In Our View_1

Winter Break

By Fatima Ahmed '07

Winter break was great. Well great in the sense that it was in Saudi, and the only work I had to do was get up and take a shower. Boy, even that seemed difficult at times!

Three weeks were over and it was time to go back to school. Yes, all tears and frowns. But nothing could be done about it. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I boarded the plane. Traveling back to school is never exciting, but little did I know what was waiting for me at my destination.

I landed at Washington Dulles Airport at approximately 2:30 pm. After landing I had to go through immigration and customs. The US government had recently passed a new law that required all visitors to the US, who were not US citizens, to be finger printed and photographed. This law was comprehendible, given the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2003. I was prepared to do this and as I had read before it was only supposed to take two extra minutes per passenger. What I was not prepared for was to spend five hours locked in a room full of men instead!

Anyhow, my immigration officer told me to report to the INS registration room and wait there until I was called upon. I entered the room and all I could see were bodies of people. I fortunately found space in the back of the room and seated myself there. A few minutes went by. More and more people piled in.

Now I started to look around. There were all kinds of people in there but mostly men. A woman with three young kids came into the room but she was sent outside in less than an hour or so. I was beginning to get apprehensive. I knew that all my documents were valid but that room had a certain effect on everyone. Perhaps the fact that a few people were crying and another man was being sent to jail added to my nervousness.

As a foreign student, I have always found the American people to be the friendliest. They are polite and sincere. However, in that room, the officers were highly disrespectful. I understand that the number or kinds of people they have to deal with must frustrate them. Yet, asking where the bathroom or the exit is should not anger them.

Finally, around 6:15 pm, I left the room, being told that I had been mistakenly sent into this room. Fortunately, I still had someone waiting for me at the arrivals.

Over time I have realized that some experiences in life are pleasant while others are not so kind. But regardless of the experiences we gain, they tend to stay with us. While this experience is still fresh and I am bitter, I hope I can laugh about it in the future.