am sad for those sad mothers and fathers, those brothers and sisters, uncles, neices, nephews, friends and for strangers who perished as a result of 9/11. I am sad for the innocent lives lost in the 9/11 attacks. all 3000 of them.
But, i am saddened at the innocents lost in afghanistan and iraq. The infamous wedding celebration that was bombed, the infrastructure that was destroyed, the daisycutters used that would kill and maime all in its path, the brute force used was unparallel against one of the poorest nations in the world. My heart yearns not only for the justice for the 3000 on that day, but also for the tens of thousands, if not more, of innocent lives that have gone by the wayside unnoticed. for every death, a whole family would vow to avenge that death. Nobody has a right to take innocent lives. NOBODY!
its saddens me more that people to this day still have not tried to understood 'the other'. we are not the enemy! we are as much human as you are. we all yearn for peace, happiness, off spring and security. we all have feelings, we all live, breath and eat, we are not robots programmed to detonate on demand. it really does sadden me that some still think that we are fair game and that the lives of arabs or muslims are somewhat less important or less significant that those of american lives. it saddens me that the voice of vengeance is still alive and well today, no matter what side you are on. it saddens me that people like jorgelito lost family, and that innocent children lay limbless in hospitals as a result of a few nutjobs.
That day set a chain of events that will never be forgiven. ever.
During my time on TFP (and especially the past year and a half) ive tried to introduce to the wider audience my life in the middle east. There are plenty of good things that come from the middle east. i try and highlight these things. im an optimist and i hope that you have taken some of this away from reading my post and spread it amongst others. the worst voice is the voice of ignorance, and if i have highlighted something that wasnt apparent to the TFP audience then my job has been done.
in saying that, i am also a realist. i do realise that theres a lot of work to be done in the middle east, and i do hope that in time that things will change. it may take a generation. maybe more, maybe less, but the change is imminent.
This day in history changed the course of history and the lives of billions forever.
[edit: was writing this at an ungodly hour and got the number of people killed wrong. it was 3000 not 1400]