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November 10: America on Wednesday elected Donald J Trump as their 45th President and the migrants there have already started feeling the heat. Many Muslim women have said that they are scared of wearing the hijab in America, after Trump won with a landslide victory, receiving the maximum number of votes that a Republican presidential nominee has ever won. Many have rued that Trump’s election to the White House is a watershed moment in American history- one that is expected to hit the migrants, including Indian Americans. It has just been over 24 hours that Trump has been elected, and racist forces in the US have already sprung into motion, with several desi residents reporting distressing incidents of intimidation at the hands of supporters of the President-elect.
This was to be expected, as one of the key issues Trump’s campaign centered around, was the ouster of immigrants. America has a fairly large Indian diaspora with over 4 million members and several high profile NRIs including Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar, actress-model Padma Lakshmi, stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari, to name a few. As soon as the results of the elections became clear, Indian Americans started expressing their dismay on social media, speaking about their uncertain futures, under the rule of a man, whose election campaign heavily banked on hate against immigrants, people of colour and even against differently abled people. Indian Americans of Islamic faith, are especially fearful for their safety in Trump’s America.
Welp if you look like me- you’d better start shaving your beard every day.
— Kunal Nayyar (@kunalnayyar) November 9, 2016
Never in 15 years of living In this country have I ever felt afraid to look like I do. #immigrant
— Kunal Nayyar (@kunalnayyar) November 9, 2016
Slept holding my child last night, wondering what her world would look like today. It’s dark, very dark.I still feel that love trumps hate.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) November 9, 2016
A similar message was posted by author and alternate medicine advocate Deepka Chopra’s daughter Mallika Chopra, on her Facebook page:
One particular incident proves that the fear expressed in the above messages might not be completely unfounded. Manik Rathee, an Indian origin designer based in Silicon Valley on Wednesday narrated his encounter with these forces of hatred, on the very first day after Trump got elected. Rathee, who is employed by tech giant Google, said that he was caught off-guard when a group of Trump supporters yelled at him, “Time to get out of this country, Apu!” The incident took place at a gas station in Northern California. “I’m a light-skinned Indian guy. I’m not a small dude. I dress in professional work attire. I speak English”, Rathee said on Twitter, adding, ominously, “This is our America now.” ALSO READ: Trump insulted Indian American Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley, NYT report
As I’m stopped at a gas station this morning, a group of guys yell over: “Time to get out of this country, Apu!”
Day 1.
— Manik R (@ManikRathee) November 9, 2016
man, im a light-skinned indian guy.
i’m not a small dude. I dress in professional work attire. I speak english.
This is our America now.
— Manik R (@ManikRathee) November 9, 2016
@ManikRathee a student of mine reported that her Muslim neighbors woke up to a sign that said “You can leave now.” Also in the Bay Area.
— Dustin (@dustinrefill) November 9, 2016
A Muslim editor of the NewYorker, Saira Khan shared a message sent to her by a close friend of hers, on Twitter. “One of mom’s Muslim female students came in crying because some one saw her getting into a car and grabbed her and told her that now she has to leave the country”, the message said, adding, “And this is in New York.”
Donald Trump’s America. A close friend sent this to me. pic.twitter.com/PzNV1MOujM
— Saira Khan (@sairakh) November 10, 2016
These incidents prove that while opinions might be divided on what will become of America after Trump starts his term and about whether Trump will actually do all the things that he said he would do against migrants, during his election campaign, it is clear that hate-mongering elements have become more empowered under him. If Donald Trump doesn’t take concrete steps to ensure the safety of people of varied ethnicities and countries and cultures, these forces will be emboldened and will keep acting, considering Trump’s silence as his tacit approval.
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