Enough is Enough! [Archives:2001/40/Viewpoint]
Last Friday, we lost yet another Yemeni as a result of the hatred generated in ill-minded groups who target Muslim and Arab people living in the American continent. Tariq Farooq Aman was a talented, bright, 19-year old young Yemeni who could have been a great treasure for both Canada and Yemen if it were not for the gang that killed him in an unbelievable manner. He was a Canadian by nationality. He was even born there, and he was tortured to death because of his loyalty to his country.
“His body was unidentifiable. I cannot imagine how merciless and monstrous those murderers are,” said a relative of the victim two days ago.
Why is this happening? Are efforts to spread awareness of those issues among Western communities sufficient?
This comes after we lost another Yemeni in a similar attack in the USA. The Arabs and Muslims are targeted by the day. The complaints that we hear about the sufferings that many families are going through in North America are, hence, not exaggerations. We need to understand that this is true terror. It is terrorizing families, boys and girls because they belong to a certain race or religion. It is terror in its full meaning. What would those groups benefit if they kill innocent civilians? This is a question that needs to be asked again and again.
The media has not been helpful at all in this prospect. The victims do not find enough support from governments and decision makers. They are in a state of fear, panic, and anger.
It is up to us to pressure Western governments to put a limit to what is going on. They need to realize that it is their duty to protect their civilians, no matter what country or race they come from, and no matter what religion they believe in.
Terror is terror. It is the same thing whether against Muslims or by Muslims. It is the same word, same spelling, same meaning. They cannot be separated or distinguished. Killing Muslims in Palestine, in the USA, and anywhere in the world should be condemned, just as we all condemned the deaths of the innocent civilians killed on September 11.
We, the media also need to play a stronger role in explaining that killing innocent people can never achieve a thing for any group in the world. It only adds and expands our miseries and fear of each other, all over our lonely planet.
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