The One about the Weird Time at Dunkin Donuts

Today was a dangerous day for me. The Frenchman’s death was on my mind from last night. I talked to my boss about it at work. Details were still sketchy. It felt so weird knowing that the murder happened so close to home.

I went to Dunkin Donuts in the morning to get my breakfast— Dunkin Donut is a craving I fell for today!

Standing there at the counter, waiting for the man to make my egg and cheese croissant sandwich, I heard a loud “excuse me” from behind me. It was a heavy and coarse voice. Don’t turn around Mansur- he is probably asking for the man behind the cashier. “Excuse me!” It was the same voice again. I turned around to see who it was.

He was a Saudi man, clearly in his 40s, with graying hair and moustache. He had a cigarette in his hand, having clearly ignored the no smoking sign at the entrance. There was a coffee and a half eaten donut in front of him on the table. He looked directly at me. I looked back at him, sternly.

“Where you from?” he said, in a rather loud and rude tone, with improper English grammar. I could not believe he was talking to me in that manner. Who does he think he is?

“Aish mushkillah!?” (What’s your problem?) I said back to him. I said it rather sternly.

He backed down and returned to drinking his coffee.

The scene, which lasted a quick few seconds, played over and over in my mind the whole day. Who was that man and what was his business with me? Was he asking me where I am from to make sure I was a not a westerner? Surely, I had ‘Westerner’ written all over me: Gap cap, Gap Athletic t-shirt, cargo pants, and Teva Sandals!

Having talked to my parents, they said next time, don’t talk back at anyone like this in Arabic. I thought maybe if that man heard me in Arabic, he would leave me alone. Dad told me that a lot of westerners talk Arabic now, and even keep a copy of the Quran with them in the car to convince people that they are not “infidels.” Talking Arabic to people is a bad option for me. I replied back to him Arabic to shut him and his rude manners. I was also told that talking in English is a better idea, because in such a public situation, people run away from westerners and no one really would kill someone in broad daylight. Had I talked to that rude man in English, maybe he would have backed down. The best option for me, as told to me by several people, is to tell the people directly that I am a Pakistani. No one wants to kill a Pakistani! Someone had the nerve to suggest that the man was probably picking me up! Yucccck! How disgusting!

I have restricted my outings now- at least for the time being. I cannot let those terrorists win. I cannot let this one killing take over my life. Some people want me to be more careful and alert, for there are “devils out there prowling around like roaring lions!”

Yours having-enjoyed-the-egg-and-cheese-croissant,

Mansur