US soldiers, veterans respond brilliantly to Muslim girl scared of Trump
PHOTO: FACEBOOK
The military service members and veterans started using the hashtag #IWillProtectYou in support of Muslims, after one mother's post went viral about her daughter's fear of being rounded up following Trump’s comments.
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Melissa Chance Yassini came home from work one day to find her eight-year-old daughter Sofia in tears as she packed a bag with her belongings, for fear of being thrown out of their home by the army. It took Yassini the whole night to convince her daughter that they were safe.
To express her grief, Melissa took to Facebook the next day and shared a post about the incident. "Sad day in America when I have to comfort my eight-year-old child that someone with yellow hair called Trump wants to kick all Muslims out of America," she wrote.
"She had begun collecting all her favorite things in a bag in case the army comes to remove us from our homes," she added.
[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/melissa.yassini/posts/10154182269004769"]
Yassini's post was shared on Facebook several thousand times when army veteran, Kerri Peek, came across it. Moved by Sofia's distress, Peek wrote a message back to Sofia.
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"Salamalakum Melissa! Please show this picture of me to your daughter. Tell her I am a mama too and as a soldier I will protect her from the bad guys," the message read.
Peek went one step further to let Sofia and all American Muslim children know that they were safe and wanted in their country. She asked her friends to help, imploring them to post pictures of themselves in uniforms pledging to stand against hateful racist rhetoric.
[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/boo.a.peek/posts/10156282561220117"]
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Following the post, messages of support began pouring in and the hashtag #IWillProtectYou used by servicemen and women flooded social media.
With the hashtag gaining popularity on Twitter, many non-veterans also took to social media to leave heartfelt messages for Sofia.
US Muslims have experienced increased incidents of hate crime and anti-Muslim remarks following the San Bernardino shooting, carried out by a Muslim couple, that left at least 14 people dead.
In his recent remarks, Trump called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the US, sparking controversy worldwide.