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Shortly after the attacks of 9/11/01, the U.S. Department of Justice applied for and was granted broader powers to monitor religious and political groups. In November 2002, as part of the National Security Entry Exit and Registration System (NSEERS), "Special Registration" was put into effect, requiring men and boys over 16 years of age from 25 countries to report to the immigration authorities and be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed under oath.
To date, roughly 83,000 (mostly Arab and Muslim) men have registered, of whom close to 20 percent were put into deportation proceedings. Of those deported, none has been charged with any terrorist crime.
Theresa Thanjan, a filmmaker and a graduate of Columbia's school of social work, began noticing the impact of this so-called Special Registration on the lives of young people in South Asian and Arab communities in New York City. With help from the Center for Asian American Media and a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Thanjan documented the experiences of three of the immigration policy's direct and indirect victims in a film, Whose Children Are These? Below, Thanjan participates in a Q&A with the Record.
Can you describe very briefly your three film subjects?
Navila Ali is a 19-year-old Bangladeshi woman whose father had formally sought asylum in the United States 11 years ago. When he appeared for Special Registration, he was informed that his lawyer had not filed his asylum paperwork correctly. He was put in a prison in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for almost a year. His conditions were no different from what ordinary prisoners go through. Then he was deported.
Mohammed Sarfaraz Hussain came to the United States when he was seven. After being orphaned, he stayed with an uncle and continued attending school. He appeared for Special Registration in 2003, when he was 17 -- and was told he would be deported to Pakistan, a country whose language he no longer knew. Mohammed was spared that fate only through the personal efforts of a congressman who had read about his case.
Hager Youssef, age 16, experienced harassment soon after the 9/11 attacks because she wears a hijab, or traditional head covering. She shares her views about how measures such as Special Registration and the Patriot Act have created a climate of fear among Muslim communities in the United States about practicing their religion.
What was the psychological and social impact of the experience on each of these three young people?
On top of challenges that adolescents normally face, there are the added layers of pressure and psychological trauma. Navila, for instance, has had to support her family ever since her father was deported, on top of coping with a huge sense of loss. Sarfaraz encountered harassment from community members and even his own teachers when going through the registration process.
Hager must deal with the strong reactions her head covering arouses. That said, each of these young people also finds sustenance through their faith in Allah, believing that practicing Islam is what has carried them through these difficult times.
What can be done to ensure that freedom of religion also applies to the 3-6 million Muslims who live in this country?
One step that I'd like to see taken is more responsible media coverage of American Muslim communities, as a means of counteracting the negative stereotypes promulgated by al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
On Monday, April 17, Thanjan will join author Marina Budhos and artist Naeem Mohaie for a conversation about the implications of the security crackdown for immigrant families in the United States. The event will be held at the New School's Wolff Conference Room, 65 5th Avenue at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $5. For more information or reservations, contact boxoffice@newschool.edu or call 212-229-5488.
For more information on Thanjan's film, go to: www.nycmaharanifilms.com
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