The Washington Post features the plight of a Pakistani American family today. The tale is a real downer so for all of you who like depressing books by South Asian authors (oh wait, thats all of them) read on:
On Wednesday morning, as most of the country was either reeling from the election or celebrating it, a slim, long-faced youth named Syed Shah sat in his family’s darkened living room in front of a blue hard-shell American Tourister suitcase and contemplated what it means to be a man.
The suitcase was brimming with papers. “Work Permit,” said one manila folder, in handwritten English and Urdu script. Beside it, photocopies of expired diplomatic visas were strewn across the pistachio-green carpet. He must figure out what to do with these documents so his family can keep working legally in the United States.
Why the great burden on this teenager? His father, according to the article, was shot in a robbery while delivering Pizzas. That was one of three jobs his father held. This is sad of course but you have probably heard stories like this before. Here is what is different though about his father’s story though:
He spoke four languages and had been a diplomat with the Pakistani government, living with his family in Iran and Syria before coming here to take a post with the Pakistan Embassy. When the posting ended unexpectedly and the government wanted to move him to another country, he said no.
“He said, ‘My kids are now in school here, and we don’t need to disturb their education,’ ” said Jafar Hussein, a longtime family friend who has been helping sort their affairs. Instead, Musharaf left his job at the embassy and found other work — delivering The Washington Post and the Washington Times in the early morning, working at 7-Eleven, Kmart and later Pizza Hut in the daytime and evenings. He was always scanning the classifieds for better jobs, and he joked about attending college with his kids.
Now the only thing running through my head is “what a waste.” This guy was delivering Pizza when he could have been recruited to help in the War against Islamic Fundamentalism. He spoke four languages and was an expert on Iran an Syria. Obviously I don’t know if he’d even be willing to help the government if he got an offer and of course he wasn’t a citizen yet, but it just strikes me as such a shame that many people have to start at the bottom rung of the employment ladder when coming from abroad even if skilled in something the U.S. might need. The article depresses me further as it ends with something all too familiar to any son.
Now the son must take a crash course on all the father knew — including driving and caring for the family car. “He wouldn’t give the key to me,” Shah recalled. “He said, ‘It’s dangerous — you drive too fast. Where you need to go, I’ll drop you.’ ” But now the Toyota Camry his father used for pizza deliveries belongs to Shah. He pays the car insurance, $200 a month, and he takes the Camry in for repairs, which this week cost the family $700.
🙁
Would you trust a former Pakistani diplomat to help the USA fight the War against Islamic Fundamentalism? Of course, not every Pakistani is a fundie, but I would be concerned about the bloke passing along tactics, methods, and sources to his ex-Pak government contacts.
But that’s besides my point – this is still a very, very sad story. The theme of this story has been played out several times in the South Asian community, and undoubtedly will continue to be repeated in the future.
I wish that we South Asians were more organized in taking care of our own when tragedies like this happen. I think that simple things like helping the family out with rides to the grocery store, or even with some of their bills, could go a long way. Shame on us for not being organized 🙁
(On second thought, I guess this helping role is usually played by the family’s temple/mosque/church/synagogue… but surely a better job could be done?)
I wonder why this was not called a “hate crime”. Perhaps it is because the ethnicities of the assailants were all too predictable?
See here:
and just in case you thought the name etymology wasn’t conclusive:
And here’s another one – the murder victim was only 19, and they killed him for pizza:
one might also read about cabbies in NY:
or :
I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point. It is not whites who are committing these crimes. If it were, I’m sure that abhi & manish would be outraged – and I would be alongside them.
Asian americans – east & south – are victims of violent crime. But it isn’t whites who’re doing the victimization…which is why the myopic focus on “hate crimes” by whites is exactly backwards and a pluperfect example of displaced anger.
But that’s besides my point – this is still a very, very sad story. The theme of this story has been played out several times in the South Asian community, and undoubtedly will continue to be repeated in the future. I wish that we South Asians were more organized in taking care of our own when tragedies like this happen
I think the focus should be on preventing these tragedies, by giving the police the ability to do their job without bringing up bogus complaints about racial profiling. The fact is that 89.2% of violent crime victims in New York City (to take one example) reported their assailants to be either black or Hispanic. Blinding yourself to that reality by calling cops “racist” will cause more of these all-too-preventable deaths.
How ridiculous to focus on ultra-rare “hate crime” – defined exclusively as those committed by whites – when attacks by blacks & Hispanics happen on a far more regular basis. Why is it that only the enormously infrequent attacks by whites get any press and any tut-tutting? I know that guilty white leftists have their own issues here, and would rather flee the city or wall themselves into fortified apartments than acknowledge the truth…but why exactly should desi leftists keep silent when the victimizers have a pretty consistent ethno-statistical profile?
Why is it an occasion for political action & organization when a white guy merely insults someone, but only a “tragedy” when a desi is outright murdered by a black or Hispanic?
GC: If you can’t accurately remember my views, stop using my name.
The definition of hate crime does not distinguish perpetrator’s race.
Manish,
I believe GC should definitely know better than to engage in the ole, “Where’s the outrage from [fill in the blank]?” But while the definition of hate crimes makes no mention of the assailant’s ethnicity, what has been the actual practice? While there has been heightened awareness about possible profiling and hate crimes directed at South Asians after 9/11 – I was really miffed when the same activists ignored the whole cabbie-black passenger brouhaha in NY a couple of years ago. All sorts of racial accusations were being leveled at South Asian cabbies, and I believe the only one who spoke up in their defense was the Indian-born head of the cabbie association. I cannot remember any South Asian activists (most of whom are American born and middle class) coming to their defense, explaining that their actions are more likely resulting from rational calculations about risk, rather than racial animus. From where I sit, it sure seems that activists become more enraged as the color of the violater lightens.
I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point. It is not whites who are committing these crimes.
If that’s your point, I’m left to ask: well, what is your point? I don’t know many “lefties” who are interested in distinguishing among the race of the assailants when talking about hate crimes, but keep flogging that straw man if it’s your only entree into defending racial profiling.
Incidentally, if your point is to show that the majority of hate crimes committed against South Asians are perpetrated by Blacks, you might want to rely on more than a report whose very purpose is to recount only those incidents where the assailants were Black.
Talk about sampling bias.
I second ANNA 🙁
This is really a terrible story.
I am an African American male married to an Asian woman with two beautiful daughters. We have been married for 10 years. I want to share my own opinions.
Recently I just attended a wedding of a black woman to an Asian man. It was Beautiful!
People can live together in harmony, but Often times the poor is scapegoated and the rich powerful and obfuscators go without penalty.
Its a sad commentary to the world when the poor must become predators to the poor to survive in a society. As conflict rages in Iraq, families are uprooted and devastated while the rich, and powerful gain ground by more destruction, be it in, Korea, The Middle east, or Latin America.
It is no mystery why the people turn inward and become participants in their own demise.
The poor people have no recourse, and the Palestians die, the africans die, the Latino’s die, the Arabs die, the Asians die, everyone suffers for the abuse inflicted for money, and power. Except those who promulgate death and have wealth already.