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New York…Ten Days After
By Hana Siddiqi
25/09/2001
Friday, September 21st, 2001… ten days after the attack on the World Trade Center. It is the aftermath, as some like to call it, and people have settled more or less into their new sense of reality, getting used to the eerie feeling newly present in Manhattan's air. Many feel helpless, a sense of loss, depressed and angry. Others are taken with a new sense of awakening and deepened emotions. Some use this feeling to express their patriotism, while others are left feeling lost and displaced in an area they once considered home. While some raise their flags, others have a heightened sense of paranoia. As these feelings grow, people begin to shift their energies towards finding a solution, an attempt to change the policies in the government, or maybe even public opinion.
Along with the discussions, meetings and forums going on around me, an anti-war, peace march sponsored by the Downtown Coalition took place on Friday evening. I received information about this march from a Presbyterian reverend. The march began at the southwest corner of Union Square, the home of the memorial since the attack, where many vigils have already taken place. From this location, the group that gathered began their march uptown. As the marchers approached 23rd street, where a Muslim Peace Rally had just ended, they gave the Muslim peace greeting, "Assalaam Alaykum," as a symbol of unity between the two groups. Together the group of hundreds continued uptown.
They held picket signs that read, "Stop the War," "Defend Civil Liberties," "No Racist Scapegoating!" "Defend the Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim Communities!" and more. The marchers' goal was to reach the Army Recruitment Center and hold a vigil. One of the Muslim sisters present noted that the presence of everyday people there reassured her that there are still people with compassion in the world. Although there were people from a diverse range of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds involved, this sister realized that "the negative feedback wasn't exclusive to one race" either.
Because the march ran through a fairly busy part of town, there were many by-standers who, in some way, got involved in the rally. Some cheered us on, some put up peace signs, and some simply smiled. Others began to debate or argue with some of the marchers.
By the time the procession reached Times Square, police barricades had already been placed there. The demonstrators tried different routes to get to their destinations, but many streets had been blocked off. It got to a point where police effectively surrounded the marchers, who eventually crowded together in one of the busiest areas of Times Square.
From across the street it looked as if there were close to 1,000 people holding up signs, passing out flyers, singing, and chanting. Some were involved in talks with by-standers. One man was speaking to groups of people who would crowd around him about the job market, and what consequences a war would bring to average middle class people. Many older men and women made comments noting that the current state of affairs reminded them of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. One couple exclaimed, "This is like the 60s all over again! ... It's like the Berkeley campus during the Vietnam War."
Many pointed out that going to war would endanger the lives of so many more innocent people, including our soldiers and innocent civilians in Afghanistan. This would not bring back the lives of those already lost, nor make the present situation more bearable.
As it got later in the evening, tension in the air began to grow. Around 10:00pm, a majority of demonstrators were stuck in a crowd surrounded by police barricades, unable to leave the area. Five people had even been arrested.
One passionately angry bystander yelled, "Bomb the Afghans! ... If you don't like what we're doing here then go back! Go back to Pakistan, go back to Afghanistan, go back to Iraq, you all should just go back!"
Such outbursts along with other sentiments expressed by observers of the rally were very shocking. Knowing and understanding that evils such as racism, discrimination and hate crimes still exist is one thing, but to actually see passion, reddening a man's face as he speaks his mind and openly lets people know how much he hates Muslims and other minorities and wants them to leave this country, has an entirely different effect. It made me aware of how real this all is.
Much of the sentiment that night seemed to echo the anti-war protests held during the Vietnam War. As the evening went on, tempers grew hotter, and it was as though the people walking by got angrier. That night many things happened, many opinions clashed, and many beliefs conflicted. However, another thing happened - many people came together. Many people from different communities, different age groups, different ethnicities, who otherwise would have no connection, came together to unite for one reason, peace.
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