Dear Biplab:
Recently I had left a phone message with a Toyota dealer. Apparently he could not understand my name on the message. So he called me by some Muslim name. When I told him that he is looking for a wrong person, he told me that I had left a message on his machine. Then I realized that he probably could not figure out my name. Any way, he asked me about my native country. When I told him that I am from India, he said: Isn't India part of Middle East? I replied no. Then he asked me where is India? I said it is in Asia. Then he asked which countries border India. I told him China, Paksitan, Sri Lanka, B'Desh etc. He said, oh, India is in Asia then.
Now he is the owner of Toyota dealership and is multi-millionaire. Any way I told him that his conversation with me has helped him improve his knowledge of geography.
So if this guy does not know where India is, then you can imagine those who have little education. I do sometime come across some Americans who still think elephants and tigers still roam in Indian streets. But then there are those who consider India to be a very advanced country in computer technology. One professor from a local university was so eager to talk to me about India and its engineering colleges. He even wanted to see me in person.
Vir Gupta
"Dr Biplab Pal"@yahoo.com wrote:
"Dr Biplab Pal"@yahoo.com wrote:
On day of 9/11, I was heading towards NewYork City and by the time, I crossed NeYork Penn station, I was struck by the huge fumes of ashes that was covering
the sky. By 11 AM, the whole city was gripping under by a deep thick cover of smoke and for 15 minutes nothing was visible. Then, I witnessed the biggest
tragedy of our life time before my eye--so much, so bad were the eyes of the waiting mothers and wives in the stations of NJ Transit, I still do not have enough mental power to describe the disaster of the day.
On the next day, I received my first hate call in USA.."You motherxxx.."..I tried to interrupt the old lady and tell her that I am an Indian born Hindu, but
she didn't know what I was talking about. Then I realized, 80-90% of the American thinks, every body that looks like a middle-eastern complexion, is a
Muslim and they do not know the existence of Hinduism.But that is typical of American, the most parochial nation on the earth. On 9/13 nite, I was heading
towards a bar and I was stopped by the cops which is the first time, I was ever pulled over. First thing, I was asked where I was heading at 11PM? I politely
told him that I was going to the bar..Oh! That' great, so you drink..You are not a Muslim then? I told him that he is right. So, he showed me the direction to the bar. His intention was pretty obvious. He was looking for an suspicious Muslim to grill.
I don't know after 9/11, how many times in lunch/dinners and in corporate parties, I had to convince the folks that I eat pork and I drink and therefore be assured that I am not a Muslim. Still many of them, remain suspicious that I am hiding my identity.
Since, then I know, how difficult for the educated Muslims to get a white color job in US. My friend who was running a bodyshopping company, told me, he is afraid of placing any Muslim consultant to his clients because they might cancel his vendorship for showing unknown reason. Quite naturally, Muslims who lost their jobs after 9/11, didn't get an equivalent job or are still looking for a job.
We have been actively hiring engineers in our division in Anaheim, and I look for thousands of resumes in LA area in Monster website. Many of the Bangladeshi engineers are changing their name to American sounding Christian names to get a job. So Jaher Mohammad can post his resume as John Mathews as well. I interviewed one such guy and asked him for the cause. He is an US citizen of Bangladeshi origin. After he lost his job in a silicon foundry six months
back, he didn't get an interview yet. So, he decided to change his name in the resume. Many similar stories follow later. One of my excollegue Sufian who was laid off in Dec,2001, started working in his brother's restuarant because he could not find anything despite having a PhD from NJIT. Finally he decided to join University of Jordan as a Professor in 2003. His name change to Sufi Abraham from Sufian Abbedrabbo, didn't get him through.
No doubt, Muslims from India and Bangladesh are mostly moderate and some times, more secular than most of the Americans. Many of the illeterate daily laborer Muslims in our village town, are more secular than average Americans. My father had a favorite Muslim contractor, who built our house. I used to call him Bakkar mamu and he never visited any Mosque. He might be a class three or four educated, but he was firm in his conviction that religion feeds him nothing and if he continues in the path of honesty, why Allah would punish him for not going to Mosque? Because if he did punish him for not going to the Mosque, then Allah is as bad as a local 'tolabaj mastan' ( local hooligans who collect their dues by force ). He with his courage deeply influenced me to be an atheist in childhood and I sometimes wonder, I have not found a single lowly educated Americans who can think like him beyond their religion ( highly educated Americans are different story).
However, average Americans can not think like Mr Bakkar and therefore, Muslims will be vanishing from the white color jobs sooner than you can think.
-Biplab,
Anaheim, California
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