[wvns] BEHIND BURQA, STUDENT GETS AN EDUCATION IN BIGOTRY
BEHIND BURQA, STUDENT GETS AN EDUCATION IN BIGOTRY
Comments Directed At Muslims
Tracy Gordon Fox
Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-burqa0312.artmar12,0,3126355.story
Caitlin Dean was raised not to discriminate against others because of
their race or religion. But as a white suburban teen of Italian and
Irish descent, she often wondered what it would be like to be the
target of such abuse.
She found out "behind the burqa."
The 15-year-old freshman volunteered with a few other students to wear
traditional Muslim clothing to school for an entire day in February
after a Middle Eastern Studies teacher at Bacon Academy announced that
she was looking for students to promote her class by wearing the garb.
Caitlin covered her slender frame and short brown hair with a
periwinkle burqa, which concealed her face.
The hateful and abusive comments she endured that day horrified
teachers, the teen and many of her classmates. The remarks underscored
a persistent animosity toward American Muslims that is driven largely
by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But they also opened up an important dialogue that could help
teenagers in Colchester and across the state view the Muslim culture
differently.
"Hey, we rape your women!" one upperclassman said as he passed Caitlin
in the hallway.
"I hope all of your people die," another sniped.
"You're probably going to kill us all" and "Why do they let people
like this in the country?" were other remarks she heard on Feb. 1.
Caitlin's observations that day did not surprise those who work for
the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
which arrived in the state about three years ago in response to hate
crimes and prejudice against Muslims.
Caitlin wrote down 50 comments and names she was called. She did not
respond because "I am a freshman. I like to avoid making waves."
But when she saw a friend and a teacher who knew that Caitlin was the
person under the burqa, she broke down in a classroom.
"I started crying," Caitlin said. "There is way too much prejudice."
The lack of understanding of Islam and of the many of the cultures
that contribute to a worldwide population of more than 1 billion
Muslims is something Rabia Chaudry, a spokeswoman for CAIR, planned to
raise with the state Department of Education when she meets with
officials in a few weeks.
Now she plans to use Colchester as a positive example in terms of
discussing prejudice and raising awareness of the Muslim culture.
"I think what this teacher has done is exactly what schools should be
doing," Chaudry said.
None of the students were singled out for discipline because no formal
complaints were made.
"It's unacceptable," Superintendent Karen Loiselle said. "It's
imperative students who are victims of those comments report them
immediately and it will be taken very seriously. In this case, it has
opened an important conversation."
Chaudry agreed and said her group would like to send representatives
to meet with students in Colchester and other communities, to hold
town meetings to talk about their feelings about Muslims, the war and
terrorism.
*********************************************************************
WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE
To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
Need some good karma? Appreciate the service?
Please consider donating to WVNS today.
Email ummyakoub@yahoo.com for instructions.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:wvns-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:wvns-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
No comments:
Post a Comment