Recently, I have heard a lot of talk about 9/11.
Some locals were talking about it at the Peak District hotel and now we
discussed it in class, so I thought I'd talk about a experience I had on my way
to Paris. It is impressive that an event that happened almost 11 years ago
still has enormous consequences throughout the world.
So, my train schedule was tight and I had to run
to check in. The train security is not nearly as crazy as airport
security, but there still a protocol to be followed, and a lot of time was lost
while having bags scanned and going though the line to the metal detector. With
less than 15 minutes to spare, I found myself in a very short line. That
special line for people in risk of losing their rides. I calmed down a little
bit because there were only a couple of people in front of me and Addison and I
still had 13 minutes to go. That is when I realized them man right in
front of us was Middle Eastern (and wearing tradition clothes, complete with
headgear). For one microsecond I though "Oh, shoot, they are going to stop
this man and I'll love my train" (very selfish, I know), but then I
rationalized: we are in a rush, this is the fast line... The border agents
aren’t stopping anyone, why would he stop that man? The discrimination towards
Muslims and Middle Eastern people has subside throughout the last year. The
boarder agent is only going to stamp his passport and let him go.
But surprise! the man was stopped. The young
lady organizing the lines changed me and Addison to another queue as
soon as she saw the man, trying to reason with the agent (which, it seems,
stopped him for no reason). That other line had 5 people in it already, but how
long does it take to stamp a passport, really? So when I cross the
English/French boarder, with some 8 minutes to spare, I looked back and saw the
Middle Eastern man still there.
The good part to this story is that I didn't lose my train to Paris, the bad part is that the consequences of the prejudice institutionalized by the post 9/11 security measures are still humiliating, demeaning and annoying a lot of people. It gets you thinking. That "terrorist" attack, supposedly planned by Muslim extremists (I have my doubts, but I'm not gonna get into conspiracy theory right now) really backfire on your average Muslim, who is a good and respected member of his community, has children, pets, hobbies and doesn't own guns or any explosive device.
The good part to this story is that I didn't lose my train to Paris, the bad part is that the consequences of the prejudice institutionalized by the post 9/11 security measures are still humiliating, demeaning and annoying a lot of people. It gets you thinking. That "terrorist" attack, supposedly planned by Muslim extremists (I have my doubts, but I'm not gonna get into conspiracy theory right now) really backfire on your average Muslim, who is a good and respected member of his community, has children, pets, hobbies and doesn't own guns or any explosive device.
It is no secret that the richer European nations
(mainly France, England and Germany) do like their xenophobia, and that things
have been hard for middle eastern, asian and african immigrants around
west Europe for a while before the twin towers tumbled down in a pile of dust
and fire, but the 9/11 "terrorist" attack just made things worse for
everyone. It basically allowed a bunch of nations to institutionalize
racism, specifically in boarder control points.
On 9/12, it was perfectly okey to stop a man in
immigration just because he had a longer beard and a "muslim name"
(by muslim name, I mean names taken from the Qur'an and other muslim religious
texts). "Are you dark skinned, are you from the middle east? so why, sir,
you must be a suicide bomber".
I am not opposed to airport security (or to
security in general) in any way. I don't mind having my documents and personal
belongings checked, if that means I'll be less likely to be killed in an
airplane (or any other mean of transportation/place, actually), but I do mind
when some people get checked more than others.
They call it "Random
selection" in the US, but it is a method used in many nations. The
boarder police is allowed to stop any person they want, and it is completely
"random", of course. Those "randomly" selected people are
subject to monetary losses due to lost airplanes/trains/boats, humiliation and
the temporary sanction of their rights. Of course, it is a right of
every sovereign nation to allow or deny the entry
of foreigners in their territory as they may, but it is still
alarming that today, almost 11 years after the attack to the World Trade
Center, muslims or non-muslim middle eastern people have to suffer through
the drag of being "randomly selected".
FYI for the PR people that
coined the term "random selection": it is not random if it's base on
what a person looks, what's the person name is or where a person's passport
was emitted. It would be random if every boarder control agents had an
electronic device (an app, who know) that biped at random intervals,
based on a logarithm unknown by said agents.
I think you made a really interesting observation during your trip to Paris. I personally feel like racial profiling has in some ways decreased in American airports, only to be replaced by full body scanners that emit radiation. Of course, America still runs into this issue when we look at the Arizona immigration law that was taken to the Supreme Court this year.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you're right when you say that Western Europe is no stranger to xenophobia. Take a look at the law passed by France last year prohibiting Muslim women from wearing full body hijabs (forgive my lack of correct terminology). The French government claims it is for security reasons, but there is definitely reason to suspect otherwise. With that being said, in all my travels through Western Europe this summer, I can honestly say I never witnessed what you did. In fact, when traveling on the continent, the security at airports seems to be lessened. That is why I believe that there may be other things that contributed to what you witnessed. The UK is very strict when it comes to security and immigration. Many of us witnessed this firsthand when you arrived and went through customs. Regarding the security specifically, they have a reason to be concerned. In just a few days the influx of people into London will be astronomical. With people coming from all parts of the globe, I believe that heightened security is warranted. I personally would not object to everybody at Heathrow being patted down the day I leave, but that's just me. I think that if there is some subconscious profiling aimed at Muslims or Arabs in general, that is fueled by the current political climate in the Middle East and Northern Africa. That doesn't necessarily mean it is okay to group innocent people together in the same category as terrorists. There is, however, a difficulty posed by this situation. Locating security threats is hard. I do not condone racial profiling, but I do understand it is a difficult issue to reconcile.
This is always a pretty touchy subject, and one that I think about a lot when I travel. I do believe that it is wrong to single out individuals based solely on skin color, race, or clothing choice. However, I feel that the state of affairs dealing with travel security is complicated and irritating right now. I understand the need for security but, like you said, if something is going to be called "random", then it should in some way actually be random. All of this terrorist fear all over the world is incredibly unfair to Muslims and residents of the Middle East, and sadly, I think that is in some way what the terrorists want. Their very name implies their used of terror as a weapon. I appreciate heightened security but at the same time, it makes me mad and upset that these few groups of brainwashed and deranged individuals have caused such an issue for the rest of us and especially people of Middle Eastern descent. It is seriously unfair, but life is unfair I guess.
ReplyDeleteI got the full body pat down at the Frankfurt airport, twice.
ReplyDeleteWhile I want to be sensitive to the hearts and minds of the people of the Middle East, airport security is important. We were young when 9/11 happened. I claim to remember 9/11. I remember that my house, which lies underneath a DFW flight path, was unreasonably quiet. I remember watching the television standing in the living room for hours of end. Those two planes crashing into a building that I had stood on the top of a few weeks before will be emblazoned in my memory forever.
However, we were 10 or 11 years old on 9/11. We missed a lot of the cultural backlash. We also missed a lot of the fear. Oh what it is to be young!
Airport security, to me, is something that is not to be toyed with. If you set off a metal detector, look suspicious, or have something of suspect in your carry on, I think you should be checked on. Hell, I think we should all be checked on. This obviously, is a little unreasonable, so security officials--for the safety of air travel--must profile.
Let's get back to Frankfurt. I am a small, blonde American. No one is afraid of me. I am kind of a pushover, and my parents did not do a very good job about teaching me not to talk to strangers. I smile at my customs agents and wear floor length skirts when I travel. Yet, I was pulled aside intentionally twice in the Frankfurt airport because they were skeptical of me. I was a young woman travelling alone. I had bought a one way ticket into London Heathrow. I had arrived in Germany by train from Switzerland. I only had a carry on bag. They pulled me aside because they had questions and they wanted to be sure.
I did not mind, because I want my planes safe. The issue is sticky and not an easy one, but I think we can all agree that we do not want any more planes flying into any more buildings. For that peace of mind, I will submit to as many full pat-downs as I need to.
I was on a plane once, sitting next to a gabby lady waiting for boarding to finish, when a dark skinned man in a kurt a or some such Middle Eastern apparel got on. The woman turned to me and said, conspiratorially, "doesn't that send chills down your spine." "No," I replied. Her face kind of changed, and paled, and she proceeded to apologize for herself. A revealing moment, and I wonder how long she considered this kind of comment inappropriate.
ReplyDelete