Ali Abunimah
Today was a day of enormous, unimaginable tragedy and indescribable in the United States. For me it was first of all day of intense personal worry, and then relief. My sister, her husband and their young daughter live literally in the shadow of the World Trade Center. The worst moment of my life was watching on TV as the first World Trade Center tower collpased on to their neighborhood. I spent an intensely agonizing time this morning before I could get in touch with them and learn that they were safe. They are unable to get back home but are in a hotel. But the only thing that matters is that they are safe and that I was able to reassure my parents in Amman and my other sister overseas of that.
My thoughts now are with the thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who have no clue where their loved ones are and who wait in agony for some information. Although the media have talked of nothing else but these attacks all day, there has been curiously little attention to how many people may have died or are missing. It is as if people have not yet woken up to how big this is, or are unwilling to contemplate that there must be at least thousands of dead. Already we know that 266 died aboard the hijacked airliners. The New York Firefighters Union is now saying that 200 of their members were killed when the World Trade Towers collapsed on top of rescue workers. There are horrifying pictures on TV of leaning and jumping out of upper floor windows of the towers before they collapsed. How many people were in them? No one knows yet, but the worst news is yet to come as the next days reveal how many thousands of people have died.
I am used to high pressure days, with many media calls. This has become part of my life, especially during the Intifada. But I have never experienced anything like today, with dozens of calls from radio and newspapers. My message was simple: Arab Americans share the shock and horror of all other Americans, that we must not jump to conclusions and must avoid the backlash against Arabs and Muslims that followed the Oklahoma City bombing and the TWA 800 crash. But this is so much bigger and people are so much angrier.
There is so far no connection to anything Middle Eastern, and this definitely has nothing to do with Palestinians, whose struggle is with their Israeli occupiers, not with the people of the United States. Things will be harder for us now as we make the case for Palestinian rights, as our enemies will try to take every possible advantage of this tragedy. But we must continue to speak for human rights for all people and for an end to bloodshed and war. But it is hard to think about that now. Now the people of New York deserve the support and solidarity that we would give to any people subjected to such an attack.
I received dozens of emails, some expressing the worst kind of hatred and vengeful feelings directed against Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims. I also received many messages of support and solidarity and these helped me to get through the day. The next few days will be just as hard or harder for all of us. This is an unfathomable human tragedy brought about by an enormous, unforgiveable and incredible crime.
I am planning to go ahead with a previously arranged trip to New York later this week. I will try to keep you informed if I can. I hope and pray that all those who are waiting for news from loved ones will get good news, and I offer my most heartfelt condolences to those who have lost friends and family members.
My thoughts now are with the thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who have no clue where their loved ones are and who wait in agony for some information. Although the media have talked of nothing else but these attacks all day, there has been curiously little attention to how many people may have died or are missing. It is as if people have not yet woken up to how big this is, or are unwilling to contemplate that there must be at least thousands of dead. Already we know that 266 died aboard the hijacked airliners. The New York Firefighters Union is now saying that 200 of their members were killed when the World Trade Towers collapsed on top of rescue workers. There are horrifying pictures on TV of leaning and jumping out of upper floor windows of the towers before they collapsed. How many people were in them? No one knows yet, but the worst news is yet to come as the next days reveal how many thousands of people have died.
I am used to high pressure days, with many media calls. This has become part of my life, especially during the Intifada. But I have never experienced anything like today, with dozens of calls from radio and newspapers. My message was simple: Arab Americans share the shock and horror of all other Americans, that we must not jump to conclusions and must avoid the backlash against Arabs and Muslims that followed the Oklahoma City bombing and the TWA 800 crash. But this is so much bigger and people are so much angrier.
There is so far no connection to anything Middle Eastern, and this definitely has nothing to do with Palestinians, whose struggle is with their Israeli occupiers, not with the people of the United States. Things will be harder for us now as we make the case for Palestinian rights, as our enemies will try to take every possible advantage of this tragedy. But we must continue to speak for human rights for all people and for an end to bloodshed and war. But it is hard to think about that now. Now the people of New York deserve the support and solidarity that we would give to any people subjected to such an attack.
I received dozens of emails, some expressing the worst kind of hatred and vengeful feelings directed against Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims. I also received many messages of support and solidarity and these helped me to get through the day. The next few days will be just as hard or harder for all of us. This is an unfathomable human tragedy brought about by an enormous, unforgiveable and incredible crime.
I am planning to go ahead with a previously arranged trip to New York later this week. I will try to keep you informed if I can. I hope and pray that all those who are waiting for news from loved ones will get good news, and I offer my most heartfelt condolences to those who have lost friends and family members.
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