Arabic community in The Bronx concerned over family abroad and at home following US military strike on Iran
News 12 spoke with Bronx residents of Middle Eastern descent, many of whom did not want to comment. Others had mixed reactions about Trump’s decision.
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Members of the Muslim community in The Bronx are concerned for their loved ones abroad and at home in the aftermath of the U.S. military strike in Iran.
Yousef Elian owns the Al Meraj Halal Meat Market & Grocery in Van Nest. He says he’s used to worrying about his family overseas, especially his kids and grandkids in Palestine.
BLOG: Updates and reaction: U.S. strikes Iran
“If nothing happened to them today, I don't know what will happen tomorrow,” Elian said.
After the U.S. military struck three nuclear sites in Iran, Elian and other New Yorkers are even more on edge.
"What happened is no good for nobody,” Elian said. “Don't bring no peace."
In Allerton, father Mojalli Al-Abdi says he brought his family to the U.S. for a better life. The military strike has him questioning what comes next and if the U.S. military action will impact his family's daily life in The Bronx.
"Obviously you're going to sense hatred, you'll feel all types of, you know, feeling that you're not welcome,” Al-Abdi explained.
While city officials say there's no credible threat, the NYPD says it's increasing its presence near religious and cultural sites.
"That always happens when stuff like this happens,” Al-Abdi said. “I remember I was here in 2001, and I was a bit older than my son and we felt that we were going to be put in concentration camps. That's how bad it felt."
"Now I'm an American citizen, I'm Arabic,” Elian said. “If I go anywhere, somewhere, I show my passport, somebody's going to hate me."
The families News 12 spoke to in The Bronx on Sunday say their dream is peace in the Middle East.
"If peace happened, everybody will be happy because out of that chaos comes radicalism, even though that's not what Islam teaches,” Al-Abdi said.
