Remembering 9/11 Means Learning about 9/11
As of today, the September 11th attacks occurred fifteen years ago. Since then, wars have been fought, people have died, and various measures have passed. The losses of that day have molded an entire generation. In fact, multiple generations, but in very different ways.
Those who didn’t live through it can never imagine the pain, suffering, and fear associated with the loss of 3,000 lives. We’ll never know what it’s like to count our last hours, to run for cover, and to desperately contact our loved ones, only to have no signal.
The fear is impossible to describe or replicate unless one has lived through it.
For those of us who didn’t live through it, or were too young to remember, we have a very different experience. Our story is based on the aftermath. The aftermath that still persists after fifteen years. We may not cower our heads to explosions, but I’m sure the victims of the Chapel Hill shooting cowered to gunshots, before they were so brutally murdered, simply for their religion.
I’m sure the Jabara family lives in fear every day after their neighbor murdered their son for being a “dirty Arab.” Before the murder, Stanley Majors, the perpetrator, would run over Haifa Jabara, the boy’s mother, with a car. This was after years of racial slurs and verbal abuse.
The Jabaras did everything they were supposed to do. They reported the neighbor to the police on multiple occasions, contacted a district attorney, and tried to stay safe. But even after the car incident, Majors, despite protests, was released. He would then go on to murder Khalid Jabara.
I’m sure every single Muslim American cowers at the thought of being profiled as a terrorist. It happens daily. It’s the little things, like being “randomly” searched on almost every single flight, that alienate us. It’s ridiculous, but at the end of the day, it’s not life-threatening. I fear for the women who wear hijabs and so openly express their faith. I fear for their lives.
But I’m not writing this to complain. I actually have a simple request. For those of us who only experience the islamophobia, the invasive measures of the patriot act, and the murder of innocent Muslims at home and abroad, but didn’t experience the fear that inspired it — we want to learn.
I’m a political science major and a Muslim American, so events like this fascinate me. But for the rest of us, September 11th is a taboo subject. When tragedies happen we need to not just remember them, but know them.
I’d like it if people were more informed, but they’re not. Throughout high school, every year we take time to learn about the Holocaust, which is important. But we seem to always gloss over this topic — one that affects so many Americans. Instead, people learn about the event through biased sources and magazines and what they “heard.” This only leads to a misinformed public, making Islamophobia all the riper.
The public school system should dedicate time to discuss the attacks on September 11th. That means so much more than the number of lives lost or descriptions of the tragedy. This means learning about the turmoil in the Middle East, the true causes and roots of terrorism, and basic U.S. foreign policy. It must be done in an academic classroom setting, not from Fox News. This can only lead to more competent global citizens.
We can’t parade #neverforget on social media if we never knew.
