http://ideas.time.com/2012/03/28/where-are-the-protests-against-the-killing-of-shaima-al-awadi/?iid=op-article-mostpop1
I read this article tonight after a day of meeting and dining with the international director of Jesuit Refugee Services and the Jordan JRS core team staff who were nice enough to invite me to participate in their meet and greet with this very interesting and passionate overseer of the bigger picture of this global organization. For those of you who don't want to read the whole (short) article, it's about the murder of Shaima Al Awadi, the Iraqi woman who was killed in her home in El Cajon, CA. I have been reading a lot about this tragic story lately, feeling outraged at the "blame the victim" language that asked why this mother of five didn't call the police when she received a first threatening note. I strongly nod in agreement as this article asks that all racial profiling deserves to be called as it is-ignorance and fear- and must be furiously combated.
While reading, I think of my many Iraqi students and coworkers with JRS, who dream of going to the U.S. where they can once again be eligible to have livelihoods. I think about my former student and friend who has just been resettled and pray that he and his family remain safe and free from abuse. I think about the unjust war that created chaos impossible to "go home" too, as the note next to Ms. Awadi so horrifically ordered. The stories that I've heard from my friends and colleagues and the fear and feeling with which they tell them, I know that Iraq, a country plagued by lasting wars is no longer a place that resembles "home," with a constant threat of bribes, bombings, kidnappings, and murder While I don't feel like it is my place, at least not in the context of this blog, to retell any of these specific stories, I would like to use a bit of the general information I've heard to advocate for these people. People who, hopefully, will continue to be resettled in a country with open arms and hearts; a country that recognizes hate crimes and villainizes those who commit them, demanding justice for all genders, colors of skin, religious identity, and for God's sake clothing choices.
With that said, a few common themes from Iraqi voices:
-Iraq is chaos. You want people to go back? HA. Maybe in three, four generations. You would be crazy to go back now. Never in this lifetime. Never.
-Money and corruption is rampant. Oil and the west has poured unfathomable amounts of money that is being folded nicely into the pockets of a small portion of businessmen and politicians. Money comes for a new bridge, a third of the bridge is built (poorly) and the rest of the funding for this project mysteriously disappears leaving a nice structure that severely lacks to serve its main purpose of getting people across water.
-Violence is real. Threats are real. Kidnapping is real.
-Many people helped the American army. Many people served as translators, cultural advisors, worked in offices. Even in war Iraqis were a hospitable people.
-Once upon a time, Iraq was a great place. Christians and Muslims lived in peace. People were highly educated and successful. People love to laugh and joke and eat. The food remains delicious. No one should forget this vision of "true" Iraq and what it means to be Iraqi. They are highly qualified and good at getting along.
-There is no hope here in Jordan. Without work, life is routine. Nothing is new, nothing happens, there is little to do but wait. Learn English to go to America. Learn computer skills to make yourself marketable... in America once you're there. There is family in the states. There are opportunities awaiting. Waiting for a year, two, five, ten? Never know when the UN could ring you up. You just have to wait. A constant state of liminality waiting for...
So waiting for what? Please, America, do something while I'm gone. Iraqis did me a favor by loving me and accepting me into their school and their lives. Return the favor. Let's call a spade a spade and a hate crime a hate crime. Let's all own our responsibility. We are responsible for the war in Iraq, and we are, in part, responsible for the murder of Shaima Al Awadi. As long as society tolerates in any form attacks based on identity, from murder to bigoted language to employment discrimination, we are responsible. I think we could learn a thing or two from Arab hospitality.
I read this article tonight after a day of meeting and dining with the international director of Jesuit Refugee Services and the Jordan JRS core team staff who were nice enough to invite me to participate in their meet and greet with this very interesting and passionate overseer of the bigger picture of this global organization. For those of you who don't want to read the whole (short) article, it's about the murder of Shaima Al Awadi, the Iraqi woman who was killed in her home in El Cajon, CA. I have been reading a lot about this tragic story lately, feeling outraged at the "blame the victim" language that asked why this mother of five didn't call the police when she received a first threatening note. I strongly nod in agreement as this article asks that all racial profiling deserves to be called as it is-ignorance and fear- and must be furiously combated.
While reading, I think of my many Iraqi students and coworkers with JRS, who dream of going to the U.S. where they can once again be eligible to have livelihoods. I think about my former student and friend who has just been resettled and pray that he and his family remain safe and free from abuse. I think about the unjust war that created chaos impossible to "go home" too, as the note next to Ms. Awadi so horrifically ordered. The stories that I've heard from my friends and colleagues and the fear and feeling with which they tell them, I know that Iraq, a country plagued by lasting wars is no longer a place that resembles "home," with a constant threat of bribes, bombings, kidnappings, and murder While I don't feel like it is my place, at least not in the context of this blog, to retell any of these specific stories, I would like to use a bit of the general information I've heard to advocate for these people. People who, hopefully, will continue to be resettled in a country with open arms and hearts; a country that recognizes hate crimes and villainizes those who commit them, demanding justice for all genders, colors of skin, religious identity, and for God's sake clothing choices.
With that said, a few common themes from Iraqi voices:
-Iraq is chaos. You want people to go back? HA. Maybe in three, four generations. You would be crazy to go back now. Never in this lifetime. Never.
-Money and corruption is rampant. Oil and the west has poured unfathomable amounts of money that is being folded nicely into the pockets of a small portion of businessmen and politicians. Money comes for a new bridge, a third of the bridge is built (poorly) and the rest of the funding for this project mysteriously disappears leaving a nice structure that severely lacks to serve its main purpose of getting people across water.
-Violence is real. Threats are real. Kidnapping is real.
-Many people helped the American army. Many people served as translators, cultural advisors, worked in offices. Even in war Iraqis were a hospitable people.
-Once upon a time, Iraq was a great place. Christians and Muslims lived in peace. People were highly educated and successful. People love to laugh and joke and eat. The food remains delicious. No one should forget this vision of "true" Iraq and what it means to be Iraqi. They are highly qualified and good at getting along.
-There is no hope here in Jordan. Without work, life is routine. Nothing is new, nothing happens, there is little to do but wait. Learn English to go to America. Learn computer skills to make yourself marketable... in America once you're there. There is family in the states. There are opportunities awaiting. Waiting for a year, two, five, ten? Never know when the UN could ring you up. You just have to wait. A constant state of liminality waiting for...
So waiting for what? Please, America, do something while I'm gone. Iraqis did me a favor by loving me and accepting me into their school and their lives. Return the favor. Let's call a spade a spade and a hate crime a hate crime. Let's all own our responsibility. We are responsible for the war in Iraq, and we are, in part, responsible for the murder of Shaima Al Awadi. As long as society tolerates in any form attacks based on identity, from murder to bigoted language to employment discrimination, we are responsible. I think we could learn a thing or two from Arab hospitality.
