‘Lingering Emotional Scars’: Stanford Muslim student struck in hit-and-run Releases Statement
In the aftermath of a disturbing incident that unfolded on Friday, Abdulwahab Omira, an Arab Muslim student at Stanford University, has released a statement addressing the harrowing experience. Authorities are currently treating the incident as a hate crime.
As he continues to recuperate in his hospital bed, Omira reflects on the need to promote love, kindness, and compassion, especially in a world seemingly marked by increasing levels of hatred and prejudice. In his statement, he states, "This ordeal has solidified my resolve to advocate for love, understanding, and inclusivity."
Omira said that the driver involved in the incident, whom he described as a "white male in his mid-20s, with short dirty-blond hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round framed eyeglasses," had exhibited hostility toward Muslims prior to the incident.
"An individual who had previously shown animosity towards my community struck me intentionally," Omira recounted in his statement. "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."
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The incident occurred when Omira was on his way to class shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday and was struck by a 2015 or newer black Toyota 4Runner. The California Highway Patrol conducted a preliminary investigation, determining the nature of the incident as a hate crime. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is spearheading the ongoing investigation.
Stanford University's Department of Public Safety has issued two alerts concerning the incident, one on Friday and an update on Saturday. However, Omira expressed his dissatisfaction with the university's response, claiming that they were slow to notify the community and did not display sufficient concern for his well-being or the incident's gravity.
In his statement, he said, "The hours following the incident were agonizingly silent from the institution that I had trusted to be my safeguard. It took a multitude of emails and a cry for acknowledgment to bring forth a personal response from the administration."
Dee Mostofi, the assistant vice president of external communications for Stanford University, stated that the campus authorities acted promptly by issuing the notice as soon as they had received sufficient information from the highway patrol, CNN reported.
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While Omira points out that “emotional scars—the feeling of being targeted solely because of my heritage and beliefs—are likely to linger,” he said he hopes his experience will ultimately serve as a positive inspiration to 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," Omira expressed in his statement.
Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez have unequivocally condemned the hit-and-run incident in a statement issued by the campus on Friday. Their statement read, "We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus. Violence on our campus is unacceptable. Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible."
The Council on American–Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area said in a statement Saturday the incident “underscores the urgent need to address the growing Islamophobia and hatred that have been plaguing our communities.”
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The crime comes amid heightened tensions in the US following the October 7 Hamas operation Al-Aqsa Flood and intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Last month, a man stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy to death in Chicago in an incident being investigated by the Department of Justice as a hate crime. And Muslim and Arab groups across the country have reported a rise in vandalism, threats, and harassment.
Source: Agencies
