"The Halloween party was off the hook," Fatima Sayyid said to her lover, Raul James, as they walked through the Algonquin College parking lot. It was a chill night in the Nepean sector of Ottawa, Ontario, and after much dancing and drinking, the rather adventurous couple was looking forward to going home. They got in Raul's van and drove away, thus beginning the long trek back to Vanier.
"You're starting to sound like me, Habibti," Raul said, smiling at Fatima. With that, the handsome young Haitian took his lady love's hand and brought it to his lips. Fatima was about to reply when flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror caught her attention. Raul noticed it too, and his face went grim. With the moves of one accustomed to such things, Raul pulled over on the side of the road, less than a kilometer from Algonquin College.
"Good evening, officer," Raul said to the cop, a tall, chubby white male with a buzz cut, as he accosted them. The cop stood there, chewing gum, a weird look on his face. After staring at Raul and Fatima for several seconds, the officer finally spoke. He seemed to be more than a bit odd, but Raul was not about to call him out on that. The Haitian brother didn't feel like becoming another hash tag on Facebook, thank you very much.
"You've got a busted tail light, bud, may I see your licence and registration?" the officer asked, except his tone let both Raul and Fatima know that this wasn't a request. Fatima watched the officer's interactions with Raul, and then narrowed her eyes at his name tag, which read Khatami, and she smiled, knowing exactly what this was about. The cop, whom Fatima initially mistook for Caucasian, was actually Iranian.
Officer Khatami, you're Persian, right? I'm Fatima, what is this about?" Fatima stated boldly, and Raul sucked in his teeth, wondering what his lady was getting at. From early on, as a young Black man living in Canada, Raul James learned that cops were racist, forever looking for any reason to hassle people of African descent. And it wasn't just the white cops either. Male or female, pale-skinned or dark-skinned, police officers seemed programmed to mistreat people of African descent. The system wanted it this way, since it was usually Black men and Black women who spoke out against racism and thus challenged white supremacy.
"Yes I am, Sister Fatima, As Salam Alaikum, I didn't know you were of the faith, I thought you were Latina or something," Officer Khatami said, and he looked at Raul's driver licence, and then handed it back to him. Raul looked at the cop, then at Fatima. What in hell is going on here? Raul wondered. He wasn't sure what Fatima was getting at, and to be honest, he didn't much care. The Haitian brother just wanted to go home, it had been a long enough day...
