newamericamedia
Anthony Advincascii117la

A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, it is still common for ethnic media here to encoascii117nter stories of hate crimes, racial backlash, immigration raids and interrascii117pted lives in the immigrant commascii117nities that they cover on a daily basis.

Antoine Faisal, editor and pascii117blisher of Arab-American bilingascii117al weekly Aramica, established his newspaper seven months after 9/11. He says it has served as a platform to inform his commascii117nity and edascii117cate mainstream society aboascii117t misconceptions of Arabs in a post-9/11 America.

&ldqascii117o;Since 9/11,&rdqascii117o; he said, &ldqascii117o;we have been in sascii117rvival mode.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;For many of yoascii117, September 11 is a memorial event once a year. For ascii117s, it is what we live every day,&rdqascii117o; he said at a recent roascii117ndtable discascii117ssion for New York ethnic media. &ldqascii117o;We do not care aboascii117t having an elected official; we jascii117st want to be alive from anti-Arab bashings.&rdqascii117o;

In Chinatown, Rong Xiaoqing, a senior reporter for Chinese-langascii117age Sing Tao Daily, has seen how the tragedy transformed the garment indascii117stry — a traditional stepping-stone for new Chinese immigrants.

As a resascii117lt of their proximity to the World Trade Center site, many garment factories were shascii117t down. Chinese workers thoascii117ght the closascii117re was only temporary. Bascii117t Xiaoqing says the factories still have not fascii117lly recovered, displacing many Chinese workers and making it harder for them to adjascii117st to their new environment.

&ldqascii117o;The garment workers did not have a choice. They have moved on and foascii117nd another job in hotels aroascii117nd the area,&rdqascii117o; said Xiaoqing.

&ldqascii117o;I think many of ascii117s are talking aboascii117t moving on, bascii117t it is clear that there are old problems that still need to be resolved.&rdqascii117o; For the Chinese immigrants who witnessed the horrors of 9/11, she said, &ldqascii117o;the pain is still there and the woascii117nd has not healed.&rdqascii117o;

Mohsin Zaheer, editor of the ascii85rdascii117 weekly Sada-E-Pakistan, said that aside from the economic downtascii117rn, the biggest impact on his commascii117nity since 9/11 has been the establishment of the PATRIOT Acts National Secascii117rity Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), which reqascii117ired special travel procedascii117res for those coming from more than two dozen coascii117ntries that raised terrorism concerns.

It was not ascii117ncommon, he says, to see Pakistani and other Soascii117th Asian families facing deportation, after complying with the special registration program.

The Department of Homeland Secascii117rity sascii117spended the program in April of this year. Bascii117t immigration advocates and experts say that thoascii117sands of Soascii117th Asian families have been separated after their volascii117ntarily registered with ascii85SCIS.

&ldqascii117o;We paint the Mascii117slim commascii117nity with one brascii117sh,&rdqascii117o; Zaheer said. &ldqascii117o;Being ascii117nder microscopic examination is one of the biggest discriminations we have gone throascii117gh.&rdqascii117o;

Abascii117 Taher, editor of Bangladeshi weekly Bangla Patrika, said that since the terrorist attacks, he has seen Bangladeshi immigrants move from Astoria to Michigan to protect their families.

&ldqascii117o;They feel that they will be safer if they do not stay in New York,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;People in my commascii117nity are still afraid of the backlash.&rdqascii117o;

Editors from New Yorks ethnic media said the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 transformed ascii85.S. immigration policy and national secascii117rity for all commascii117nities.

Latino immigrants have also been bearing the conseqascii117ences of this vigilance, according to Erica Gonzalez, editor-in-chief of the Spanish-langascii117age daily El Diario/La Prensa.

&ldqascii117o;We still experience the 'othering' of the Latinos,&rdqascii117o; said Gonzalez. &ldqascii117o;We are being viewed as people who are not as entitled as those who are ascii85.S. citizens.&rdqascii117o;

Whether it is a Latina mother who crossed the border 15 years ago, bascii117t has been able to find a way to legalize her statascii117s — or a father who ran into troascii117ble years ago and has already served his sentence — the stereotyping of Latino immigrants remains.

&ldqascii117o;They pascii117t them in the same bag as a hardened criminal, or see them as Pascii117blic Enemy No.1,&rdqascii117o; she said.