TWO DEVELOPMENTS that characterise the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy in the United States are the clamour for vengeance against the perpetrators of the terrorist acts, and the instances of hostility inflicted on persons perceived as being Muslim or of Middle Eastern origins.

The first we can understand, since it is instinctual for human beings to want to exact revenge for wrongs or acts of injustice meted out to them. And in this instance, it is not just randomly-polled Americans crying for vengeance but the United States administration as well as other leading states. The second and, possibly, the more disturbing development, has to do with the bigoted thinking which assumes that because Muslims or Middle Eastern persons are suspected to have been involved in activating the terrible scheme to hijack American passenger aircraft and then deliberately use them to plough through the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC, then ordinary citizens, who appear to be of the same racial origins or religious belief must be harassed, hurt and even killed.

Over the last week, both the print and electronic media have been disseminating reports of threats and personal attacks on Muslims and persons, who seem to be of Middle Eastern origins.

A Guyanese-born man, who is seeking public office in New York, has complained of `racial-profiling’ being practised on certain nationals from the Caribbean. In England, a 19-year-old Muslim girl was treated for head and shoulder injuries after she was reportedly attacked by a white man with a baseball bat.

In the same Reuters story, an Afghani taxi driver in London was left paralysed after being assaulted in the aftermath of the terrorist incidents last week. Another Reuters story yesterday said that American Police are investigating whether the killings of a Sikh gas station worker in Arizona and a Pakistani grocer in Texas may have been racially motivated crimes triggered by the terrorist attacks. The officials expressed the view that Sikhs, who wear turbans and beards, may be mistaken for supporters of bin Laden and targeted for attack.

Last Monday, a 29-year-old-man in Parma, Ohio, drove his car into the entrance of a Mosque causing US$100,000 in damage. Fortunately, the holy edifice was unoccupied at the time. A few days ago, a BBC radio documentary played the tape of the voice of an American male, who had telephoned threats to a Muslim centre in the United States.

Even, here in Guyana, the `Chronicle’ was informed of an incident on the East Bank, where a seemingly enraged man rushed into a shop with a cutlass and `broadsided’ a customer while loudly accusing the man of being associated with the persons who destroyed the New York twin towers.

FIGHTING DEMONS
One character in the novel, The October Circle by Robert Liddell makes a profound assertion when he utters in so many words, “You must fight the demons without becoming the demons you fight. When you adopt the oppressor’s tactics and his weapons, and his language, even if you win, you lose, because you are now the `enemy’.” Another woman on BBC television said much the same thing when asked to comment on the fact that the U.S. administration was preparing for a war against terrorism. She said in effect, “We should be isolating and punishing terrorists, not becoming terrorists ourselves. In that way, the chain of violence will continue and more innocent people will be killed.”

We believe that the world has a right to seek out and sanction terrorists and the perpetrators of mass murders. We are also of the view that a rush to judgement and any indiscriminate bombings of countries believed to be associated with the persons or organisations responsible for the September 11 carnage, would result in the snuffing out of more innocent lives.

EDITOR’s Note: The Guest Editorial, titled: The deportees dilemma in our Tuesday edition, was published in The Trinidad Guardian on Monday, September 17, 2001.