A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity
Senseless street politics leave a family in grief during Ramadhan
Story by Yahsmin M. B. BoBo

Saturday marked the moon sighting and beginning of Ramadhan for Muslims in the Bay Area. Yet, for the family of Ali Abdullah, this evening signified something very sorrowful. Emad and Jihad Abdullah, parents of Ali, were notified that their eldest son had been shot on the corner of D Street and 98 th avenue in Oakland.

Other locals, who are rumored to drive through East Oakland confronting people, mistook Ali for Chicano. This violent trend has come to be known as “checkin”. And while Ali was standing on his native block, his answers still weren't good enough for the young men who demanded to know where he was from.

Heartfelt eulogies were given on his behalf in a masjid (mosque) downtown Oakland this afternoon, where hundreds of people flocked to attend. Ali's body was shrouded in pure white linens, the same garment he would be laid to rest in the bear earth.

It just so happens that Ali's life wasn't determined by street politics but unfortunately, his life, as we know it, ended that way. A few other young men were also injured that night, coupled with two more deaths the night before just around the corner. All of these innocent people were victims of the same hostile practice in a new strain of drive-by shootings.

Unbeknownst to the shooters, Ali's family are pillars in the community. Emad Abdullah is the son of Palestinian immigrants who settled in East Oakland decades ago and started businesses. From food markets to auto shops, the Abdullah family services the people and does so generously. Ali's father helped finance a computer lab in a community center located on Macarthur boulevard, donating thousands of dollars to purchase new computers with internet access for elementary school kids.   Without resources, the students wouldn't have been able to connect to the wealth of information most children can readily find on the web.

Jihad Abdullah, mother of Ali, has ran an affordable and safe day care center in her home in addition to volunteering in the same community center's child care facility for years now. Ali himself was a hard-working employee in the Fruitvale district, Laney college student, and brother to four younger siblings. And yet, his merits are beyond our recognition.

The mentality held by perpetrators of this crime and those who are likeminded is painful to grasp. We do understand, however, that urban warfare is at an all time high and law enforcement agencies seem to be either powerless or completely ineffective when dealing with rising homicide rates. Oakland alone has now hit over 150 murders this year, and we still have months to go before entering another. What can ascertain about this senseless violence? Is it fair to assign guilt to individual or systematic criminal behavior within our communities?

These are questions that beg our attention immediately. In all actuality, we needed answers yesterday.

The irony of it is that Ali fell victim to actions of a deep-seated frustration within the Chicano community here, a socio-economic outrage that is endemic in both Northern and Southern California. On the other hand, Ali comes from a land that has endured similar hardships- Occupied Palestine. While the descendants of indigenous people are confronting institutionalized racism here, native Arabs are doing the very same in the Apartheid state of Israel. Images of young Mexican Americans fighting off the police can be seen on airwaves juxtaposed with pictures of Palestinian men throwing boulders at Israeli tanks. In contemplating these similarities, we can assess a deeper potential for solidarity rather than rivalry, if only our youth understood it this way.

What is happening in both places is really quite the same. Outraged citizens in foreign systems, forced to promise allegiance to alien governments. It is no wonder why we see pandemonium in the streets, mutually here and abroad.

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