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Facing Bias, Pakistanis Pretend to Be Indian

Times Square bomb scare boosts anti-Pakistani sentiment

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2010 4:50 PM CDT

(Newser) – Pakistani immigrants are again feeling prejudice after the attempted car bombing in Times Square, and they're resorting to an old tactic to avoid discrimination: pretending they are Indian. After September 11, with anti-Pakistani sentiment in the US peaking, merchants and job seekers learned quickly that identifying with their homeland's archrival can make life easier, Reuters reports.

Now, instead of feeling ashamed of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Pakistanis are attempting to escape the shadow of Faisal Shahzad. "A lot of Pakistanis can't get jobs after 9/11 and now it's even worse," said the chairman of a Pakistani merchant group in Brooklyn. "They are now pretending they are Indian so they can get a job."

This undated photo from the social networking site Orkut.com, shows Faisal Shahzad, right, and his wife Huma Mian.
This undated photo from the social networking site Orkut.com, shows Faisal Shahzad, right, and his wife Huma Mian.   (AP Photo/Orkut.com)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 43 comments
Ultraworld
May 9, 2010 5:33 AM CDT
Is that much better? I would just say "I am from France"
I_love_all_of_you
May 8, 2010 3:22 PM CDT
Indians will not be happy about this.
thebabbster
May 8, 2010 1:20 PM CDT
These unfortunate Pakistanis are probably ashamed of their more radicalized countrymen -- much as travelling Americans were of our more radicalized countrymen. And rather than face harsh insults and/or discrimination based on what the troglodyte element in your society is doing, it's easier to pretend to be someone else.

More Newser Stories

What We Know About the Times Square Bomb Suspect

Times Square Bomber Planned a Second Attack

Times Square Bomb Would Have Killed Thousands: FBI

Wary of Leaks, FBI Quashed No-Fly Info About Shahzad

Investigators Puzzled by Shahzad's Incompetence


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