By:Jacky Gerzema
The national economy is decidedly slumping, and several Baldwin businesses have also been adversely affected by the World Trade Center attack. Not only has business been slower, but some local employees of Middle Eastern descent, and even those who merely look Middle Eastern, have been on the receiving end of racist slurs and attitudes from customers.
Qwik Stop, located on Grand Avenue near the train station, is trying to get back to normal.
"We're fine," said a manager of the store who did not want to give her name. "Business was slow for a while because there weren't as many people going on the train to Manhattan, but it's fine now."
While business may be fine, the manager said some of the treatment she's received in the past few weeks has not been.
As an Indian, she said she was recently targeted a few times by customers who thought she was Middle Eastern.
"A man came in today and asked if I was Pakistani," she said. "I told him I wasn't but asked what would be the problem if I was. He said that he wanted to form a group to shoot all Pakistanis and Muslims."
The manager said other customers in the store told her to ignore the comments and were supportive after the man left.
Recently the manager had started wearing a pin of the American flag, and a customer her why she was wearing the patriotic symbol.
"He said, 'You aren't American.' I told him that yes, I'm an American citizen; I have lived here for years," she said.
As a Hindu, the manager said many men in her religion wear turbans and have long beards. It is a common misconception that only Muslims look this way, she said, and many Hindus have been the target of angry citizens who assume they are Muslim.
While Qwik Stop is getting back on its feet, an employee of 7- Eleven, who also declined to give his name, said that sales have been down 25-35 percent.
"I've talked to people at gas stations and other 7-Elevens, and they said their businesses are down too," he said.
As an American citizen of Middle Eastern descent, the employee said that he has been forced to call 911 on several occasions while dealing with difficult customers.
"I don't like to give details, but people have said things like 'Why are you here, go back to your own country'," he said. "Ninety-eight or 99 percent of people are good people. It's that extra 1 or 2 percent that make things hard."
Dunkin' Donuts on Grand Avenue and the Getty gas station on Merrick are both reporting normal business at this point. Dunkin' Donuts manager James Scott said business was affected the first few days after the tragedy, and an employee at Getty said that he made only $20 the day after the incident.
"It's hard to have it slow because we have to pay rent and water and utility bills for this place. Hopefully the situation will get better, but who knows? It could get worse," said the Getty employee.
Scott said that with 90 percent of his staff Middle Eastern, he took precautionary measures to ensure that his employees were safe in their working environment.
"I called the precinct the next day [Sept. 12] to inform them that I had a large number of employees of Middle Eastern descent and asked if they could please keep an eye on them," Scott said.
Everything has been calm, even late at night, Scott said, because police officers drive by and patrol the surrounding area on a regular basis.
While many innocent people of Middle Eastern adn south Asian descent have received biased treatment by citizens who are angry about the WTC tragedy, the manager of Qwik Stop asked for restraint and understanding.
"All Americans are other nationalities," she said. "It doesn't matter if you're Indian, black, Asian or anything. We're all Americans."
