I Don't Like It Here

I don’t like it here. It’s strange. My whole life and everything I’m used to is either illegal or discouraged here. Mother and I cannot even walk down the street without being violently harassed by every passerby. Just yesterday a large group of women who immigrated with us including my neighbor and her sister were stopped on the street and arrested by the police for dressing in customary Syrian cloth. I just cannot understand what harm we were doing by demonstrating our devotion to our people. To tell the truth, I think we scare them. They think we are going to disturb their peace and endanger their citizens and steal all the privileges meant for those who earn them. Father earns his salary by working hard in the factory, Mother slaves in the kitchen and tidies the apartment all day, and I study diligently at school and stay focused on my school tasks. Well do I have news for the French– Just because I wear a veil over my face does not mean I have a bomb attached to my chest and firmly deem all non-believers sinners. We just wanted to make a better life for ourselves, but we are finding it difficult to assimilate and really benefit from what this country offers. It prides itself on its great opportunities for foreigners and welcoming retreat from prosecution, but it is all lies. When I walk into class, I am confronted with twenty-five anxious faces all with eyes boring into my own and characterized by an unwavering, anxious, pleading stare begging me to sit as far away from them as possible. Not once, though, have I committed an open act of violence or threatened another individual. So why must they persist in their prejudice? I have wondered in my sleep whether I might one day wear civilian clothes to school. Might they like me more then? I was reminded, though, of my steady devotion to my culture and people. No ignorant French person could persuade me to give up my identity and conform, regardless of my consequential isolation. I will overcome these obstacles, clutching tightly to my dignity.