It was a day at school just like all others. I went in my class and sat at my place when I noticed the seat next to me was vacant. I thought my friend was absent, but then I realized he was sitting in the other row. When I signaled him to come and sit with me, he threw a ball of trampled piece of paper which hit in my face. I picked it and straightened it. It said, “They are terr-or-ists (I couldn’t spell the word properly), they want to kill us.” He was starring hard at me...

The following day during lunch break, I was sitting on the stairs and having my lunch when 4 boys came up to me. They said the ’F’ word to me (my mom had told me not to use it). “What is it?” I asked the boys as they surrounded me. One of them held me by the collar saying, “You are a Muslim terr-or-ist!” I did not know this word “terr-or-ist” although I was familiar with the word Muslim. “What terr-or- rist?” Another one kicked me hard between my legs… I cannot really recall what happened next… just a few voices “they are terr-or-ist, kick them outta here…they wanna kill us…”

On my way back home, I felt… I do not know… may be scared but I remember I remained silent all day. I thought of telling mom what had happened but then I could not. The next morning when I got into the school bus… it had never happened before… I felt that everyone in the bus was staring at me… a stare which had accelerated my heartbeat and I couldn’t breathe properly.

It had been more than a week that my friends were not talking to me… they said you are a Muslim and Muslims are terr-or-ists. Muslim? Yes, my mom had told me that I was a Muslim… I accompanied my father to the mosque sometime… and my mom had told me to speak the truth and never steal, Muslims should not do so… that’s all I knew. I had no clue as to what was happening. Whatever it was, it scared me, it scared me so much that I could hardly talk or smile. And I was lonely… lonely and scared. A week passed like that and this word terr-or-ist kept ringing in my head. What did it mean? What’s so bad with this word? Why they calling me a terr-or-ist? I had been in this school for 5 years… it had never happened before… I never heard this word before… at least I should know what it means…

I gathered all my courage at last and went up to Mrs. Bobette. She was the one who would always answer children’s questions… she often smiled and hugged kids… she was wise and loving everyone said. “Teacher… what is the meaning of… of a terr-or-ist?” My voice was shaking and I felt this heavy lump in my throat. She turned to me and looked in my eyes… she kept staring at me. Then, as if she read through what was happening inside me, what had happened to me… she smiled and hugged me, she hugged me till I regained what I had lost. “It is nothing dear… nothing to do with you.”

Osama Bin Muhammad
Grade IV
City Junior School, NYC
September 21, 2001