Introduction

         “Divided We Fall” is a documentary directed by Sharat Raju and narr. This film depicts the hate crimes that followed 9/11 aimed towards Sikh and Muslim American communities. The film is told from the perspective of a Sikh American, college student, Valarie Kaur. She crosses the country with her cousin gaining insight on the oppression, discrimination and violence against Sikh and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of one of the most tragic days in U.S. history. Since then Kaur has become an advocate, filmmaker, lawyer, educator, and faith leader. This documentary helped me reflect on my privilege in this country where everyone is supposed to be free. I am able to articulate insights about my own identity in multiple contexts with respect to factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and ability, which is learning objective one.

Reflection

         The documentary “Divided We Fall” is an eye opening reflection on the hatred that some people held for Sikh Americans and Muslims Americans after 9/11 happened.  The documentary was made by Valarie Kaur, a young American college student at the time. After 9/11 happened, there was a lot of hatred, violence, and even murder committed against Sikh Americans and Muslim Americans because of fear. Valarie noticed this issue not getting the attention it should in the media, she referred to it as the issue that was talked about between some but not all. It was hardly noticed in the media, as the media was focusing on different leads and finding the source of the recent terrorist attacks. Kaur and her cousin decided to document those who were facing oppression and discrimination during this time across America. They visited 14 American cities and talked with multiple people, including those who were yelled at, harmed, and bullied, some even in the first couple of hours after the twin towers were hit. 

         The documentary started by educating people about Sikhism and the purpose of wearing a turban. This is important because many people automatically assumed that all people with brown skin, a turban, and a beard was to be feared, that they were dangerous, and that they were terrorists. These people who fit that description were told to go home, go back where you came from, and get out of America even if they had been born here. One specific case, which was probably the most publicized, stuck with me throughout the movie. Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American who owned his own gas station in Mesa, Arizona was murdered after 9/11 and later determined as a hate crime. His friends and family spoke about how patriotic he was, and that on that morning he was hurting too for his fellow Americans and asked someone to bring him some American flags to put out in front of his gas station. This was heartbreaking to me and it made me reflect on more just racial profiling. 

         It made me think of how we interact with one another on a personal level. For instance, going to a grocery store or gas station and how you interact with those strangers. Do you lock your doors when someone you don’t trust walks by you? Why don’t you trust that person, is it because of their skin color and/or your previously held biases? What does an American look like, and do you judge a person off that image in your head? Lastly, what does the enemy look like? These are the questions that people should have been asking themselves but they were filled with such fear that they were not able to focus on why they held these biases or that they were just biases and fear. Although we haven’t had any recent terrorist attacks, people still hold these assumptions of certain groups like Sikh and Muslim Americans because of how they look. Over the last 18-19 years, this has been taught. This has been reinforced by the media depicting certain religions and those who look a certain way as more violent than others.

         For instance, I am privileged as a white woman in America. I am the least likely to be stereotyped as someone dangerous and because of that I am less likely to encounter different dangerous and uncomfortable situations that others will face. Young African American boys and girls are taught what to do in order to stay alive when they talk to the police. People ask Sikh and Muslim men, why don’t you just take off your turban to be less threating? Why aren’t we asking ourselves why don’t we do some self-reflection and ask ourselves why we are asking them to do this or why do they have to do this? The reasons are quite clear, it is because of fear.

Bibliography     

Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath. (2018, September 7). Retrieved from https://valariekaur.com/film/divided-we-fall/#about