by Ernie McCray
Well, it seems
that my friend, Lallia Allali,
a renowned leader in the Muslim community,
is no longer
welcome
to tend to the learning needs
of Arab students in San Diego City Schools
ever again,
in spite of the district’s supposed
restorative justice practices wherein it claims
to be about cultivating relationships that help build and sustain
school cultures
that are positive and welcoming
for students, staff, and families.
In this situation that notion
is just blowing in the wind
like a bird lost in flight,
just drifting,
offering absolutely no remedy
for the young people
and children
Lallia has told me about
who feel alone in the world,
left-out
in their schools,
sensing no support,
as the only empathy they see,
considering what’s happening
between Israel and Palestine,
is given to Jewish students
in their view.
And I can’t help
but wonder what it must be like
feeling that no one is on your side
especially when you’re, most likely,
more scared than you’ve ever been in your life,
watching your mother and father cry
due to their close ties to
Gaza and the West Bank, and the like,
hearing their laments, their worries, their stories.
And I ask where, besides at home, can these children cry
and be heard, if not at school?
But they’re experiencing learning institutions
that aren’t even trying to listen to them and care about them,
as they see things,
their complaints ranging from just being
very uncomfortable with the way
the Middle East is talked about by teachers,
“the looks, the energy, the Vibes,”
to specifics
where some students speak of teachers
who talk only about Israelis
and what is happening to them,
completely ignoring the Palestinians situation,
and when students
counter their Zionist propaganda
their arguments are summarily decried,
and so many of them
feel generally victimized,
bullied by racist jokes,
some about what they wear
or the truths they feel inside,
making them feel like some sort of default “enemy”
not worthy of
being represented in the curriculum
in positive ways,
subject, every now and then, to their religious beliefs being challenged,
and 9-11 thrown in their face,
to having to choose “White” as their race
on standardized tests,
to having to endure discussions in history classes
about world news
that’s mostly presented according to
the United States’ point-of-view.
Whew!
Oh, these children and young people
are in desperate need of schools
that can offer them a more hopeful and loving vibe.
And I can’t wait
for the school district,
when it comes to creating such an atmosphere,
to at least try.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Something to consider:
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/community-voices-project/story/2023-11-04/union-tribune-community-advisory-board-member-resigns-due-to-personal-facebook-repost
And:
https://www.jns.org/in-san-diego-controversy-surrounds-an-antisemitic-imam-and-his-wife/
Two sides to every story.
Thank you for posting these links. In fairness to Mr. McCray, he might want to reply.
/s/ Chris Kennedy
You’re welcome. Yeah she’s not exactly the total victim she’ being made out to be. I’m sure she’s had to deal with Islamophobia her whole life, but that doesn’t mean she’s without some guilt.
When Ernie said: “And I can’t help
but wonder what it must be like
feeling that no one is on your side”.
That very same feeling is happening with many Jewish students these days, no matter what their own personal feelings are about the atrocities Israel is committing, and what they’ve been doing is horrific, but again there’s still two sides of the coin.
Hamas sought to provoke a confrontation and they got what they wanted. This while using their own people as pawns in a PR campaign to gain world sympathy. Yet it’s impossible to feel sympathy for a regime that committed unspeakable atrocities.