By Janaan Hashim
My brain is getting overloaded. It’s trying hard to absorb and digest.
How would I feel if my land was taken with impunity? How would I feel if, as a farmer, my groves were reduced to rows of stubs. How would I feel if my neighbor wants to erect a fence, but puts his fence over my property line?
How would I feel if I had to pay more taxes than my better off neighbor and receive less in services? How would I feel if I had to pay twice as much for electricity and water than my neighbor who receives much more of these essentials? How would I feel if my well was taken and then I had to buy my water from that well, again, at twice the price as my neighbor who took it?
How would I feel if, after waiting for ten years, I still receive no permit to build a house on my land yet my neighbor built his within a year? How would I feel if I was barred from buying material for building my home, but not my neighbor?
How would I feel if I needed a permit to go from my home in Chicago to any of its suburbs? How would I feel if a quick trip to the pediatrician meant going through a military checkpoint and being humiliated in front of my children? How would I feel if law enforcement struck me with the butt of their guns after getting approval to proceed through any of the checkpoints?
How would I feel if my family members, especially the nine or ten year olds, were arrested on no charges?
How would I feel if I were forced to buy products from the people who have done all of this to me?
How would I feel if my neighbor was accountable only to his own conscience?
How would I feel?