Remembering those killed in the 9/11 backlash
By Ray Hanania
On Saturday, Americans will remember the 2,996 people killed in the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. They will mourn them, recall their lives, and remember the events of that horrific day. But few will spend any time remembering the dozens of Americans who were killed in the weeks and months after 9/11 in backlash violence that targeted people who “looked” Middle Eastern or were Muslim.
The tragic tales of these victims have never been fully told or acknowledged by the American people. In many cases, the police and judicial system seemed reluctant to connect their murders to 9/11, despite the fact that the federal government later acknowledged a sharp rise in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination and violence.
Anger and racism prevents many Americans from accepting the fact that the murders were tied to 9/11, because the victims were Muslim or “Middle Eastern-looking” Pakistanis, Sikhs or Hindus. They have never been included in the commemorations for that tragic event. But every single one of the backlash victims should be recognized when Americans pause to remember the terrorist attacks on Saturday.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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