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Sandy Rashty

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Sandy Rashty,

Sandy Rashty

Opinion

A little taste of what 'others' feel

December 19, 2013 13:04
2 min read

"I hate A-rabs,” said the young man next to me, in a southern accent. “I’ve just got out of the US Navy, and I can tell you, we Americans hate A-rabs. We still ain’t forgotten September 11. We don’t like Middle Eastern people."

My flight to New York last week was... telling. Spotting a star of David on my ring, my neighbour felt comfortable enough to vocalise his fear of Islam — after snacks had been handed out and pleasantries exchanged between the two of us.

His open polemic and refusal to whisper, despite me often pressing my forefinger to my lip, was surprising. The sites of Ground Zero and the Boston Marathon bombings were clearly etched in his mind — he seemed to associate all Muslims with Islamist terrorists, and there was no way to dissuade him. “We all feel it,” he matter-of-factly shrugged.

My queue to the US security booth was equally thought-provoking. The crumpled-nosed security officer looked at my surname, and wasn’t to know that I was a British girl born to Iraqi-Jewish parents.