Inhumanity, Injustice, and insensitivity
The Aftermath?
A tragedy struck Boston today. A day full of energy and
spirit soon came to an abrupt end by means undesirable to any human being.
Explosions went off on sidewalks densely crowded by Mothers and fathers
alongside their hopeful children. I would imagine the children present at that
finish line wanted nothing more than to see runners cross it, as that was the
climax of their simple day. Not able to fulfill such a simple desire is what
saddened me the most on this dreadful day. Ashes of despair clouded the inspirational
blue sky. All hope was lost this day. The hope I talk about is the one I once
had in humanity. Unfortunately, as appalling as it was, the gruesome acts of
this day were not my biggest concern. Surely I do not blame those who do not
believe me when I say the worst was yet to come for me. Shortly after the dust
and debris of destruction had settled, a young Saudi national had been tackled
to the ground by a civilian bystander that claimed the young man had been
running. After being treated for being aggressively tackled to the ground, the
young Boston University student was found innocent of all assumptions. Despite
the fact that he was found innocent, it came at the unnecessary cost of long
lasting embarrassment that resulted from ignorant racial profiling of a
civilian American bystander. Unlike him, there is a portion of the American
population that is more educated than to let false stereotyping be the
motivator of their actions. Regretful I am to say, although, is that the
majority of the population does not fall under that category. I have spent
three years of my life in the United States, after spending the first seventeen
of them in Saudi Arabia. I came here with focused hopes in earning a degree in
a country reputably known for it’s outstanding academic institutions. Since the
day I landed in JFK airport three years ago, till this day, my focused
aspirations been interrupted at numerous occasions. I was burdened by the sense
of responsibility and duty I had to try and shed some positive light on the
reality of the overwhelming misjudgment of my people. In that time spent trying
to raise awareness and educate people on how generous, kind, sensitive, hospitable,
humble, simple, and passionately well intended my people are; I lost clear
sight of my initial goal. This is one subject that concerns me on a personal,
local, national, and definitely international level. If the horrific acts of
April 15th, 2013 prove to be done by a US national, could I not
point fingers and raise stereotypes of Americans being terrorists considering
the circumstances under which at countless times fingers had been pointed at
me? Not only could I, but I would also be carrying as valid a reason as most of
the frustratingly uninformed population that I have come across. Nevertheless,
I would never ponder upon such absurd thoughts because I know how it feels to
be victimized in such way and if there were ever any hope in living a life of
justice and truth, it would not be through vengeance.
Please leave your thoughts below
- Sultan Matar
