Arab-American

Arab-American Where is my America' The land of golden-paved streets, the land of opportunity and equality' Where is this place they call the melting pot' My family came here November 20, 1984, exactly three months prior my birth date. Without a lick of knowledge of American culture, nor any notion of the English tongue, they crossed harsh waters of the Atlantic only to flee the political violence surrounding a past homeland. Within a week, I will be eighteen, a legal adult subject to unlawful racial profiling and arrest. As I learn of the Red Scare, the Palmer Raids, the case of Sacco and Venzetti from my U.S. History class, and recall prior knowledge of the Japanese-American internment camps, my fears for my family and myself grow, and I must raise certain questions with my society. My name is Amir Kasseif, age seventeen, eldest of two of my mother’s children, and fully-assimilated descendent of a proud Pakistani bloodline. From November 1919 to January 1920, over 6,000 people were arrested with limited evidence in the Palmer Raids (which, in total captivated over 10,000). Most of whom were foreign-born, as many as 500 were even deported. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered mass arrests of anarchists, socialists and labor agitators. Palmer also went as far as to establish a special office under J. Edgar Hoover, whose sole purpose was to gather information on radicals. Dare I compare my current situation with such Red Scare hysteria' It would not be fair to accuse the government of a second coming, but my paranoia is certainly justified. I have already witnessed resentful reaction from my environment without circumstance; it is another mass response like that of the Red Scare, which outlines my fears. In 1921, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Venzetti were convicted in Massachusetts of robbery and murder. However, there was no conclusive evidence. Liberals protested that the accusations’ nature was based on their lowly stature of poor Italian anarchist immigrants. After six years of appeals and national debates, both were executed in 1927. This is only another example to further rectify my concerns. Also of lower-class and foreign blood, I fit in this category like a jig-saw puzzle piece. More recently, is the issue of Japanese internment camps after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, irrational fears of racism prompted the U.S. Government to order over 100,000 Japanese-Americans to move to the West Coast, to live in barracks complexes called internment camps. This situation hits more closely to home than the other two cases, simply because of the nature of the events that took place. The immediate reaction following Pearl Harbor and even the attack itself, is more directly related to those of September 11th. And even though in 1988, the government agreed to the injustice and awarded compensation to the living victims of internment, I don’t believe any financial reparations could make up for lost time. I cannot help but feel partially responsible for my family’s disposition; my parents only immigrated to America, so that they could raise their first-born in a land of peace. I have no resent for my American upbringing, government or culture. I feel as much an American as anyone; but everyone fails to see this. Did I mention I’m a natural-born citizen' Instead, they see my olive complexion and assume that I am genetically predisposed to acts of terrorism. I see the walls of the apartment complex, within which many Arabic families (as does mine) reside, riddled with images and depictions of hateful vandalism. Friends I’ve had since as long as I can remember, are now forbidden by their parents to associate with me. With a suffering social life, I now find myself watching the news rigorously, fearing another attack as many are predicting. For reasons most Americans fear, but foremost because of what the next mass reaction might be. For better or worse, changes will only come with time. Bibliography: