Naseem Mahdi, National Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, speaking at the occasion
Courtesy of Wasem Sayed, USA
Written by Helena Gustavsson
Translated from Swedish newspaper
It’s been a year since the marathon bombing killed three people and injured hundreds. Boston’s residents have gathered and stood up for the victims. Millions of dollars and thousands of pints of blood were collected.
(ETC / Boston) winner had crossed the finish already a few hours earlier. It was close to three in the afternoon when the first explosion was detonated next to the finish area at the Copley Square in downtown Boston. Twelve seconds later came the next blow, and a cascade of metal pieces and nails met hundreds of small and large human bodies.
The chaos and mayhem at the time of bombing, April 15 2013
When Rose Bissonnette, founder of the New England Amputee Association, heard about the attack, she understood immediately that many would need support and help from organizations like her own. And she got right; 16 people were injured so badly that they had to amputate one or more body parts.
After getting lost his legs in a car accident knows Rose Bissonnette that the recovery time is long and the costs high, both for the care, rehabilitation and possible replacements. Many Americans currently lack health insurance entirely, but also the insured may face significant costs.
– How much that is covered depends on the type of insurance you have. If two people are injured in similar accidents so can one get almost everything paid for, while the other can itself account for over 50 percent of medical and rehabilitation costs, she says.
Muslim group collects blood
After the attack reported several newspapers that many sufferers would have to struggle with hospital bills for the rest of their lives. The amounts for the care, rehabilitation and prostheses are quickly up in the hundreds of thousands of crowns, sometimes over a million. Now it seems still many sufferers avoid the worst debt mountains, largely because of skadetillfällets special nature.
– I’ve heard that in some cases, insurers have been more generous than against any such lost a leg in a car accident. There has been so much publicity about this that many want to show themselves at their best and help out, says Rose Bissonnette.
There have also been a variety of personal fundraisers for the benefit of those affected. Greater Boston One Fund has collected the equivalent of 400 million to distribute to the wounded. In addition to contributing money, many people believe that the campaigns serves as a meeting place for sufferers and people who want to show support.
Blood Donor Bus behind the Town Hall
In downtown Boston went on Friday a different kind of gathering. A blood donor bus had been placed outside the town hall. Behind this campaign is the movement Muslims For Life, backed by, among others, the race organizer for the marathon and the city of Boston. Muslims For Life was started by the Muslim community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Muslims for Life Campaign: A blood donor in Boston
– We started the campaign after the September 11 attacks to show that to us every life is sacrosanct and that we are prepared to make sacrifices to save lives. Across the country, we have collected over 15,000 units of blood, enough to potentially save 100,000 lives, says Naseem Mahdi, Vice-President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United States.
“Offensive comments”
Last year was Muslims For Life his first blood donation campaign here in Boston and it was dedicated to the victims of the bombing. The White House has been in touch with words of appreciation, said Naseem Mahdi.
– We not only condemn terrorism but also gathers people of different faiths and from different social groups. Muslims, Christians, Jews, and even atheists, all are welcome.
After the September 11 attack was America’s Muslims a vulnerable group and many were afraid to Boston bombing would worsen the situation. The two Chechen brothers, Tamerlan and Dzjochar Tsarnajev, who performed the deed had lived in the U.S. since the early 2000s. In recent years, they have become radicalized on their own, without being linked to any Islamist movement.
Ulli Ryder, a historian specializing in U.S. and ethnicity, taught at Simmons College in Boston when the bombing occurred.
– I had several Muslim students who have never noticed any anti-Muslim tendencies in Boston. After the bombing began they hear insulting comments directed at Muslims, even from people they saw as friends and colleagues.
Muslims were lumped together
All who were Muslims, or looked like Muslims, were lumped together with those who carried out the bombing, she says.
– But it happens much more rarely now, I think. Boston city has worked very hard to recover. Many different groups have come together to jointly say “We are all Bostonbor and we’re all in the same boat.”
Additional Reading
Categories: Americas, ISLAM, United States