On Sept. 11, my colleagues and I watched in utter horror and disbelief from our office windows as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center burned, and then crashed to the ground after being attacked by suicide hijackers. I actually saw the first plane fly over my head and slam into the north tower as I was walking to work that grim Tuesday morning.
As a writer and traveler, I’ve witnessed firsthand some pretty frightening spectacles around the world: a bloody terrorist attack in Egypt that left five dead, the ravages of civil war in Eastern Turkey, and student demonstrations in several countries ruthlessly suppressed by riot police. But nothing I have seen begins to compare to the carnage that unfolded on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
The devastating loss of life and the destruction of one of New York’s most prominent landmarks have left this city physically and emotionally shattered, and it will no doubt be some time before the collective wounds have fully healed. In the midst of this catastrophe however, New Yorkers have managed to pull together like never before.
Just about everyone has wanted to help out in some way, whether it be giving blood, volunteering with the rescue effort or cheering on the firefighters, medics and construction workers who have toiled long hours down at “Ground Zero.” In many cases, blood banks and rescue centers were so overwhelmed they had to turn people away.
The undaunted heroism of the city’s firefighters and police, and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s rock-solid leadership during the aftermath have been remarkable, to say the least. We are indeed fortunate to have such professionalism and bravery among our public servants.
As the dust begins to clear, and we continue to work through our grief and anger, we must look to the future. How do we prevent or at least reduce the threat of more terrorist attacks, both at home and abroad? This question has become even more pressing since the outbreak of the current Anthrax scare.
Many are calling for stricter security measures, greater surveillance and harsher immigration laws to keep out potential terrorists. However, we have to wonder whether such initiatives would actually succeed in curbing terrorism, or simply infringe on civil liberties and engender a climate of xenophobia.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, more than 1,000 people have been arrested so far, and the FBI has been reluctant to disclose the names of the detained suspects or what the charges being brought against them are. One man, an Arab physician studying to become a board-certified radiologist, was taken from his home in San Antonio and flown in shackles to New York, where he was held for 13 days before FBI agents realized they had made a mistake.
Many Arab-Americans, Muslims and foreign nationals have also become the victims of an anti-Islamic backlash, despite the admirable efforts of public officials to condemn and discourage such acts.
Two newspaper columnists—one in Texas City, Texas, the other in Grants Pass, Ore. — lost their jobs after writing editorials that were critical of President Bush. And the government has asked the television networks to censor themselves by not showing rebroadcasts of Osama bin Laden’s propaganda speeches, because of concerns they may contain hidden messages to his followers in the U.S.
In addition, Congress has just passed an anti-terrorism bill that would significantly expand the government’s power to search houses and business records. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the new legislation would invade privacy through wiretapping and other forms of surveillance, and imprison people without due process.
Many Arab-Americans, Muslims and foreign nationals have also become the victims of an anti-Islamic backlash, despite the admirable efforts of public officials to condemn and discourage such acts. Shockingly, a large number of the incidents reported have occurred on college campuses.
There are roughly 40,000 college students from Arab nations who are currently studying in the United States. Some of these students have left the country fearful that harassment against Arabs and Muslims could intensify in coming months. However, most of them have remained confident that their schools will protect them from such abuses, and have opted to ride out the storm.
Making matters worse for students, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (Dem. California) impetuously called for a six-month moratorium on all student visas after it was discovered that at least one of the hijackers, Hani Hanjour, had entered the United States on a student visa. The plan met with strong opposition from university leaders and especially business schools, which rely heavily on foreign students, who usually pay full tuition.
After meeting with representatives from several higher education organizations, Feinstein retracted her proposal and has since reformulated her position on the issue, declaring that what concerns her most are the students who come from “terrorist states” such as Iran, Sudan, Iraq and Syria. One may point out however, that none of the hijackers hailed from any of those countries. The majority came from Saudi Arabia, which has had close ties to the United States for over half a century.
The ostensible purpose of the moratorium was to allow enough time for the government to compile and activate a computerized database of the 514,723 international students enrolled at U.S. institutions of higher education. Once implemented, the planned database would require schools to report any change in an international student’s status — such as enrollment, change of major or change of address — to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. All international students would be required to pay a $95 non-refundable fee to maintain this tracking system, something many critics fear may threaten future foreign enrollments.
While the creation of such a database seems like a sensible move under the current circumstances, it is unfair to financially penalize students who come here for higher education, especially if one considers the fact that American exchange students will not be similarly taxed by their host countries.
This brings us to World Education Services (WES) and how the Sept. 11 tragedy and the aftermath impacts what we do here. Our mission at WES is essentially to promote international student mobility and to help immigrants become part of American society by facilitating employment opportunities through the evaluation of foreign academic credentials.
Harsh security measures designed to keep people out, or frighten them away, will obviously jeopardize this mission. But in the end we will all lose out. In addition to the cultural diversity they bring with them, it is estimated that international students contribute more than $13 billion a year to the U.S. economy. If those students will not or cannot come here for higher education, they’ll simply go to the United Kingdom, Australia or Canada.
The hijackers targeted the WTC towers because — based on the pronouncements of their supporters — they perceived them to be symbols of American arrogance and power. However, Americans were not the only victims of this heinous act of mass murder.
It is simply unfair and unnecessarily excessive to stymie the flow of students and immigrants who contribute so much to the diversity and vibrancy of our college campuses and cities alike.
In the days that followed the attack, more than 60 countries reported citizens as either missing or dead. Among the countries with the highest losses include: Britain: 250; Germany: 100; India: 250; Pakistan: 200; Russia: 117; Turkey: 120. Hence, the attack was not just against the United States; it was an unmitigated assault on the international community.
Should we then deny access to future generations of immigrants and students coming from the above-mentioned countries (or other nations of the world) because of Sept. 11? We think not. To do so would be like rubbing salt into their wounds, as all nations who lost citizens in the World Trade Center disaster are undoubtedly hurting.
WES is an international organization, and as such we remain strongly committed to fostering greater understanding and cooperation between the United States and other countries of the world. In light of the terrorist attacks that occurred in New York and Washington, we obviously need to redress the shortcomings of our national security systems and immigration procedures, including the issuing of student visas.
The government has a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens. But it is simply unfair and unnecessarily excessive to stymie the flow of students and immigrants who contribute so much to the diversity and vibrancy of our college campuses and cities alike. It is largely the influx of labor and ideas from abroad that makes this country what it is. To threaten that process in any way would be detrimental to the cultural fabric of America.