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Thank you, US President Trump for waking me, a Muslim woman, up to reality

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Nazia Erum
Nazia ErumNov 09, 2016 | 16:39

Thank you, US President Trump for waking me, a Muslim woman, up to reality

I slept on the night of November 8, 2016 more worried about my cashless situation than the US presidential election results. The next morning, I woke up feeling even more shortchanged. I had been counting on "the great country of America" to show us Indians the difference when a first world, educated and advanced country votes, vis a vis third-world citizens.

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A part of me was rooting for a Hillary win - a slap in the face of rightwing politics, hatred and misogyny. Something deep inside me was holding on to a naïve dream, of a good world. A humane world. A world where I could be happy seeing my daughter grow up.

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Somehow, it was too ridiculous a thought that the man who was so obviously incompetent to win could be doing just that. Credit: Reuters

As an Indian, the morning of November 9 brought with it a sense of déjà vu. As the day advanced, I took refuge in jokes about "Ab ki baar, Trump sarkaar". It felt a bit unreal. Every hour, I looked up the new electoral counts to see who is leading, waiting for the lead to drastically change at any moment. But the close fight made way for a widening gap, with Trump leaving Hillary far behind.

Somehow, it was too ridiculous a thought that the man who was so obviously incompetent to win could be doing just that - Trump was well on his way to be the next US President. I had joked about how the first woman president of the world's most powerful country would have to win against a candidate not even worthy of fighting with.

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I had been waiting for Queen Elizabeth to pose with Hillary Clinton for one last official picture, before the British monarch retires in February. I was waiting for a woman president to follow in the footsteps of a black president. After all, it is the great America who had instilled so much hope in all of us eight years ago.

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Trump's win brought with it a sense of déjà vu. I had felt this rush of emotions before, in 2014 when Modi won. Credit: Reuters

As Trump went on to win big by November 9 noon, I felt had been here before. Sitting here with a feeling of loss - of the utter incomprehensibility of the situation. Of a little sense of anger and much despair. What will happen now?

What would this new catastrophe have in store?

I had felt this rush of emotions before, in 2014. And as I sat experiencing the same all over again, a sense of peace started taking over me. A calm hovered over my head. Suddenly, I felt liberated. The false shroud of naive pretence that I had been hiding under fell through and I saw the world in clear light. I felt I had suddenly grown up.

Donald Trump just made history. If we think media can make one win elections, Trump is a good example of the opposite. Perhaps, "liberals" have indeed got it all wrong. We need to get off our utopian high horses and come to terms with the driving forces of the world.

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All I want to say at this point is thank you. An overwhelming thank you to President Trump and all those who voted for him. You have collectively been a wake-up call for all those who were unwilling to accept Prime Minister Modi's win as anything but an aberration of Indian politics. Who, like me, were brushing aside his phenomenal rise to a mere 40 per cent vote bank and divisive politics.

But by voting for Trump, Americans have shown that Indians were not mistaken in voting for Modi. It was people like me who were wrong in not being able to see and, perhaps, catch up with the way the world thinks and acts now. This is not a bad dream that will go away. This is the mandate of the world, and if you don't fit in, you better catch up.

Thank you, for waking me up to the new world order that I, as a woman, as a Muslim and as a person of colour should understand, prepare for and, perhaps, embrace.

Congratulations, President Donald Trump.

Last updated: November 09, 2016 | 16:45
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