The country has been expecting a terror attack since the unfortunate events of 9/11 and the Madrid attacks. The recent attacks on London seem to be that day.
 | | Perennial student Tamer Asfahani |
This, however, isn’t a story of recent events. This is a story of how the ongoing activities of terror around the world have changed my life and how they continue to change my life and others like me. I was raised a Muslim, I have a Muslim name, my ethnicity is Syrian (Arabic) and I was born and raised in the UK. To look at me you wouldn’t be able to tell that I am ethnically Arabic and many people are surprised when I tell them. I grew up in Lincoln, a beautiful city in the East Midlands surrounded by RAF bases which house the NATO E-3D Sentry AWACS (aircraft used to monitor the skies of the world), Harriers, Tornados, the Vulcan V-Bomber (Disbanded in 1984, though still continued to fly into the late 80s) and of course the Red Arrows, which have been based in Lincolnshire and not far from Lincoln for as long as I remember. I have grown up watching planes land and take-off, and watching the Red Arrows practice their formation flying before and after they come back from Cyprus. I have seen all types of foreign aircraft fly over my head thanks to the internationally renowned Waddington Airshow. I lived in Saudi Arabia during and after the Gulf War and was one of the first civilians to see the infamous stealth bomber (F-117 Nighthawk) fly. So why am I telling you about my passion for planes in a time like this? Dramatic? Because for my whole life all I wanted to do was fly and because of my name, my background and ethnicity I can’t. This may seem like an exaggerated and dramatic way of putting it, but it’s true. There is little chance that I will be able to fly for a living because of who I am. I am not trying to take away from the tragedy of the unfortunate sequence of terrorist events that have changed the way we live, but I have noticed that I am treated with more caution than most people when travelling. I am a seasoned traveller and on average travel abroad up to eight times a year. | "As reports came through that the attacks were more than likely initiated by fundamentalist Muslims .... I felt my whole life fall with the towers." | | Tamer Asfahani |
During the G8 summit in Genoa, and just a few weeks before the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, I was in Cuba leading a work brigade. I had just finished my first year at university reading Aerospace Systems Engineering with a view to eventually be a test pilot (engineering degree required) and was due to come back from Cuba at the beginning of September. Three days after getting back from Cuba the attack on the World Trade Centre happened. As reports came through that the attacks were more than likely initiated by fundamentalist Muslims, looping the footage of the towers collapsing, I felt my whole life fall with the towers. It was as clear as the scarred New York skyline that I was never going to fly now, let alone get to test pilot school. In addition to this I had booked a flight to Sweden only a few days after the attacks on the World Trade Centre, and although I was only flying from Stansted and travelling was second nature to me, I was a little nervous. I wasn’t nervous because of the flights or any further attacks, but was more nervous because I had just come back from Cuba, I am Muslim and ethnically Arabic. I didn’t want any trouble at the airport, I just wanted to get on my flight and get to Stockholm. It didn’t happen. Going through departures I was stopped, taken aside and asked various questions as my bags were being checked. Swabbed Even though I hold a British passport, it felt like I was treated as an illegal immigrant. Unfortunately there had been a little spillage of washing detergent on the way back from Cuba in my bag, but despite my best efforts I hadn’t been able to get all the little grains of detergent out. My bag was swabbed, my MiniDisc player was taken from me and I was fully searched. Only a few weeks earlier I had travelled halfway across the world with no problems, and now, because of the actions of one group, my name and my future had been smeared. It wasn’t only the airports. Three months later I made a trip to Strasbourg to visit a friend on a year studying abroad. I took the Eurostar to Paris and didn’t have any problems. On the way back, and after a very relaxing visit, Royal Navy Customs officers scanned all travel documents before we arrived in Waterloo. They looked at my passport and moved on. Alighting the train I was asked to “come aside” and “answer a few questions”. I did and was released after about 20 minutes, but I was very angry and frustrated. Pre-conceptions of my character had been made, and continue to be made even to this day, about my religion, my race and me. Engine of hatred The tabloid press is one of the biggest engines of hatred and blame we have. It makes people un-informed experts in a matter of moments airing their opinions and acting on their limited ‘expertise’. The most upsetting thing for me, and for people like me, is that these pre-conceptions become stereotypes and these stereotypes then become scapegoats for blame. Religion and races of people are blanketed as scapegoats which leaves them lost and misunderstood. We are the children of no identity, no trust. I feel that house arrests of terrorists (the government initiative) will be aimed primarily at people like me. This is fear. We are seen as a threat to both the country we were born and raised in and the original country we come from. We are lost between worlds and watched by all. We are all the victims. Terrorism isn’t only a physical attack. If only more people knew that. Read more reaction using the links on the right-hand side. | 
