THE EVENTS of Sept. 11 are still vivid in the minds of many. With talk of war increasing day by day, it is not difficult not to have one opinion or the other. In this context, I present views of some of the local expatriates, as they see it. For the purpose of sentence structure, some words have been modified. And some that offered comments requested that their names be altered. But their sentiments as spoken have remained unchanged.

We begin with Harvey, an American. He says: “Any terrorist killing innocent people must be killed. There is no other justification. What bothers me most is that they were all Muslims on those planes, which gives Muslims all over a bad name in the eyes of America. If Bin Laden did it, he will pay for his sins. Military invasion of Afghanistan is unfruitful as I see it. I earnestly hope we clear this whole thing up to determine who’s involved, clear all misconceptions, and avoid lumping nations as terrorists. I don’t believe religion had anything to do with it.”

Jomel, a Filipino had this to say: “Big impact on world economy. Innocent people died. Until now don’t really know their reason or motive. Hopefully it will not happen again. Let us just pray that justice will prevail, especially for those that are innocent. As far as I am concerned, I hope the USA will seek justice, and not revenge.”

Ravi, an Indian, had this to offer: “The bloody Pakis are taking full advantage of the situation. They breed these terrorists in their backyard, and suddenly they are in the same camp with the Americans. They have not suffered. They got all their debts wiped off, and will receive more arms to threaten us.”

Habtom, an Eritrean: “Sad situation. Very unfortunate. It affected so many families, causing so many broken hearts. The whole globe was affected financially. Politically, every individual in the world suffered a loss, not just the Americans. Hopefully the world will come victorious out of this mess.”

Louise, an Australian: “I am saddened by these acts. As a nurse in an ICU unit, I wish such people would take a look at the extraordinary efforts we take to save one life. Maybe then they would think otherwise, before killing innocent people and in such numbers.”

Ilhan, from Turkey, had some difficulty with phrasing complete sentences. I chose to include his words as they came out: “Very, very bad. Terror no good. But war very, very bad also, we know. Need proof. Why always poor people? This world makes no sense.”

Osman, a Sudanese: “Big game. Hard to believe that CIA and FBI were not aware. The way they gather information so fast and so contradictory is weird. The objective of what they are doing is not clear. Where is the truth? If the US showed the proof to NATO, why not to whole world. Very fishy.”

Susi, an Englishwoman: “I wish Tony Blair would just shut up for a change! The way he’s been leading himself into the limelight is simply horrid and disgusting. Let the US president take charge of the search for the truth and justice.”

Diego, an Argentinean, chose to follow the old dictum of “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.” He added that he was here only to work and not get involved in politics or religion. He said that as long as he had a job and got paid, he preferred to keep things to himself.

Adel, an Egyptian: “This is a Mossad plot. It has no bearing on the Palestinian issue, but one to create a disturbance between Arabs and Americans. It will minimize immigration to America. It is also a way for America to dominate the world with it’s policies.”

From another American, who remained anonymous: “I’m so sick and tired of the Arabs blaming the WTC terrorist act on the Palestinian problem. If anything pushed Bin _ _ _ _head over the edge, it was when the US came to Saudi Arabia to defeat Iraq. There is always some a-hole that doesn’t like the USA, no matter what we do. It is the whole Arab world’s fault for not stopping the support and financing of these groups when they knew they were involved in this action, and using their religion to try and justify it.”

Arjun, a Sri Lankan: “The Americans are behind it. Bin Laden stated he had nothing to do with it. If he is a true Muslim, I don’t think he would lie about it. Big business in America is jealous of small countries and wants war. Not for justice but profit.”

Angus, a Scotsman: “Get the right people and take them out. Kill them and then deny it point blank. Do the same thing as the terrorists do. I hope this does not turn out to be an anti-Islamic thing, as that’s not what it’s all about. 6,500 people died. Something has to be done.”

Sidi, an Ethiopian: “I wonder where all the investigative agencies of America were? How can they say they knew nothing about it? I find it hard to believe. They are not so stupid. They must be knowing something, but not saying.”

Juan, another Filipino: “I don’t like what happened. Terrible, and involving so many innocent people. Hope what happened will not lead to more complicated events and wars. Would like to see this issue settled peacefully and without bloodshed. A war would affect the whole world economically, and a lot of bad things might happen.”

Vince, another American: “I have been here for 12 years and have some very good Muslim friends. Although I am a black American and have not sensed any threats, my concern is backlash against my people. I have had tremendous outpouring of sympathy from the locals.”

Assad, a Syrian: “Very sad about this. What’s sadder is the Palestinian problem for 50 years. They named Arabs as terrorists, but the Israelis are the real terrorists. To stop terrorism, America should not encourage it anywhere else. The US economy will be hurt if they harm any innocent Islamic countries.”

Shafiq, a Pakistani: “This is bad. Many Pakistanis died in the World Trade Center.”

Rabbani, an Afghani, whose country is currently the center of the world’s attention, had this to say: “I am planning to turn over my shop here to my nephew and go back to defend my country. I don’t know why the Americans want to hit Afghanistan. We have done nothing to them. But if they want to come and fight us, let them. I am ready to die.”

There you have it. Voices speaking of many thoughts and words. But one thing is certain. Those victims at the WTC or the Pentagon are gone today. And yet they leave behind real people; parents and children, spouses and friends, countless numbers who grieve over their loss.

A grief that has thankfully not touched most of us. The act of terrorism against innocent people is barbaric and must be stamped out, regardless of the cause or whoever is behind it. It is the only humane way to survive.

— Tariq A. Al-Maeena, [email protected]