Arab News journalist Siraj Wahab continues his story of his visit to the US. This installment—the final one, alas—takes him to San Francisco and Silicon Valley where he takes a look at how immigrants in America are doing. On the whole, they seem to be faring well.

Unfortunately, Siraj winds up his piece with a slap in the direction of George Bush. I don’t know if it’s obligatory for pieces in the Arab News to make sure no story remains purely positive, but the criticism is out of place, regardless of whether one accepts the premise.

Personally, I think the Bush Administration—and ultimately, the responsibility is the President’s—made several serious mistakes in Iraq. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein was not a mistake however. The region had been (and largely remains) in a state of stasis, or better, a state of increasing entropy, slowly degrading. I place that squarely on the inability of regional leaders as well as many individuals to take personal responsibility for their actions and the consequences of their actions. But even actions are rare: it’s mostly just talk, with a seeming contest to see who can come up with the best critique or delve the deepest into ‘what’s really going on’. While Bush has not succeeded in converting the region to democratic governance, the region today is vastly different from where it was in 2000. And while some of that change is for the worse, much of it is for the better. I do think that there are significant moves toward more representative government on the part of the kings and emirs. Citizens are being heard from more often and more clearly.

Journey Into America: In the Land of Immigrants
Siraj Wahab

When applying for a visa to the United States, you have to provide a tentative itinerary of the places you intend to visit. I did, and included New York along with Washington, D.C. I was sure I would see the US capital but wasn’t decided about “the city that never sleeps.” I just added it as an afterthought. “If time permits, maybe I’ll go there,” I said to myself without giving the idea a second thought.

Commercial cities are plastic cities; they terrify me.

“No, you must visit New York City; there is no point of going to the US and not visiting the Big Apple,” insisted my colleagues at Arab News. “It is like Pakistan without Karachi, India without Bombay or UAE without Dubai. You’ll get bored in Washington after three days.”

There was quite a gap between the time I applied for the visa and the actual visit. Just 10 days before the journey that would completely change my perception of the United States and its people, I got an e-mail from a certain Jalil Khan with “Compliments from San Francisco” as its subject line.

Khan, who identified himself as a senior airline executive, had read an article of mine on the web, and the e-mail was in response to that piece. “If you ever happen to pass through San Francisco, it would be great to meet you,” he wrote while signing off.

“Where is San Francisco?” I asked him while informing him about my impending visit. “San Francisco is on the West Coast of America. It is a five-hour flight from D.C.,” he wrote back. “If you depart D.C. in the evening (say on Thursday) 7 p.m., arrive about 10:30 p.m. same evening (taking into account the three-hour time difference; California is three hours behind), spend Thursday night here, Friday and Saturday in San Francisco, return to D.C. on Sunday anytime. We have about 10 flights a day — to and from — D.C.”
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