‘A Dream in Doubt’ on Global Voices for September 11

On September 11, 2001 the Sodhi brothers’ lives changed forever. They were frightened not only by the terrorist attacks, but also by what happened after the attacks. The first few moments of Tami Yeager’s earnest, intelligent documentary, A Dream in Doubt, show why: menacing graffiti (“Kill Muslims 9/11”) and TV reports that underlined the “difference” embodied by the bearded and turbaned Osama bin Laden. Sikhs who emigrated from Punjab to the United States in order to escape persecution, they were now targeted by their fellow Americans, perceived as “terrorists.” On 15 September 2001, Rana’s oldest brother Balbir was shot and killed in Mesa, Arizona. Rana’s nine-year-old son Satpreet describes what happened: “My uncle was talking to some people at his gas station, some man came up and shot him.” While Satpreet expresses a child’s grief and wonder at what’s happened, the adults around him, primarily Rana, struggle what it means to live in America. The film airs on Global Voices on September 11.

See PopMatters‘ review.