After enjoying recess with my few but loyal friends, we walked hand-in-hand back to class. I noticed that the TV stand had been rolled out and my teacher was watching the news in horror. She told everyone to sit in our seats and raised the volume. What followed, I’ll never forget.

The person on the TV said that Muslim terrorists were responsible for two planes crashing into the Twin Towers, killing many and injuring more. Upon hearing the words Muslim and terrorist I became pale.

I saw a few of my classmates look at me accusingly, as if this were my fault; like my family and I were somehow connected to any of this. They knew of my ethnicity and cultural background. They knew my father was an Arab Muslim. I grieved at the scenes shown on TV, but I also knew that I was expected to feel guilty, and a small part of me was.

My family and I continued to watch the news coverage at home, each of us horrified at the death and destruction that occurred that day. I looked up at my father who sat beside my mother on the sofa, and I stared at him. I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes. I went to him and hugged him tight. I knew that nothing would ever be the same for us again.

After 9/11, I was relentlessly bullied at school. I was called a terrorist and I was made fun of because of my ethnicity. I remember that my family started behaving more westernized to appear American. We stopped calling my brother by his first name, Nabil, in public because we feared being judged.

We didn’t travel by air for a couple of years, fearing that our Middle Eastern last name would cause some sort of commotion or concern in the airport. And when we did decide to travel two years later, our last name had become problematic. We showed everyone that we were proud Americans but in truth we were all afraid.

We were scared that someone who hated all Muslims, or that terrorists from the Middle East might harm one of us, most specifically my father. After a few years, the stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims still existed but the hatred directed at us seemed to dissipate. But my fear and anguish of having a Middle Eastern background remained.

And now there is a man on TV who is scaring me in a way that I haven’t felt in years. This man claims that he is going to make this country great again. This man uses fear tactics and hatred to lure the misguided into following him. I’m talking about Donald Trump.

I watched in utter horror as state after state voted for Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee. I am shocked and appalled that he has gotten this far. And even with the polls showing Hillary Clinton ahead, I can no longer deny nor reassure myself that Donald Trump could never, ever, be president. How outrageous.

If Trump wins, my family and I could be in trouble. I am what Donald Trump hates the most. I am half Latina and half Middle Eastern. My father is a proud and practicing Muslim and my mother is a Salvadoran Catholic.

My father immigrated to this country many years ago. He was born and raised in Jerusalem and that was where he decided that he wanted to help people by becoming a physician. He moved to Spain to complete his education and later moved to the United States for a chance at a better life. He wanted to live without constant turmoil and conflict, a life different than the one he had in Jerusalem. But when he arrived to the United States, he was told he could no longer practice medicine because his medical degree would not be valid. He was told to either start anew or move on. And in the end, with much thought and heartache, he moved on.

My mother also immigrated to this country in hopes of a better life and to escape the violence that consumed her country. In El Salvador, my mother was an architect. When she moved to the United States 30 years ago, she was promised opportunity but after arriving, learned that her degree would not be accepted. She would have to start from the very beginning by getting a GED. Both of my parents became U.S. citizens and never looked back.

But Donald Trump doesn’t care about me, or my brother, or my hard working parents.

“I would just bomb those suckers, and that’s right, I’d blow up the pipes, I’d blow up the refineries, I’d blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left.” — Donald Trump

If this man becomes president, he would not hesitate to destroy and end the lives of millions of innocent people. This subject is close to my heart because I have many family members who still live in the Middle East. The thought of my friends and family and millions of other families being bombed by the United States and being killed due to pure ignorance affects me deeply.

“Our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again.”
-Donald Trump

True Muslims believe in Allah which means God in Arabic. The Muslim religion not only values human life but it is a religion that promotes peace. The people who are terrorists and are doing barbaric acts to other people cannot be considered Muslims. They may do these acts claiming that it’s in the name of Allah but they are extremists. They have greatly misinterpreted and distorted Islam. Terrorism has no religion.

“A total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” -Donald Trump

Trump also plans to build a huge wall to keep out Mexican people.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
-Donald Trump

Every time I hear Donald Trump talk about Muslims or Latinos, I feel like I’m living my deepest and darkest nightmares. Trump makes me feel the same terror and anguish I felt shortly after 9/11, but this time it’s even worse. Donald Trump condones and supports violence against Latinos and Muslims.

“There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey where you have large Arab populations. . . They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as that building came down.” -Donald Trump

I fear for both my immediate and distant family who live overseas. I fear persecution. I fear for my father’s life. Every Friday at around 11:30 a.m. I become nervous because I know my father will be leaving for the mosque for afternoon prayer. As he kisses my forehead and says goodbye, I watch him walk to his car. Will he be safe? Will someone who is consumed with hatred toward Muslims commit a hate crime at his mosque?
I fear for my little brother who was born and raised American. I fear for my entire family being discriminated against.

“We’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely. We’re going to have to look at the mosques. We’re going to have to look very, very carefully.”
-Donald Trump

I fear for my Mexican neighbors, the wonderful, kind, generous, and hard working people who immigrated to this country years ago seeking a better life and who fought hard to become citizens. I fear for my neighbor’s daughter who was raised here her entire life but was born in Mexico. What will happen to her? She and her husband are two of the most kind and caring persons I have ever met, but unfortunately remain undocumented. What will happen to her and her U.S. born children if Trump wins? Will she and her husband be deported? And what will happen to their children?

I fear for the future of this country.

Trump is ignorant and scary. His rants bring out the worst in people. He feeds into stereotypes and fuels illogical fears and hatred towards specific ethnicities and religions. He not only makes racism and violence towards Muslims and Latinos acceptable, but he encourages it.

I love this country. My family loves this country. I ask that you support people like me and my family, and our fellow patriotic Muslims and Latinos, to rise as a nation against the madness and hatred that is Donald Trump. Your vote, your voice, is so vital in this election year. I will proudly be voting blue. Keep America great.