During my stay of 11 days in the US (February 21 to March 3, 2002), I passed through the airports of Los Angeles (thrice), Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta and Houston. I walked alone in the streets, visited pubs to have a drink, checked my mail in internet cafes and spent some time in book shops.

Not once was anyone unpleasant to me or, for that matter, to any foreigner. Yes, I was checked carefully during departures, frisked physically and asked to remove my shoes and put them through X-ray. But so were many white Americans. The extra physical checks were random, but these were not specifically directed at foreigners, as is often alleged in the media.

America has remained America despite September 11. The Americans are as relaxed, as friendly, as open and as polite to foreigners as they have always been. There is probably and understandably an inner tension, but they don't show it outwardly.

rest of the article is at http://www.saag.org/papers5/paper421.html

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