CNN
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Arab Muslim student Abdulwahab Omira from Stanford University has spoken out after a car struck him on Friday afternoon, in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Read more here.
“As I lay in my hospital bed, grappling with a reality I had never imagined, I reflect on the importance of spreading love, kindness, and compassion in a world that seems to be steadily succumbing to hatred and prejudice,” said Omira. “This ordeal has solidified my resolve to advocate for love, understanding, and inclusivity.”
Omira reports that the driver, described as a white male in his mid-20s, expressed hostility towards Muslims before intentionally striking him.
“An individual who had previously shown animosity towards my community, struck me intentionally,” Omira said. “His hateful screams of ‘f*** you and your people’ still echo in my ears as I grapple with the physical and emotional pain this incident has left in its wake.”
Omira was walking to class when he was hit by a black Toyota 4Runner. The incident has been identified as a hate crime by the California Highway Patrol, leading the investigation.
While Stanford University’s Department of Public Safety issued alerts about the incident, Omira believes they took too long to do so and didn’t show enough concern for his well-being or the circumstances of the incident.
“The hours following the incident were agonizingly silent from the institution that I had trusted to be my safeguard,” Omira said. “It took a multitude of emails and a cry for acknowledgment to bring forth a personal response from the administration.”
Stanford University’s campus authorities issued a notice as soon as they had enough information from the highway patrol about the incident according to Dee Mostofi, assistant vice president of external communications for the university.
While Omira acknowledges the emotional scars of being targeted because of his heritage and beliefs, he hopes his experience will inspire positive change in society.
“Today, as I share my story, my hope is to ignite a spark of empathy, a desire for change, and a call to action to foster a society where love overpowers hate, where understanding douses ignorance, and where compassion binds us in a tapestry of unified strength,” said Omira.
Stanford president Richard Saller and provost Jenny Martinez condemned the hit-and-run in a campus statement on Friday.
“We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus,” the statement read. “Violence on our campus is unacceptable. Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible.”
The Council on American–Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area emphasized the need to address Islamophobia and hatred in their statement.
This crime occurred during a time of heightened tensions in the US, with recent terror attacks and Israeli-Gaza conflict. There has been a rise in hate crimes against Muslims and Arab communities across the country.
