"The raid on my house in Long Beach," he said, "looked exactly like the raids in the West Bank: early-morning raids, with helicopters and guns and police and uniforms. Taken away in a hazy dawn, you know. Except this was happening in America."
Looking back now, what perplexes him the most was how calm he remained. He did not lose his temper. He did not lash out and demand to know what was going on. It took him some time to sort out his emotional response.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday July 01, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 64 words Type of Material: Correction
The L.A. 8 -- A time chart that accompanied an article in Wednesday's Section A about a long-running terrorism case known as that of the L.A. 8 made reference to a "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fundraiser." Whether money raised at the 1986 event went to the Popular Front organization is a matter of dispute and the central issue in the case.
"In the back of a Palestinian mind," he explained, "somebody is always going to come and take you away at any time. A Palestinian expects this nonsense. We live with it."
Amjad Obeid, Ayman's brother, had just returned from Las Vegas, where he had eloped with his girlfriend, Maria Garcia. He was a Palestinian Muslim. She was a Mexican American Catholic. They had agreed to keep the marriage secret for a few months, to give them time to break the news gently to their parents.
Now Maria's mother was on the telephone. She'd seen a Spanish-language newscast about Palestinian terrorists being arrested that morning. One of them looked like Maria's friend Amjad. She would not be comforted to learn from her daughter that he was no longer just a friend. He was her new son-in-law, the suspected terrorist.
Placed in a patrol car, Amjad Obeid was puzzled. "I remember when I got in the car there was one individual that sat with me in the back, and he was just showing me photos of me dancing at events. But I still didn't make anything out of it -- why would they? What's going on, you know? And here is just a thick book of nothing but pictures of me dancing."
Ayman Obeid, who was studying at Cal State Long Beach with his brother, was asleep in his underwear. He opened his eyes to the barrel of a gun. They allowed him to dress and then put him in a police car. Seated next to him was agent Knight, "a big, big, tall guy," he said. "A tough guy. He was very tough. Intimidation was part of the plan: 'We are the government, and you are nobody.' "
He said the agent warned him that if he didn't cooperate, he'd be hauled off to a Middle East country known for its hostile treatment of Palestinian troublemakers, a country where they'd "love to have you for lunch."
Knight scolded him: "You guys here on the visa. You say you came to study in our country, and you're doing this to us? How dare you do this? You know, we can just flick you, and nobody will care about you."
Flick you?
