Trials And Tribulations In Amin Ahmad's 'I Belong Here'

In “I Belong Here” by Amin Ahmad, the writer discusses the trials and tribulations of being viewed as a suspect race. In this discussion, the author documents an experience in an airport and in doing so shows how people are grouped together based solely on their outward appearance. This essay not only shows how people tend to generalize and group people, but also the effects it has on those who are grouped together. As people are, willingly or not, grouped together, they begin to feel as if they belong where they are placed and that it is them against all other groups. Amin is not a U.S citizen, but she lives in Boston with her American fiancée and they are both visiting the UK on vacation. Their residence backgrounds are much different; the fiancé has …show more content…
These passports tell a tale, one of a normal American life and another filled with the life of a foreigner, a life filled with immigration and work visas. When these two very different passports are being validated by the British official, as one would expect in this day and age, Amin’s sends up a red flag while her American fiancée’s does not. This prompts the official to send her over to a wooden bench where an old Sikh man and a Bangladeshi family sit. There is an immediate realization that this is where all those who are of suspect race are sent. Amin automatically begins to think such things as “I’m not like them” and “I live in Boston”, these thoughts reinforce the idea that we group people based on outward appearance only. For all she knows, they could have American passports but were sidelined due to race alone. As Amin sits with these other individuals, she begins to realize how alike they all