I was born in Bangladesh. I came to the United States to fulfill my lifelong dream to pursue higher education and to experience the American Dream. But my life completely changed due to one single incident.
It was Friday 12:30 pm, September 21, 2001. A man with a gun entered the gas station where I was working. He asked me,
“Where are you from?”
The question seemed strange to ask during a robbery, which certainly this was -- the man wore a bandana, sunglasses and a baseball cap, and aimed the gun directly at my face as I stood over the gas station register. “Excuse me?” I asked.
CRIME - As soon as I spoke I felt the sensation of a million bees stinging my face, and then heard an explosion. Images of my mother, my father, my siblings and my fiancé appeared before my eyes, and then, a graveyard. I looked down at the floor and saw blood pouring like an open faucet from the side of my head. Frantically, I placed both hands on my face, thinking I had to keep my brains from spilling out. I heard myself screaming, “Mom!” The gunman was still standing there. I thought, If I don’t pretend I’m dead, he’ll shoot me again.
This was not a robbery. It was a hate crime linked to the tragedy of the World Trade Center on September 11th. The gunman was Mark Stroman, a white supremacist, in the middle of a shooting rampage expressing his anger towards people of Middle Eastern descent. He shot and killed Waqar Hasan, a man from Pakistan, on September 15; he shot me, a man from Bangladesh, on September 21, 2001, and shot and killed Vasudev Patel, a man from India, on October 4. All the victims were shot while working at gas stations and convenience stores in Dallas.
For his actions, he was found guilty on April 4, 2002 in the death of Mr. Patel, with an execution date of July 20th, 2011.
CAMPAIGN - I requested Mark Stroman’s death penalty be commuted to life in prison with no parole. There are three reasons I made this decision:
1) Lessons I learned from my parents. They raised me with the religious principle that he is best who can forgive easily.
2) As a Muslim, I believe human lives are precious and that no one has the right to take another human’s life. In my faith, forgiveness is the best policy and Islam doesn’t allow for hate and killing.
3) I seek solace for the wives and children of Mr. Hasan and Mr. Patel, who are also victims in this tragedy. The other victims in this tragedy are the children. Not only have the Hasan and Patel children lost their fathers, but Stroman’s children also lost their father. I forgave Mark Stroman many years ago. In fact, I have never hated him. I never hated America for what happened to me. I believe he was not capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, otherwise he wouldn’t have done what he did: murdered two innocent people.
RESULT: Mark Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. The state of Texas put him to death by lethal injection at 8:53 pm.
The efforts to save the life of Mark Stroman were based upon the hope that we will begin a new narrative in this world, to work for a world without hate and its terrible ramifications. We must get beyond hate, to a world based upon mutual respect, dignity, compassion and understanding. We received 12,000 signatures from around the world and were encouraged by your support. Thank you for your efforts to save Mark’s life, during our petition campaign.
LIFE LESSONS - This incident helped me realize hate doesn’t bring a peaceful solution to any situation. Hate only brings fear, misery, resentment and disaster into human lives. It creates obstacles to healthy human growth, which, in turn, diminishes society as a whole. Mark Stroman’s hate only brought more pain and suffering to an already mourning nation.
I strongly believe there are important reasons why God spared my life. I feel driven to bring an awareness of hate crimes to others. Hate crimes of ALL types. To educate and raise a consciousness among people that hating others can never bring lasting peace and satisfaction.