Young must find ways to overcome a current crisis of uncertainty

Do we even belong here is the unsettling question I keep hearing from the young in the Muslim community. There is a crisis of uncertainty.

The street demonstrations for months were massive. The phone, email and letter campaigns were enormous and consistent. More importantly, the protesters felt the cause was just. They were trying to prevent killings of civilians and destruction of homes - and schools and health care facilities and places of worship - in Gaza. But it did not seem to make a difference.

Students in U.S. universities were the most vocal. U.S. universities are the sanctum sanctorum of free speech. The university administrations did everything to suppress it. One of the most egregious examples was New York’s Columbia University campus, where New York City police officers were sent to break up protests. We learned later that the police officers were sent in not by the administration but by New York’s mayor, who in turn was pressured by his donors.

Northwestern University has changed its rules. Oddly, the president of the University, Michael Schill, felt it appropriate to tell us in an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune that he is a practicing Jew. Should his faith or ethnicity make any difference in how he administers the university?

As a physician, it is the reticence of the medical organizations to condemn the pogrom that is most painful. There are many examples of lectures on heath care in Gaza that were canceled, the mention of the word “occupation” censored, and editorials published in lead journals like JAMA rationalizing attacks on hospitals.

As places of worship, mosques and churches were destroyed and were met with stunning silence by the interfaith groups in the U.S.

With rare exceptions, politicians, the group that matters the most, are not only silent but turn out enthusiastic supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He spoke to a joint session of Congress to numerous standing ovations. Two of the Congress members who spoke up in opposition to Israeli actions have lost their primaries.

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris in her speeches has mentioned Gaza with a few carefully chosen words that have the distinct feeling that she is threading the needle. It sounded like she had Dearborn in mind rather than Gaza city. When she said that the administration is working day and night to bring about cease-fire, it sounded hollow.

The crisis of uncertainty among the young is from a search to the question, “How is it that their fellow citizens are not moved by witnessing the carnage?” So many of my fellow citizens, who I know are sensitive and kind, turned their eyes away.

Was it just apathy or deep-seated stereotyping of the Arab and the Muslim? Has the needle on Arab and Muslim stereotyping, which Palestinian philosopher Edward Said had pointed out in his treatise on Orientalism years ago, not moved at all?

Unbalanced media coverage is partly to blame. Most stories are not covered at all or relegated to an inside page. Israeli statements are repeated verbatim, which is a classic example of “manufacturing consent.” The American social critic Noam Chomsky can easily add another chapter to his book by that name.

Context in media coverage has also been notably missing. Gaza was called an open-air prison. Land, air and water were controlled. Rain water could not be collected. It wasn’t just chocolate and potato chips that were on the restricted list but also hope.

Despite it all, our nation still holds optimism for the future. My advice to the young would be not to give up hope. Continue protesting. Hold up truth to power and speak up for basic human rights of oppressed people everywhere. Whether it is Uyghurs in China, Rohingyas in Myanmar, Muslims, Christians, and Dalits in India, or Yemenis and many more. The young must learn from the civil rights movement of the past. The road is always long and steep and strewn with thorns. They must support groups and candidates that stand up for human rights and justice regardless of whether they are affiliated with a party or are independent.

Despite all the chaos, our country remains one of the best in the world where human dignity and justice are valued. Change will come, but not in the near future. In the immediate and now, we must find ways to help the young get over the crisis of uncertainty.

• Javeed Akhter is a physician and freelance writer from Oak Brook.