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Just as their underground train left Kings Cross station, Michael had another one of his vivid dreams. He wasn’t sleeping this time. He wasn’t even drowsy. This time he could hear the people talk in English and Urdu. It lasted for about 10 minutes. Michael didn’t say anything to his parents. He didn’t want to spoil their holiday. They were enjoying themselves so much, he thought. He just kept it to himself. “Are you all right Michael?” Ayesha was calling him, as she saw the look on his face. “Yes I am fine mum” responded Micahel ”just feeling a bit queasy” “Let’s go back to the Hotel” suggested Ayesha The next day Misbah hired a car. They drove to Hastings. When they went to see Royal East Sussex Hospital where Misbah had worked many years ago, they were told that the hospital had closed and all the services had moved to the new Conquest Hospital. Misbah was very disappointed, as he wanted to show Michael & Ayesha the house that he stayed in when he first came to England. They went to Conquest hospital and asked for Dr Smith but couldn’t get any information from the staff working there. They were all treating Misbah with a lot of suspicion, Ayesha thought as they left for their hotel overlooking the beach. “ I think England has become racist” said Misbah to Ayesha as they lay in bed “Yes but racism was always there, wasn’t it” countered Ayesha “Don’t you remember the racist attack that you suffered in Hastings” “Yes but at that time it was limited to few ignorant, good-for-nothing yobs” explained Misbah “I never felt it while working in the hospital, where I was respected” “You may be right but I think the British are just good at hiding their real feelings, especially if they want something from you, they can be very nice” “Let’s see the response of my previous colleagues in Glasgow” said Misbah as he turned the lights off. Drive to Scotland was breathtaking. They made several stops on the way and enjoyed the countryside. The location of the cottage they stayed in the Lake District was particularly beautiful. Misbah told Michael all about the poet William Wordsdsworth and they saw the Dove Cottage in Grasmere where he had found inspiration and wrote his poetry. The weather started to change as they crossed the border into Scotland. Dark clouds gathered in the sky with a mumbling thunder, as if to announce some imminent horrific event. “Let’s go straight to Paisley” suggested Misbah “as Mohammed is waiting for us there” “Who is Mohammed?” asked Micahel “Do you remember I told you about the epidemic in our village?” “Yes, some kind of Chemical leak, you said” Michael confirmed “Mohammed was one of the boys in our village who was affected by it” said Misbah “So you saved his life” responded a delighted Micahel “Well, we saved his life. Your mother & Professor Murray had a big role to play in that” “What is he doing in Scotland?” asked Micahel “He was the second person from our village to go to Medical College and is now here for further training” “Wow that must be amazing” beamed Micahel as they approached Mohammad’s apartment. Misbah parked the car on the road and rang the bell. A young Southeast Asian man of around 25-26 years old opened the door. “Oh Allah, is that you Mohammad?” exclaimed a visibly surprised Ayesha as she hugged him “and you may remember our little son Mahir – he is not little anymore and is now called Micahel. Mohammad shook hands with Michael and touched Misbah’s feet. “So what post do you have here?” asked Misbah as they settled down on the sofa “I am Senior House Officer in Medicine” responded Mohammad “That’s nice. How do you find it?” enquired Misbah “It’s OK. I am not enjoying it very much” “Why is that?” “Well there is a lot of discrimination” “Things must have changed now. I had a great time as a registrar in Glasgow” “Yes those days have gone” explained Mohammad “ there is much more animosity towards Muslims now especially after 9/11 attacks” “I felt the same” agreed Misbah “We are not treated with respect and we cannot go up on the career ladder” “How is Professor Murray?” asked Misbah changing the subject “He retired two years ago” responded Mohammad “No one where he is now” “Oh, that’s a shame as I was so much looking forward to meeting him” “There are not many Professors like him any more” “ He was a gem of a person and a great researcher” “ Yes we have heard many stories about him” “So what are you going to do, if you are not happy in your job?” “I don’t really know” responded Mohammad in a very dejected tone “ I can’t go to Pakistan because I have done my studies here” “But have you applied for other jobs?” enquired Misbah “Yes, I have put in over 250 applications for Specialist Registrar jobs but have not been short-listed even once” “Is that same experience for all non-whites?” “No it is different for other religions. Last year we had an Afro Caribbean doctor who was called Clinton Smith” explained Mohammad “he got an SpR post just after doing one year SHO job” “ Goras must have been fooled by the name” explained Misbah “The anger among the British Muslim community is really growing and I am sure something bad will happen soon” “What do you mean something bad?” “Some of my friends have gone to Pakistan to attend Al Qaeda camps” “Oh, that’s not very good. You are British. Your loyalties must be with Britain” “But we don’t feel British and we are not treated as British, so how can we be British?” “Let’s hope that your friends don’t do anything stupid like 9/11 attacks here in Britain. That would be real disaster for the Muslim community here” “I hope not but I can’t help feeling that it will happen sooner rather than later” Ayesha came into the room just then. Mohammad turned the TV on to listen to BBC news. “Fifty two people were killed in four explosions in London this morning” the newsreader was saying “the attacks were well coordinated and occurred just after the rush hour on London transport” They were all stunned. They watched the scenes of horror. No one said anything. Michael, who was sleeping in the other room, woke up with a startle. He had another one of his vivid nightmares. Misbah was very quiet on the return flight to Baltimore. Ayesha & Michael played games on the video screens on the back of the seats. Most people in the plane were giving them strange looks, Michael thought. He had mixed feelings about the trip. He really enjoyed the London excursions and Hastings beach but was not very impressed with Paisley. The experience after the London attacks had not been very pleasant. It was nothing compared to what was in store for them at BWI airport. As Misbah approached the desk in the queue marked “Aliens”, a very big built African American security officer looked at them and started talking to someone on his large phone. There was panic in his voice. “They are here. They are here. Over” he announced Suddenly there was a commotion in the airport. Several security officers came running towards the desk. “Would you please accompany us?” retorted one of the officer, asking Misbah & family to come with them “we need to take you for a secondary” “What is a secondary?” asked bewildered Misbah “You will soon find out” responded another officer They were escorted to a small room behind the luggage area. One of the security officers brought out something out of his pocket and said “we need to put these on” Misbah couldn’t believe it. These were handcuffs and ankle cuffs. “You can’t do this. I am a medical doctor working at Johns Hopkins” Misbah protested “We know sir” replied the officer “but this is standard procedure we need to follow” A female officer was doing the same to Ayesha. “She is not a threat to anyone, why are you putting these on her” Misbah shouted “Standard procedure and there is no need to shout” said the security officer with affirm voice “otherwise we will have to gag you” “Misbah let them do it. Don’t worry, I will be fine” sobbed Ayesha as she looked at Micahel who was als