Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts

March 2019:

“Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seat belts in preparation for landing”.

As we were preparing to land at Louis Armstrong International airport in New Orleans, there was mounting excitement about attending the ACC19 annual meeting. I was eager to find out the results of the Late Breaking Trials, meet colleagues and friends, represent PCROnline, and fulfill my faculty assignments. 

 

As soon as we landed, after a ten-hour flight with no WiFi, I turned my phone on. Immediately, my news feed popped up with devastating news: shooting of Muslims in a mosque in New Zealand. As I browsed through, the horrific news was paralyzing and so were many of the hate-filled comments. I felt cheated of my experience as a young physician coming to New Orleans and the initial excitement quickly washed away. I was flooded with all the stages of grief in a single moment: sadness, anger, confusion, terror…Am I next? Do we really live in a world with such little tolerance for diversity? How can victims “deserve” to be victims? Islamophobia continues to be on the rise.

 

Every time there’s a shooting somewhere, I find myself praying (please let it not be a Muslim shooter). I don’t want terrorists hijacking my faith and I don’t want to be defending my faith every time. There is no fanatic and moderate Islam. There is Islam then there is terrorism. There is no perverted Catholic priest and a moderate Catholic priest. There is a Catholic priest then there is a pedophile. None are interchangeable or synonymous. Most importantly, these deviances don’t fall on a spectrum. They are deviations and fall outside the acceptable norms.

 

The next morning, I walked into the Ernest N. Morial Convention center dragging my feet along. As I walked through the lobby and looked around me, I noticed one thing: diversity. Scores of physicians were rushing in, some in high heels and some in flats, some in head scarves and some in skirts…men, women, young, old, Asian, African, American. I was quickly overwhelmed with warm greetings and captivating conversations. I came to the realization, cardiology is a diverse and inclusive community.

 

At the end, I did enjoy my ACC19 experience because I felt I belonged to that community, welcomed into that community and appreciated by that community. 

 

Rewind 20 years ago:

“Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for landing”. As we prepared to land at Logan Airport, my parents, my brothers and sister, and I were already planning the restaurants we want to visit in Boston and Providence. First on the list was an Ethiopian joint near Newbury Street with authentic food served on a large round platter.

 

From an early age I realized the value of diversity. My parents were keen on teaching us to embrace and enjoy diversity & tolerance of all forms: cuisines, cultures, religions, histories, physique and languages. I, myself, am a vestibule of many backgrounds, cultures and experiences. I was born in the UK, raised in Yemen, lived in Egypt, attended medical school in the Emirates, settled in Saudi Arabia and trained in the USA. I have cultivated many memories, friendships, experiences and values from each and every one of these places. They have all shaped who I am today…they are all part of me now and I feel I belong to all these places: they are all home to me.

 

Fast forward to present day:  

Today, as I board my flight back to King Abdulaziz International airport, I know I take with me the science and friendships I forged in New Orleans. The world of cardiology has become home to me and to many others. I have been presented with opportunities to participate in debates, join committees and become a leader. Inadvertently, I have become a face of women in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and Muslims around the world. I take that responsibility with true pride and sincere commitment. I do so because the international medical community embraced and welcomed me. Given current events, all of us should carry the tides of tolerance beyond the borders of medicine. It’s incumbent upon us to lead by example. The world is a safer and happier place with tolerance and diversity.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for take-off”.

 

Reference: 

https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1108308471525580800