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CNN Live Saturday

Arab-Americans Find Themselves Under Increased Scrutiny

Aired September 14, 2002 - 12:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities tell the Associated Press the men are headed to a South Miami Hospital for medical training. They say they will not be placed on any watch lists.
What happened to those three students in Florida is not an isolated incident. Since last year's terror attacks, Arab-Americans have found themselves under increased scrutiny. CNN's John Vause explores that issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whether it's a 15- year-old boy from Long Island ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mother was about to go call my father. And then three seconds later he just jumped on top of me, just started hitting me.

VAUSE (on camera): And all three of them go into it.

(voice-over): Or an office administrator from Manhattan...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said to me, young lady, are you going to be wearing that scarf because under those circumstances, can you wear a scarf in my place of employment? He said, you're going to have to go home.

VAUSE (on camera): And not come back?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And not come back.

VAUSE (voice-over): The resentment, the backlash, say Arabs and Muslims in the United States is still very real.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go home! You don't like America, leave this country. We're proud to be Americans.

VAUSE: In the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks, Americans were hurt, scared, many were angry. One man was so angry, he even killed, shooting dead an Indian cab driver. But Valdez Sing Sadi (ph) he wasn't a Muslim. He was a Sikh. He did have dark skin and wore a turban, and that it seems was enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was killed because of hate.

VAUSE: Mosques were vandalized, some set on fire. Businesses owned by Arabs were attacked.

But Islam teaches patience, and so the approximately 3 million Arab-Americans waited for the anger to subside. They say it hasn't.

GHAZI KHANKAN, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Muslim- Americans, Arab-Americans are not responsible. We don't have to apologize for deeds of somebody else.

VAUSE: And to this community, there is now a double trauma. Darrell Issa, one of a few Arab-American members of Congress, explains why.

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: If you're an Arab or Muslim, it's a little more personalized because you have two fears. The fear of terrorists from abroad and the fear of, will there be a backlash against you or against your mosque?

VAUSE: Jabran Mallick (ph) was attacked last week. Community leaders say violence across the country has increased as the first anniversary approached. The FBI is now investigating 400 hate crimes, all committed within the last 12 months. While this Bebi Auslin's (ph) boss says she quit and walked out, he claims he never told her what to wear. Her claim of unfair dismissal is one of 600 reported by Arabs and Muslims to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since September 11.

There is anger at new government laws and practices. Many believe the president has turned his back. They complain of racial profiling, especially by police and immigration officials. There is an uneasy feeling of always being watched. A year later, they feel very much like second-class citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were New Yorkers, you know? We're Americans. We're living here for a long time. This is our homeland.

VAUSE (on camera): So many of the values which brought them to this country, like equality, freedom and justice, are no longer their right, they say, simply because of their race, their religion. And that, they say, is just un-American.

John Vause, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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