Coming soon!
PLAY AS FATHER JOHN, a white Catholic priest in a Houston church with ever-growing diversity.
Situation: He must decide whether or not to provide sanctuary to a woman, Rosa, and her young son as they face deportation.
[[NEXT|More Priest]]
<img src=jim.png width="100%">
This is a photo of the real-life Rev. Chris Jimmerson, left, Minister for Program Development at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, and asylum seeker Sulma Franco, celebrating Franco's receiving a delay of deportation in August.
He looked at his computer screen which displayed the "open letter" to himself and the church officials.
[[NEXT|sympathy for Rosa]]
A woman, who had fled danger in her homeland, is trying to stay with her family. She has asked for Sanctuary in John's church. Many of his parishoners do not approve.
[[NEXT|Recall more story]]
He reflects on his own story as the son of immigrants. He is an old man now, but he remembers the hardships his parents had faced in Poland, and how they gave him a better life here in America.
How does race and ethnicity play into current conversations about immigration? How are they similar to and different from conversations about immigrants 100 years ago?
[[NEXT|Sanctuary Movement]]
He reflects on the history of the church in the 1980s and its role in the Sanctuary Movement then. The legacy of providing refuge to refugees.
<a href="sanctuarynotdeportation.org" target="_blank">Sanctary Movement</a>
[[meet with Rosa|meeting with Rosa]] or [[turn her away|turn her away]]
Rosa and her kids come in to meet with the priest. He listens to her pleas. He must make a decision:
[[Provide Sanctuary|working toward sanctuary]] or [[turn her away|turn her away]]
Rosa is deported and separated from her children. She has no life to return to in her homeland.
[[NEXT|Priest reflects]]
The Priest waves at the one of the more vocal resistance parishoners that he has appeased by not providing sanctuary. As the crowd clears behind him he sees a mother playing with her children, and he reflects on the fact that Rosa cannot do that.
Once he decides to give her sanctuary, there is more resistance. People show up to protest. The day has arrived and Rosa and her family are supposed to move in, Father John
[[continues with the sanctuary plan|continue with plan]] or
[[changes his mind, it is too risky. He turns her away|turn her away]]
She and her family have moved in. She has been there for a month, and nothing has happened. There are certainly hardships of staying confined in the building with her small children, not to mention the rhetoric from some parishoners.
[[Ask her to leave and take her chances outside|turn her away]] or
[[Keep providing sanctuary and hope for the best|keep going]]
After 5 months, she is finally granted a stay. Her family is happy, and the Priest is overjoyed. He feels that, for the first time in a long time, he has done real good in the world.
[[NEXT| strained relationships]]
His decision has strained his relationship with many people in the church. Life cannot simply return to normal- eveyrone has been changed. And Rosa and her family will continute attending church. Though people are now nice to her, things feel tense with Father John. He sits in his office, head in his hands, wondering if he should stay or leave. What would he do if he leaves?
[[Play another character|Start]]
PLAY AS MOHAMMED, a father and Syrian refugee resettled in Amarillo.
Situation: Armed protesters continue thier demonstrations outside the local mosque. Mohammed must choose whether or not to continue attending the mosque-- putting himself and his eight-year-old daughter at risk-- or stop going, and risk losing his community and one of his only <a href="http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Transnational-Approach-to-Religion"target="_blank">ties to his</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mXwb7rtQq_UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=our+lady+of+exile&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5lcDpp7vQAhWl6IMKHUw8BpwQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=our%20lady%20of%20exile&f=false"target="_blank">homeland.</a>
[[NEXT| Mohammed choices]]
<img src=daughter.jpg width="100%">
Real-life Syrian refugee Abdul Halim al-Attar and his 4-year-old daughter, Reem. <a href="https://share.america.gov/5-ways-social-media-helps-syrian-refugees/"_blank">Credit AP Images</a>
Mohammed and his family originally had no intention of moving to the US. After he, his wife, and their daughter Amira were smuggled into Jordan, they entered the <a href="http://www.livedprojects.org/zaatari-refugee-camp/" target="_blank">Zaatari refugee camp</a>.
Conditions were so bad that Mohammed regretted leaving <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/jordan-daraa-salafist-jihad.html"target="_blank">Daraa</a>. But soon the pair were able to join up in Amman with his wife’s parents, who had left Syria seven months earlier.
They registered with the <a href="https://donate.unrefugees.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1873&ea.campaign.id=53721&ea.tracking.id=D15XSX161XXS&gclid=Cj0KEQiA08rBBRDUn4qproqwzYMBEiQAqpzns_CHEJV0qsyyFk7cEhyHuXnpjhO1RzVxY17iTI-waMcaArM58P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds"target="_blank">UN Refugee Agency</a> and underwent a series of interviews and checks, before they were recommended for resettlement.
At first, it seemed they would be sent to Sweden. Then there was talk of Finland. Mohammed was delighted. Then they told them no, you will go to America.
After over a year of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/11/20/infographic-screening-process-refugee-entry-united-states" target="_blank">screening</a>, the family was finally accepted as refugees by the US. Before arriving in Texas, Mohammed was apprehensive. He had heard that Europe provided a lot of assistance to refugee families, and he was not sure how they would make it work in the US.
To complicate matters, his wife was now pregnant. With his daughter, now 7, and his wife about to give birth, they made the decision that Amira and Mohammed would go to the US first to get set up. She would bring the baby later.
[[NEXT|Move to TX]]
Coming soon!
PLAY AS BEATRIZ, a woman in El Salvador facing imminent danger and considering fleeing with her family to the US.
<img src=guat.png width="100%">
This is a photo of a Guatamalan refugee family.
Coming soon!
PLAY AS LULU, a teenage girl in a detention center in Dilley, TX.
<img src=det.png width="100%">
This is a photo from 2015. It shows the inside of the Dilley’s South Texas Family Residential Center.
<img src=sanctuary.png width="100%">
(css: "font-size: 10pt;")[Sanctuary is an interactive game that allows players to explore the intersection of culture, ethnicity, gender, national identity, and policy. Participants will consider the experiences of immigrants and asylum seekers. If you were searching for a safe place, what choices would you make for you and your family? The game is reflective of the real circumstances facing immigrants and refugees in the state of Texas.]
<hr>
<center><h4>Choose your Character</h4></center>
[[<img src=mohammed.png width="100%">|Intro Mohammed ]]
[[<img src=beatriz.png width="100%">|Beatriz]]
[[<img src=lulu.png width="100%">|Lulu]]
[[<img src=fatherjohn.png width="100%">|Intro to Priest]]
<center>[[Credits]]|[[Sources]]|[[Contact]]|[[Get Involved]]</center>
<u>Writing & Research</u>
Lauren Horn Griffin
Shelby Ranger
Alexis Walker
Matshediso Likate
Brooke Green
Danielle Mueth
<u>Game Developer</u>
Lauren Horn Griffin
<u>Tech Consultants</u>
Keegan Long-Wheeler
John Stewart
Stories inspired by:
Bier, David “ Syrian Refugees Across The U.S. Just Want To Contribute Economically,” Sanctuary From Misrule. Niskanen Center, March 29, 2016, https://niskanencenter.org/blog/syrian-refugees-across-the-u-s-say-they-just-want-to-work/.
Davis, Aaron, “The American Dream: Walmart hostage-taker neither Muslim nor terrorist,” Amarillo.com (June 17, 2016). http://amarillo.com/obituaries/2016-06-17/walmart-hostage-taker-neither-muslim-nor-terrorist#
Eichler, Leah “Syrian refugees are arriving: Where will they work?,” The Global Magazine. Dec 18, 2015 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/syrian-refugees-are-arriving-where-will-they-work/article27858492/.
Hamilton, Tracy, “Losing Identity During the Refugee Crisis,” The Atlantic (May 16, 2016). http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/05/balancing-integration-and-assimilation-during-the-refugee-crisis/482757/
Hafiz, Yasmine. "West Ham Muslim Fans Harassed By Fellow Football Supporters During Prayers (VIDEO)." The Huffington Post. 25 Oct. 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Irshad, Ghazala. "How Anti-Muslim Sentiment Plays out in Classrooms across the US. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Kantor, Jodi and Catrin Einhorn, “Refugees Encounter a Foreign Word: Welcome,” The New York Times (June 30, 2016). http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/americas/canada-syrian-refugees.html?_r=2
Lane, Edwin, “How Sweden tries to assimilate its influx of refugees,” BBC News (September 21, 2015) http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34261065
Mathias, Christopher. "Islamophobia Just Drove This Boy and His Family out of America." The Huffington Post. (October 12, 2016). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-family-fled-america-islamophobia-usmani_us_57fd058fe4b0e655eab7aa3c
McGowan, Tom. "Afghanistan Unveils Soccer Kit with Hijab." CNN. Cable News Network, 8 Mar. 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Price, Bob. "Texas Panhandle City Says 'Enough' on Middle East Refugees - Breitbart." Breitbart News. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Ramos, Henry. “Protests Scheduled Outside Mosque.” Fox34. (October 9, 2015). http://www.fox34.com/story/30229348/protests-scheduled-outside-mosques
Sherwood, Harriet, “Visit My Mosque day: British Muslims offer tours and tea to public,” The Guardian (February 5, 2016). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/visit-my-mosque-day-muslims-offer-tours-and-tea-to-the-curious
Sherwood, Harriet and Philip Oldermann, “European churches say growing flock of Muslim refugees are converting,” The Guardian (June 5, 2016). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/05/european-churches-growing-flock-muslim-refugees-converting-christianity
Stark, Lindsay “The High Cost of Refugee Discrimination,” The Huffington Post. Jan 19, 2016 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lindsay-stark/the-high-cost-of-refugee-_b_9017842.html.
Thomas, Zoe. “Syrian refugees' move to US was the happiest day.” BBC Business. (March 3, 2016). http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35556937
Williamson, Kevin D., “For Immigrants, the Melting Pot Isn’t Comfortable, but It Works,” National Review (June 15, 2016). http://www.nationalreview.com/article/436655/immigration-assimilation-somali-refugees-texas-outside-melting-pot
“Women > Veiling > What is the Hijab and Why do Women Wear it?” Arabs in America. Wordpress. http://arabsinamerica.unc.edu/identity/veiling/hijab/
Zahedi, Sulmaz. "Playing Soccer, Wearing the Hijab - Islamic Insights." Islamic Insights. N.p., 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Academic works consulted:
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Beyond Religious Freedom
Thomas Tweed, Our Lady of the Exile
Mark Lilla, The Shipwrecked Mind
Erin Wilson and Luca Mavelli, eds, Refugee Crisis and Religion
Feel free to email your quesitons or comments to sanctuarygame@gmail.com.
To help Syrian refugees, you can donate to:
<a href="https://donate.unrefugees.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1873&ea.campaign.id=53721&ea.tracking.id=D15XSX161XXS&gclid=Cj0KEQiA08rBBRDUn4qproqwzYMBEiQAqpzns_CHEJV0qsyyFk7cEhyHuXnpjhO1RzVxY17iTI-waMcaArM58P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds"target="_blank">UN Refugee Agency</a>
<a href="http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/country-region/syria/?source=ADD1600U0V52&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc"target="_blank">Doctors Without Borders</a>
or <a href="http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-03/5-groups-doing-important-work-help-refugees-you-may-not-have-heard"target="_blank">these organizations</a> recommended by Public Radio International.
To help someone in an immigration detention center, you can find more information at <a href="http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/how-help-detainee-hold.html"targer="_blank">AllLaw.</a>
To learn more about protecting the forcibly displaced, visit the <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/protecting-forcibly-displaced-latin-americas-evolving-refugee-and-asylum-framework"target="_blank">Migration Policy Institute</a>
To help fight against unjust new immigration laws and policies, see the <a href="https://nilc.z2systems.com/np/clients/nilc/donation.jsp?campaign=15&"target="_blank">National Immigration Law Center</a>.
To help fight Islamophobia and Anti-semitism, donate to the <a href="https://www.cair.com/donations/general-donation/campaign/#/donation"target="_blank">Council on American-Islamic Relations</a>,<a href="https://secure2.convio.net/adl/site/SPageNavigator/donation-api/donation_form_single_main_1.html"target="_blank">the Anti-Defamation League</a>, or the <a href="https://action.aclu.org/donate-aclu?ms=web_horiz_nav_hp"target="_blank">American Civil Liberties Union</a>.
Father John sat in his office with his head in his hands.
[[NEXT|Resistance by community]]
Mohammed had owned a <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/10/30/499509208/for-syrian-refugees-in-connecticut-a-helping-hand-from-private-volunteers"target="_blank">pastry shop back in Syria</a>, but he lost his home and the shop in the war. He is now working as a dishwasher at the Tasty Burger restaurant in Amarillo, TX.
<a href="http://amarillo.gov/"target="_blank">Amarillo</a> is not what he expected. He isn’t sure what he expected but Amarillo is both more provincial and small yet more diverse than he had realized.<a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/the-strangers-next-door-amarillo-refugees/"target="_blank">People have come from Cuba, Vietnam, Somalia and Burma</a> to start new homes in a place they never knew existed. Things actually went pretty smoothly after their arrival.
<a href="http://cctxp.org/refugee-resettlement/"target="_blank">Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle</a> arranged their housing and enrolled Mohammed in ESL classes, though his English was already pretty fair. They also helped enroll him in medical benefits, and they helped arrange his job at the burger restaurant. He used to own his own business, but he is just glad to be set up a job, even if temporarily. The <a href="https://hhs.texas.gov/"target="_blank">Texas Health and Human Services Commission</a> provided some financial support the first few months they were here, but after that, he and Amira were on their own. They lived in a one-bedroom apartment, so Amira got the room and Mohammed slept on the couch. He took the bus to the restaurant every morning and he picked up all the extra shifts he could.
[[NEXT|More in TX]]
Having a network of former refugees had been essential to their survival for those first few months, but his neighbors in his apartment complex had been surprisingly helpful as well. Mohammed’s closest friend was an older lady who lived in the apartment next door. Sharon was a widow, and she had been struggling to make ends meet after her husband died. She had moved into the apartment complex just a few months before Mohammed and Amira, having sold her house. She brought them cookies the first week they were here, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/americas/canada-syrian-refugees.html?_r=1"target="_blank">Sharon had taken an immediate liking to Amira</a>.
[[NEXT|heating up]]
<img src=bud.png width="100%">
This is a photo of real-life Syrian refugee Mouhamad Ahmed with Liz Stark, who helped the Ahmed through their resettlement in Toronto. Credit <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/americas/canada-syrian-refugees.html?_r=0"_blank">Damon Winter/The New York Times</a>.
Mohammed remembered the first week they were there, he had thought there would be some kind of discrimination because they are Muslim, but thus far he had found the opposite. On one of his first few calls to his wife, he remembered telling her, “We’ve been all around town and no one bothers us, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/syria-refugees-texas-dallas"target="_blank">everyone is very nice.”</a> They had now been in Amarillo for just over a year, and this initial impression had held up. They had not experienced any animosity from the local residents. Sure, there had been some unsavory comments online, especially on the <a href="http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2016-01-19/blogs-stir-controversy-over-refugees"target="_blank">Amarillo Globe</a>, the local newspaper Mohammed checks every morning. He had learned not to read the <a href="http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2016-01-19/blogs-stir-controversy-over-refugees"target="_blank">comments section.</a>
But lately, he could tell that there were heightened anxieties among his former refugee friends—there was a pall that had been cast over the mosque. In a state where politicians routinely spout anti-immigrant rhetoric, he had always felt relatively welcome in Amarillo. But now even the mayor, and some local residents, have begun complaining that Amarillo has taken on too many refugees. Rumors have spread that refugees were forming shadow governments and electing their own leaders. Anecdotes such as these were passed around the state capitol and employed to pass new laws aimed at limiting refugee placement. Mohammed began to fear for his wife and infant daughter back in Jordan.
[[NEXT| Burger joint]]
One day, Mohammed was working at the restaurant washing dishes. Today he was working with a 19-year-old community college student named Bo. Bo was always nice and welcoming to Mohammed, so he enjoyed working with him.
“How are you, man?” Bo asked.
“I am well,” Mohammed replied.
“No, man, I mean like how are you dealing with all these protests and shit? I would be like, super pissed if I was you.” Bo pointed up to the TV in the kitchen.
The local news was on, and a woman was being interviewed outside the courthouse: “I don’t understand why we’re givin’ them free cars and all this stuff. We need to take care of ourselves first. Plus, they got all those warring factions between rival tribes and all that. We don’t want Sharia law! It don’t make sense that we keep allowin’ it!” She was holding a sign that said “No Islam. No Sharia Law.”
“Dude, did you get a car?” Bo asked.
“No, of course not,” replied Mohammed. “Do you think I would be taking the bus here every day if I had a car? The very first week after Amira and I arrived, Refugee Services stopped giving us rides and handed us a bus map. That was it.”
While Bo seemed more focused on the bizarre claim about cars, it was the “rival tribes” and “sharia law” comment that upset Mohammed. What did this woman mean? He thought about his closest friend at work, Alphonse, who had fled Rwanda after his family was killed in the civil war. Seeing how happy Alphonse was in Amarillo was the only thing that got Mohammed through those first few difficult months. There were no “tribes.” And this woman clearly does not know what “sharia law” is. And what do those two things have to do with each other, anyway?
He was also surprised at the recent outrage. He had never been treated this way to his face. What had happened? A few weeks ago, the state of Texas had filed a suit against the federal government because they didn’t want any more Syrian refugees. This move had made Mohammed very nervous about moving his wife and daughter here, but his lawyer had told him not to worry. He assured him that since he and Amira were already resettled here, it would be ok. He said that the lawsuit would be struck down anyway.
He looked back up a the TV where the mayor—a former used car salesman— making a statement: “Do they want to assimilate and become citizens that adhere and believe in and support our Constitution and our way of life? Or do they want to maintain their way of life?”
Mohammad wondered what that meant. What is a “way of life”?
“Don’t listen to ‘em, man. You do you,” said Bo. Mohammed wasn’t sure what that meant, either.
[[NEXT| other day]]
<img src=burger.png width="100%">
Syrian refugee Fadi al-Asmi, standing in the kitchen of Hartford's City Steam Brewery. Asmi, who co-owned a pastry shop in Damascus, now makes desserts at this Hartford cafe.
The protests continued at the courthouse over the next few days. The signs grew more intense, with one reading “Stop Islam.” This made no sense to Mohammed. The signs and chants had shifted from anti-refugee to a more explicit anti-Islam. He had even heard that the protesters had started demonstrating outside his mosque, though he had not seen any yet.
Mohammed wondered if he should stop attending the mosque. Amira had been adjusting so well to life in Amarillo, and he did not want her to be exposed to these messages. Amira had trouble when she first attended school, but her English improved rapidly and she began to feel comfortable much faster than Mohammed had anticipated. It has been over a year and Amira has gone from a frightened seven-year-old with broken English to a spirited eight-year-old who loves a movie called Frozen and dressed up as Hermione from Harry Potter for Halloween. He is glad that Amira is adjusting well, but he worries about losing touch with their homeland.
He was not a devout person. And on issues such as female dress, gender mixing and homosexuality, for example, he did not care. He even drank alcohol, though not in front of Amira. Since he was a boy he had been a Muslim only by name. But since their move to Amarillo, he had found the Mosque to be a place of refuge. That is where the refugee community was. There were no other Syrians in town, but the refugees from Somalia and Burma had welcomed them and helped them adjust to their new life here.
[[Decide to keep attending the mosque]]
[[Decide to stop attending the mosque]]
<img src=protest.png width="100%">
This is a photo of real-life protests in 2016 outside the Capitol buidling in Oklahoma City.
That Friday he and Amira go to the mosque for Friday prayers. There are no protesters outside, but at the front door Mohammed senses commotion.
His friend, Alphonse, was talking to a group of five or six other people. His speech was rapid and he was clearly upset.
“What has happened” asks Mohommed.
“I was walking into work today and one of the customers in the restaurant saw me and said ‘Go back home and take Obama with you.’ I said, ‘excuse me?’ and she said, ‘you heard what I said.’” Alphonse’s hands were shaking. “She was raising her voice and I didn’t know what to do. I, I started to explain to her that I am from Rwanda and Obama is not, but the manager came over and escorted me out of the restaurant. He told me not to come to work until he decides what to do.” Mohammed was shocked. He had never had any problems with the manager before.
“I’m sure you will not lose your job. Just wait until tomorrow, I’m sure it will be forgotten,” said Mohammed.
Alphonse looked down, then back up at the group. He sighed. “Let’s go in. Let’s pray.”
Mohammed took Amira’s hand and turned around. “Do they hate Muslims?” Amira asked. They walked back home without a word.
[[Keep attending mosque]]
[[Decide to stop attending the mosque]]
Mohammed had decided to stop attending the mosque. After all he had heard that day, this felt like the right choice.
Over the next few months the protests calmed down. After the initial move by Gov. Greg Abbott to stop accepting refugees, people had sort of moved on from it.
It was June, and it was already getting hot in Amarillo. Amira was out of school for the summer, but Mohammed still had to work. His neighbor Sharon agree to watch Amira when she was not at her English classes.
One morning, Mohammed woke to the sounds of protests. They lived within walking distance of the mosque, and he could hear shouting voices in the distance. He opened his laptop to check the news. It seemed a judge in Dallas had ruled that Texas did not have grounds to sue the federal government over the placement of refugees. Mohammed guessed that local residents were not happy about this, and had gone to mosque to protest.
[[He decides to walk by the mosque and check it out.]]
[[He is glad he had already stopped attending the mosque. He will not return.| after confrontation]]
Mohammed had decided to keep attending the mosque. Even after all he had heard that day, this felt like the right choice.
Over the next few months the protests calmed down. After the initial move by Gov. Greg Abbott to stop accepting refugees, people had sort of moved on from it.
It was June, and it was already getting hot in Amarillo. Amira was out of school for the summer, but Mohammed still had to work. His neighbor Sharon agreed to watch Amira when she was not at her English classes.
One morning, Mohammed woke to the sounds of protests. They lived within walking distance of the mosque, and he could hear shouting voices in the distance. He opened his laptop to check the news. It seemed a judge in Dallas had ruled that Texas did not have grounds to sue the federal government over the placement of refugees. Mohammed guessed that local residents were not happy about this, and had gone to mosque to protest.
[[He decides to walk by the mosque and check it out.]]
[[He is glad he had already stopped attending the mosque. He will not return.| after confrontation]]
Mohammed has to walk by the mosque to catch his bus to work. As he approaches, he sees that the protest is not that large. Only a handful of people, less than ten, are there with signs.
Mohammed, calmly, decides to walk up to one of them.
"I am not a terrorist. None of us are. My daughter Amira and I have lived here for over a year. Half of my family are back in Jordan," he says. “My wife and baby girl are still living in Amman. What about them?” he says.
The woman lowered her sign. “That’s a sad story, but we got to keep our city safe. We don’t even know who these people are and they’re letting them in here. Some of you may be good, but not all of you.”
"Syrian refuges have to go through a 21-step vetting process before they are allowed to come to the U.S. It goes to three different agencies," said Mohammed. "I am not sure what anyone could do to make it even more stringent than it already is,” he explained.
“Well, that’s your opinion,” she replied. “We gotta keep our country safe.” And she raised her sign back up.
Mohammed catches the bus to work.
[[NEXT| after confrontation]]
When Mohammed comes home from work, he goes next door to get Amira from Sharon’s. He knocks on the door and Amira appears. She has clearly been crying. “What has happened, Amira?” he asks frantically.
“Nothing,” she whispers, wiping her face. Mohammed hears the news on the TV in the background.
Sharon approaches, “she’s just upset at the protests today. I told her it’s nothin’ to worry about—I said you and your daddy are the good ones.” Mohammed, insulted by this comment, wants to confront Sharon. But he decided to take care of Amira first. They go into their apartment.
“I heard that there were protests at our mosque. I saw signs that said ‘Go home!’ and ‘No More Refugees.’”
“I know, Amira. It is upsetting. But I went by the mosque today and there were only a few people. Just a handful. There is nothing to be worried about,” he said, hugging her.
“I don’t want to go back there. Fridays are boring, anyway. They hate us because we are Muslim, and we’re not even that Muslim,” she replied.
He understood what she meant.
“You are overacting, Amira. We are not going to abandon our community.”
“They’re not even ‘our community’—they are not even from Syria.”
“The mosque is important for us. It helps us stay connected to who we are. I don’t want to lose that.”
“I don’t care!” Amira shouted.
He realized that Amira probably didn’t care. She had moved to Texas so young, learned English, made friends. Her memories of home are largely of the horrible refugee camp and sleeping on the floor of her grandparents’ home.
And it’s true, he had never been what you might think of as devout. Still, he was not going to simply abandon his community and identity simply because his child was throwing a temper tantrum.
“Time for bed,” he says.
[[NEXT| neighbor]]
After Amira is in bed, Mohammed goes next door talk to Sharon.
She offers him some tea, and they sit down at her dining room table. “What did you mean earlier when you said Amira and I were the “good ones?”
“Oh, you know, I was just trying to cheer Amira up. There are some Muslims out there who want to rule with sharia law, but not you,” Sharon explained.
“What? That does not make sense,” he replied.
“Come on. I like you and Amira, but we gotta uphold the boundaries between church and state. And there’s a lot of y’all who just don’t respect that.”
Mohammed sighed. Sharon did not understand what sharia law was. But even so, Mohammed was confused by her focus on this separation issue. “Well, how do Christians deal with those boundaries? It does not seem that it is all settled. Just last month the city council had a conflict about the opening prayer. The week I arrived here I read about a conflict over a principal leading a Christian prayer in a public school,” he explained.
“Well what you don’t understand it that we are a Christian nation,” Sharon was angry at having been challenged. “Why do you even want to be American if you’re Muslim? Aren’t they like, two totally different philosophies, or loyalties, or whatever? What about American values?”
“What are American values?”
“Uggh. That’s a “gotcha” question. You know what I mean by ‘American Values.’”
Mohammed looked back at her in silence. He did not know what to say. He wondered if he should just apologize and leave. Then she began to respond.
“Freedom. Family. Those are the things we have fought and died for.”
“Why would I not be able to value freedom or family? What do you think I value? Why do you think I am here?”
“Well, ISIS doesn’t seem to value those things. . . Look, I’m sorry, but . . . I just think Islam is just not compatible with our constitution.”
Mohammed was so confused. “What? Why do you say this? What do you think Islam is?”
“What do you think being a Baptist is?!?” Sharon paused and took a deep breath. “Look, it’s nothing against you. You’re a nice guy. And I love Amari. You are one of the good ones. I mean, I know that there are a lot of good Muslims who reject the false parts of the religion, but there are bad ones too. And trust me, they don’t want to mess with Texas.”
Mohammed sat there stunned, not knowing what to say. This way of thinking was totally foreign to him. What, to Sharon, is a “good one?” What is “false religion”?
With that, Mohammed decided to go home. He thanked her for the tea, and showed himself out. Though their conversation had been a civil one, he left confused and insulted. Their friendship had been irreversibly changed.
[[NEXT| scary news]]
The next morning, Mohammed opened his laptop to read the news. He opened The Amarillo Globe to find a huge picture of the protest outside the mosque. This time, there were dozens of men wearing camouflage, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, holding signs that read “Say NO to Syrian Refugees.” They had guns slung across their chests—large ones that looked like something only the military would carry. Mohammed had never seen a gun like that in Amarillo before. Say no to Syrians? “We’re the only Syrians here,” he said aloud to himself. A chill went up his spine, and he immediately ran to Amira’s room.
[[NEXT| burst]]
<img src=guns.png width="100%">
He burst open the door, and he saw Amira in her bed still sleeping. She hadn’t heard him come in, and he realized he didn’t even know why he come in the first place. He sat down in the doorway and fought back tears. Perhaps it was a mistake to come here. Perhaps they should have stayed behind.
Let’s just pray at home, if we want to pray, he thought. I'm sure Allah will listen.
Just then, Amira started stirring. She looked up and could see that he was upset. In her sleepy haze she said,"If we stop going, they won't think we are terrorists anymore. They won't hate us."
After thinking it over,
[[Mohammed will keep attending mosque]]
[[Mohammed will not attend mosque]]
Mohammed and Amira continued to attend the mosque for months with no problems. Mohammed felt proud that he had made the decision to persevere despite the obstacles. Aside from that flair up, things have gone back to normal in Amarillo.
After all, everybody can change. Everybody can adapt.
<img src=hope.png width="100%">
Justin Normand outside the Islamic Center of Irving. (Courtesty of Justin Norman)
[[NEXT| Ultimate end]]
Mohammed and Amira were no longer attending the mosque. Mohammed felt badly that he had lost that connection with the refugee community, but they had not lost touch completely. They still went to the weekly soccer game and saw each other at school events. But Mohammed still felt judged by them. Plus, because he had never been a devout person, it surprised him how much he missed the Friday congregational prayers. But even so, he was glad that he didn’t have to worry about Amira’s safety—that was the important thing. She was feeling happy and comfortable at school, and Mohammed was glad to see her so well-adjusted. Aside from that flair up, things have gone back to normal in Amarillo.
[[Next| Ultimate end]]
One night, Mohammed put Amira to bed then turned on the TV to catch the end of the news. A politician appears in front of a cheering crowd, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-new-hampshire-syrian-refugees-are-going-back-n436616"target="_blank">"I'm putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of a mass migration, that if I win, they are going back.”</a>
"Send us back to where?” he thought.
The angry crowd cheered “Send them back! Send them back!” and Mohammed felt a pit form in his stomach.
[[NEXT| terrorist]]
One Friday at work, Bo comes in late and shoves a newspaper toward Mohammed. “Did you know this guy? Is he one of you?” Bo shouted angrily, “Thanks, terrorists." He shook his head and stormed off.
Mohammed looked at the newspaper, which detailed how <a href="http://amarillo.com/obituaries/2016-06-17/walmart-hostage-taker-neither-muslim-nor-terrorist"target="_blanl">a Walmart worker took the manager hostage after a dispute over a promotion</a>. The worker’s name was Mohammad Sadegh Moghaddam and the article says he left Iran in 2003. Mohammed did not know this man – he had never seen him at the mosque.
As Mohammed read on, it turns out that the man was not Muslim. And the crime had not been classified as terrorism, since it was a dispute over a promotion, and had nothing to do with religion or the state.
Mohammed wondered if he and Amira were safe. He wondered if he would ever see his wife and new baby.
[[PLAY ANOTHER CHARACTER|Start]]
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