Shanzeh Umerani
“We don’t want them here,” the President of the United States said, as he signed an executive order to ban refugees and immigrants from 7 Middle Eastern countries from entering the U.S. for a period of four months.  The order sparked outrage across the Muslims of the nation, creating peaceful protests and huge crowds in airports from here in Virginia all the way to California; people chanting and yelling, “Let them in,” for people were being detained on the flights that had just landed.

As the people opposed in the streets and other public places, more concerns were taking place in the homes where this order will have a direct impact.   Born and raised in Northern Virginia, I am not surprised at blatantly racist comments about my ethnicity and beliefs.  After the second grade, I grew accustomed to the term “terrorist,” and the constant questions about whether my dad worked for Osama Bin Laden, if he was a terrorist, or if anyone in my family had a part in the attacks on 9/11. At eight years of age, I had to adapt – but never did I worry about my safety in the home and community I lived in.

With the recent election, the amount of hate crimes against Muslims has risen. Even before Trump, there was still a stigma about the peaceful people I knew and loved since childhood: mosques burned during prayers, killings based on small crimes with people making irrational excuses, and those wearing hijabs harassed on the street.  Even on the day of inauguration, people gathered outside of a mosque in D.C. and yelled words of hate through a megaphone, towards not just the people, but the faith itself.

This ban is now rumored to include my ethnic country, Pakistan.  Within my own family, I am concerned for two people: one with a green card afraid of being detained, the other waiting for a visa to come into the U.S..  My own safety is something that worries me. If my mosque is next to be burnt, if I’m safe to say what I am and where I am from, if I would be detained for simply having a religious belief that is now categorized as dangerous.  Do I feel safe? No. It isn’t just. It is not American, it’s not ethical or moral in any sense of the words.

The people of America need to stand up, and they have.  In times like this, showing your support to those who are from the 7 banned countries, or who are just Muslim, is important – let them know they are safe and that you have respect for them. I have gotten messages such as these for the past two days and it does offer some comfort knowing there are Americans who know this is wrong and unethical to a high extent.