Harinder “Harry” Bains is the New Jersey bar owner who called the Police after recognizing the NY/NJ bombing suspect from CNN. If you listen to his description of the events, and you’re familiar with the community, you will detect a faint but unmistakable South Asian accent. I would say he definitely was born abroad and probably came over as a teenager or young adult.
Some Indian American commentators traced his last name to the Sikh community of Punjab. (Source: Indian American Bazaar)
What’s equally important to remember is that Bains too looked somewhat similar to Rahami. A brown skinned man, with a beard. Bains wore a cap during the interview, so it was not clear if he was a turbaned Sikh or not. But going by his name, it’s sure that Bains has his roots in Punjab, or some family there, before he emigrated to the US.
It’s important for America to remember that Bains is a Sikh, from the same religion, with roots from the same country, India, which was discriminated against after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many innocent Sikhs were murdered and assaulted for resembling Afghani men and those from the Middle East.
This same commentator also wonders why Harry didn’t jump at the chance to bring his ethnicity into the discussion.
Bains had a huge opportunity to put this point forward in front of a national audience but he didn’t, or perhaps forgot to. Anyway, he’s definitely a hero, and a man who deserves all the kudos for doing the right thing promptly. His business at the bar and store is going to go crazy.
I’m not sure how this guy identifies himself or what his politics are and I would respect his decision not to bring those issues into the discussion. I was even conflicted about writing this diary. But then again, just today Trump said this:
Mr. Trump directly equated American vulnerability to terrorism with what he called laxness in the immigration system. He has mainly warned about the risk of admitting refugees from Syria and other war-torn countries, though the suspect arrested in the weekend attacks, Ahmad Khan Rahami, is a naturalized citizen born in Afghanistan and has lived in the United States for years.
“These attacks, and many others, were made possible because of our extremely open immigration system,” Mr. Trump said, trying to return the political debate to the issue he is most comfortable discussing. “Immigration security,” he added, “is national security.”
Setting aside the laughably obvious fact that our system is by no stretch of the imagination “extremely open”, Trump will now have to own the fact that this same system gave us the man who brought an end to this terrorist episode without a single fatality.
If he’s from India, or Pakistan, Bains would be from a country that in Trump’s word could qualify as being “compromised by terrorism”, and hence not welcome to the US. (As BTW would be immigrants from Donald’s beloved Russia, where the Boston Marathon bombers immigrated from).
Will the next Bains be so forthcoming and cooperative under a hypothetical Trump administration?