Imad Hamad (Photo: (Arab American News)
Here's an anniversary recollection of a surreal day -- Sept. 11, 2001:
Imad Hamad was flying from Detroit to Washington for a noon meeting with Northwest Airlines executives to discuss complaints about racial and religious profiling. At the time, he was president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Michigan office.
As he tells George Hunter of The Detroit News, as the flight was headed to Reagan International Airport in Arlington, Va., not far from the Pentagon, the pilot announced the flight was being diverted to nearby Washington Dulles International Airport in a Virginia suburb further from D.C.
After the plane touched down and passengers found out what had happened, Hamad recalls that all eyes were suddenly on him.
“Everyone grabbed their cell phones, but they couldn’t make calls,” Hamad said. “Then, I felt them all looking at me.”
The rest is history.
To read more about his experience, click the link below.
