Middle Eastern students dealing with life after September 11th

Coming from a foreign country to attend school can be difficult for some students to handle. <br><br>Dealing with the mixed emotions from American students after September 11th just added to an already

Monday, September 16th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Coming from a foreign country to attend school can be difficult for some students to handle.

Dealing with the mixed emotions from American students after September 11th just added to an already trying period. News on Six reporter Patrina Adger talks to Middle Eastern Students at Tulsa University about life on a college campus before the attacks and one year later.

"I like it here. Been here since '96. I really like it here." 25-year-old Kalid Alshammary has had to overcome some obstacles as an international student from Saudi Arabia. As a senior chemical engineering student, he came to America four years ago not knowing the language. "To come here by yourself and have never been to America before. It was really hard." And just when Khalid found himself adjusting to his new life in Tulsa, September 11th happened. "People like, gave us the look, some people said bad things to us. Go back to your country you don't belong here."

"I didn't know how they'd react to Middle Eastern students." Abdul Almeer is from Qatar and says he felt pressure walking on campus after the attacks. He says he put up a wall against Americans just to avoid confrontation. But in the year since the attacks, life on the TU campus has been anything but confrontational. "The American people are very kind and didn't show any kind of discriminations."

"There was tension. I wanted to relieve it because I knew they had nothing to do with it." Thomas Ratliff says he made a personal effort to become friends with Middle Eastern students. Thomas and Khalid are buddies and say the attack on U-S soil was something they've never really talked about because it didn't have anything to do with their friendship.

"They're just people and they don't wish anyone to be hurt any more than I wish their families to be hurt." They say the war in the Middle East is a battle they can't fight here. And a war they hope will never spill onto this college campus. Khalid and Abdul are both chemical engineering majors at TU.

They'll both head back to the Middle East after graduation in May to work for oil companies there.