No Closure for Many South Asians a Decade After 9/11
The chief perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks, Osama Bin Laden, may be dead, but there is no sense of closure for the South Asian community, especially the Muslims and the Sikhs.
The South Asian community has been the victims of dozens of attacks in the last 10 years. The sense of an imminent terrorist attack may have diminished after a decade of terrific intelligence gathering by the federal authorities, but the community continues to be pensive. There is perception that it is only a matter of time before there is another terrorist attack somewhere in the country. And it would be déjà vu all over again; backlash, persecution and increased scrutiny of desis.
The community has tried to sum up its feelings and tried to analyze the predicament of the Diaspora through various channels, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
Two plays, Barriers by Rehana Lew Mirza, and Invasion! By Jonas Hassen Khemiri, focus on the theme of identity and the bitter plight of the South Asian community in a post 9/11 world.
Mirza’s excellent play puts the spotlight on a South Asian family’s loss from the 9/11 attacks and the backlash they endure. Barriers is set four months after the 9/11 attacks and revolves around the Chinese/Pakistani Abbas family and the loss of their eldest son Nabhil who had been in the
World Trade Center during the attack.