SINCE 9/11, THE BULLYING HAS NEVER STOPPED

In light of events following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, our nation’s attention turned towards discrimination and bias against Blacks. Structural discrimination and inequity extend beyond skin color, however, to attributes of faith, immigrant status, gender, ethnicity and others. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Arab Americans in particular have suffered discrimination at work, at border entry points, and by the FBI and other surveillance organizations that has adversely affected their mental wellbeing.

Discrimination and bullying of Arab Americans is especially severe if their features, names or dress identify them as such. Every identifiable ethnic Arab in this country has faced discrimination in one form or another. This harassment extends from young children in schools to adult professionals of both genders.

Arab Americans have been subjected to workplace discrimination, such as being fired or denied a promotion for no apparent reason. An Arab American academic colleague here in San Diego completely changed his

Al-delaimy is professor of public health at the University of California, San Diego, director of the Global Mental Health Initiative, and co-lead of a new initiative on climate, health disparity and social justice. He lives in Clairemont.

Arab name to avoid discrimination.

A study titled Project Salaam surveyed Arab Americans and other ethnic groups from the Middle East region living in San Diego County, and found Arab Americans with the highest frequency of harassment and discrimination reports among all other ethnic groups surveyed in the study.

There were many instances of verbal harassment reported such as being told, “Go home, Arab,” or asked “Where’s your bomb?” Parents were cursed on the street while walking their children to school. Dirty looks were commonplace.

The study also found many instances of physical assault. One respondent said that a woman tried to hit his wife with a car. A cab driver reported being slapped by a customer. There was an example of vandalism — a car being damaged.

Arab Americans are under intensive surveillance by the FBI and other federal agencies. They are consistently selected for comprehensive screening at airports. When applying for Green Cards or citizenship, they are often scrutinized and delayed.

The scientific literature is very clear that these various forms of discrimination and harassment create major stress and undermine mental well-being. For Arab Ameri

JARROD VALLIERE U-T