Flying Past Fear

By Chris O'Toole

FORT COLLINS, Colo.-- Imagine yourself swimming through shark-infested waters with six open wounds. Imagine yourself traipsing into a wooded, bear-populated area with slabs of meat across your shoulders. Now imagine yourself as a Muslim from Saudi Arabia training to be a commercial airline pilot in the United States.

That is the life of Abdullah Alasiri, a 22-year-old student in Prescott, Arizona. Formerly a student of Colorado State University, he found a way back to his passion for airplanes after years of dissuasion.

“I have been obsessed with civilian aircraft since 8th grade,” said Alasiri. “People tried to convince me that it was not a good job for me because of my ethnicity.”
But the naysayers were eventually out-persuaded by the most unlikely of proponents: a Sony Playstation 2.

“I was sitting in my room playing a fighter pilot video game and I decided that I wanted to go to flight school,” said Alasiri.

The transition from Colorado State University to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was easy enough on paper. Alasiri received a scholarship for nautical science that allowed him to enter flight school in good standing. What Alasiri faced in reality, however, was tougher than just school.

“Some people here are quite racist,” he said. “They make stereotypes thinking I will fly an aircraft into a tower. Some ask me if I received a background check.”

In a state that has made the news in the past year over stringent and possibly unconstitutional immigration laws, it’s no surprise that many residents of the Prescott area are less than hospitable to Alasiri. What’s stunning is the level of patience he maintains with them.

“I understand why there is racism. When I go out into the city (of Prescott), I see it all the time,” he said. “But we should move on. I have heard about something called Islamaphobia in the news and that’s taking things way too far.”

Despite the uneven temperaments of the surrounding area, Alasiri has managed to find his own niche of acceptance within the school. Many of the students are from California and Colorado and just see Alasiri as a promising young man with ambitions that transcend racism, much like Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson.

Although Alasiri does not wish to fly airplanes in the United States, it has nothing to do with intimidation and everything to do with savvy realization.

“There are so many pilots in the United States that it would be very difficult to complete the hours required to finish training,” said Alasiri, who instead will choose to fly aircraft in his home country, Saudi Arabia.

Alasiri isn’t out to send a message or to fight for the cause of race relations. Rather, he pursues a career as a commercial airline pilot with the most American motivation: it’s what he loves, it’s what he has always loved, and his passion will always supersede doubt.