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High Alert Fuels Fear in Brooklyn
Aired May 22, 2003 - 15:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Many residents in one New York neighborhood are feeling added scrutiny now that the terror alert has been raised again to orange. They say high alert for them means watch your back just going out the front door.
Here's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just hours after the elevated terror alert, people here in Brooklyn are frightened.
MOE RAZVI, COUNCIL OF PAKISTANI ORGANIZATIONS: We will not tolerate any, you know, racism, slurs, or anything.
HINOJOSA: Not of potential anti-American attacks in this code orange world, but of attacks on them by their fellow Americans.
RAZVI: First, I think of my kids. OK. Tell my daughter, Listen, I'm going to pick you up. I want you to take the bus. I want you to do this. I'm going to come by. And the other kids are smaller. Just be careful, don't talk to anybody.
HINOJOSA: Code orange on Coney Island Avenue means waking up to empty cafes and half-filled streets. Residents report increased hate crimes since September 11 and they fear the attention caused by code orange could prompt new attacks, so many Muslims say they're staying off the streets.
(on camera): When the terror alert comes, your business..
RAZVI: Oh, definitely. I have a lot of things I had to return because I can't sell it. So it goes bad.
HINOJOSA: Because people aren't....
RAZVI: People aren't shopping.
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Moe Razvi, a leader in the Pakistani Muslim community here, said business around Coney Island has dropped steadily as terror warnings have escalated and federal authorities have increased their attention on Muslim Americans.
RAZVI: These are cards of people, FBI cards, which is left in their doors, in their houses. HINOJOSA: Now, with the orange alert, Muslim Americans fear federal officials who left their calling cards will come back again, creating the impression they're criminals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a particular burden, because we're stereotyped based on the actions of those who falsely claim to act in the name of Islam.
HINOJOSA: In Washington, D.C., the Council on Islamic-American relations issued a travel advisory the day of the code orange alert, not for Americans traveling to Muslim countries, but for any Muslim traveling to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just advise them to have an extra sense of caution about their environment, who is nearby, what's happening in their surrounding area.
HINOJOSA: But for those already here, even citizens like Razvi, the terror alert means life in today's America has its limits, making Muslims fearful of wearing anything that might identify them as Muslims.
RAZVI: The girls, their scarves were pulled out of and they don't wear them anymore. They're like fine, forget it. This is not the freedom that they came here for.
HINOJOSA: Or the freedom they're finding for now.
Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 22, 2003 - 15:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Many residents in one New York neighborhood are feeling added scrutiny now that the terror alert has been raised again to orange. They say high alert for them means watch your back just going out the front door.
Here's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just hours after the elevated terror alert, people here in Brooklyn are frightened.
MOE RAZVI, COUNCIL OF PAKISTANI ORGANIZATIONS: We will not tolerate any, you know, racism, slurs, or anything.
HINOJOSA: Not of potential anti-American attacks in this code orange world, but of attacks on them by their fellow Americans.
RAZVI: First, I think of my kids. OK. Tell my daughter, Listen, I'm going to pick you up. I want you to take the bus. I want you to do this. I'm going to come by. And the other kids are smaller. Just be careful, don't talk to anybody.
HINOJOSA: Code orange on Coney Island Avenue means waking up to empty cafes and half-filled streets. Residents report increased hate crimes since September 11 and they fear the attention caused by code orange could prompt new attacks, so many Muslims say they're staying off the streets.
(on camera): When the terror alert comes, your business..
RAZVI: Oh, definitely. I have a lot of things I had to return because I can't sell it. So it goes bad.
HINOJOSA: Because people aren't....
RAZVI: People aren't shopping.
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Moe Razvi, a leader in the Pakistani Muslim community here, said business around Coney Island has dropped steadily as terror warnings have escalated and federal authorities have increased their attention on Muslim Americans.
RAZVI: These are cards of people, FBI cards, which is left in their doors, in their houses. HINOJOSA: Now, with the orange alert, Muslim Americans fear federal officials who left their calling cards will come back again, creating the impression they're criminals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a particular burden, because we're stereotyped based on the actions of those who falsely claim to act in the name of Islam.
HINOJOSA: In Washington, D.C., the Council on Islamic-American relations issued a travel advisory the day of the code orange alert, not for Americans traveling to Muslim countries, but for any Muslim traveling to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just advise them to have an extra sense of caution about their environment, who is nearby, what's happening in their surrounding area.
HINOJOSA: But for those already here, even citizens like Razvi, the terror alert means life in today's America has its limits, making Muslims fearful of wearing anything that might identify them as Muslims.
RAZVI: The girls, their scarves were pulled out of and they don't wear them anymore. They're like fine, forget it. This is not the freedom that they came here for.
HINOJOSA: Or the freedom they're finding for now.
Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
