Colext/Macondo
Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior
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Copio s�lo el final de este mensaje de Al Hosseini (cuarta generaci�n en
Gringolandia)...
''...I'm at a loss to answer these questions, at least under the current
logic. Some of my fellow citizens are striking out at American Muslims. Some
are even calling for a firestorm to be rained upon Islamic nations. Don't
they see that the terrorists had the same inspiration? The Afghanis were
caught between the Soviet Union and the United States for decades. Their
country has been reduced to rubble. They have no hope. Violence occurs in
cycles, and, if we respond senselessly, striking innocent people in our
search for criminals, then we'll create more radicals, more suicide bombers
who embody the despair of poverty and war. The monopoly on violence is
broken, and I shudder to think what comes next.
I'm living in fear, and my identity leaves me no shield. I often fly from
Newark to San Francisco. Was the attack a one-time event or the first of
many? Will our cities ever feel safe? Then, again, what will I face in my
day-to-day existence? Will I get mocked and beat up? Are my tears for the
dead less potent? Will my name become a Yellow Star that excludes me from
society? Will I share in the collective healing that must come?
My situation brings a special clarity, one that opposes the clarity of
choosing sides. What do I see from my hyphenated perspective? The absurdity
of labels, indeed, of the whole idea that race, religion or flags divide
humanity. I have a Muslim name, but my grandfather was Serbian. How would
that fly in the Balkans? Is the world becoming a vast Balkan state?
I've wondered if I will ever have to choose a side. If so, here is my
choice: pacifism and dialog. I choose love, I choose humanity. I may
symbolize Islam to some, and America to others, but I transcend these
distinctions. I am proof that love conquers hate. My grandparents conquered
tradition to found my family, and I stand tall as an American born from a
unique and tolerant soil. What race produced me? The human race. Let me
plead for understanding and compassion. Chase the criminals if you must, but
let us then begin to fight. Let us fight not for oil, money or revenge, but
for a world where hatred and weapons belong to a distant, barbaric past.''
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