An Incident in Astoria, NY
If you can use Real Player or another application you might want to pass on reading this and hear the story straight from that radio show after its long introduction. You should find it in the Archives.
http://www.wnyc.org/new/index_nbt.htm
The name of this story is called SHARING THE BAD TIMES and it first aired on September 29th 2001 but was accessable on the website on the 30th.
SHARING THE BAD TIMES
Judith Sloanm, a historian and the author of this story, visited Steinway Street, a business area in the Astoria neighborhood which is in the northwest section of Queens, NY. In one area, on this street, one can find several Egyptian owned businesses and coffee shops. In those coffee shops, one can find customers drinking coffee, playing chess and smoking from a hoka....... One particular coffee shop was owned by Labib Salama. He told the author his story.
In case you would rather read what I could document from it.... Here it is....
Five days after the fall of the World Trade Towers, around three o-clock in the morning, four young men stormed into Labib�s coffee shop and started to trash his business. They were smashing mirrors, throwing tables and chairs, breaking everything they could. (The owner didn�t think they were from the immediate neighborhood) The NYC police came to the scene quickly and caught the young men, in the act.
When Labib was asked to sign a complaint to press charges. He said "No!"
The police asked if he wanted monetary compensation for the damages, again Labib said "No!"
The author asked Labib why?! (with 2-4 police officers as witnesses, Labib had a very strong case against those young men.)
Labib said that "there was so much fear and anger going on and around and I did not wish to add to it."
Because, Labib refused to press charges and demand compensation, the police had no other choise but to let the young men go FREE on the spot. After the police had left, Labib and some of his customers began to clean up the broken glass and furniture in his coffee shop. They were shaken and nervious from the incident.
An hour later, those same four young men returned to the coffee shop. Labib and the others did not know what was about to happen.
The first words that came out of one of their mouths was "Thank-you for not pressing charges....." (If Labib did press charges, they could have been looking at several years in prison)....... "We are really sorry......."
The young men offered to help clean up the mess they caused and one of them even offered to buy everyone in the shop coffee.
A short while later, those four young American men were sitting down at a table with Labib and the other Egyptian customers. They kept talking and talking until after eight o-clock in the morning, while drinking fresh-brewed Egyptian coffee.
The young men expressed their fears and anger. Labib and his comrades explained that "We understand but, we didn�t do it." We too fear the terrorist and now they fear the Americans as well.
The author asked Labib what he could make out of what had happened that night. Labib mentioned that while in America, he has "shared the good times with Americans and now needs to share the bad times too
Labib talked about the need to inhale everything at a time when ironically, the wind was blowing north the smoke, dust and burnt paint smell over the neighborhood from what was once the World Trade Center.
He continued to say that "when somebody hits you, its too easy to want to hit them back. But sometimes it is best to forgive when it happens during such bad times.......
This is a story that never gets told on the news.
Now you know why I like my neighborhood and now
you also know why I love New York...........
more than ever.
