“Dear London,
It's scary being a Muslim as these horrible acts of terror are happening and I hope that I can still live here 50 years down the line and that my future children will get so see the beauty of London and the amazing who live here,” wrote a Muslim teenager in a letter left on a London bus.
The letter describes the mixed feelings of guilt and fear experienced by Muslims in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in a Western country, especially in the face of rising hate crimes.
“I am a Londoner aged 14 years old I also happen to be a black Muslim. After the tragedies at the Westminster attack I came to the decision that I wanted to do something. A horrible, horrible thing happened right in the heart of London a place I love so very much. After hearing of the attack I was very agitated and scared for the people of London and the victims,” the letter reads.
The teenager feared “people would expect answers” when she goes to school the next day. “I went into form and as we spoke about the current affairs I felt all eyes on me. I felt flushed and not suddenly - almost guilty? What do I have to be guilty for?”
“I walked into my first lesson and a girl had asked me where I was the night before, I laughed it off because I knew she was joking and that's what humans do when they don't know what to say. You don't have to do or say anything to your Muslim classmate or colleague. We may be Muslim but we don't want to hurt you. We aren't terrorists. Every Saturday I pass through Westminster and I had to think twice about it this time. I was scared that maybe I would be assaulted because of the many labels that come with wearing a hijab,” she wrote.
The teenager added that all she wants is to finish her education and become a lawyer in London as it is her home. “What I feel is too much for me to express on paper and I hope I have communicated my message well to whoever is reading this. My last hope like the hopes of many others is peace. … All I ask is someone learns something from this letter even if all they learn is that I have terrible handwriting.”
Five people were killed and about 40 injured in London on March 22 after a man rammed his car into pedestrians and then stabbed a policeman close to Britain's parliament. The attacker was identified as Khalid Masood.