pass the roti on the left hand side

 I'm wary about writing about topics that are too U.S.-centric, primarily for my own sake, but you can't escape your past.  I spent some time from about 2002 to 2006 working on immigration issues in the United States as part of the post 9-11 cottage industry of non-profit workers assisting what have been called 'Muslim-looking people" and then writing about it.  I just note those experiences for the record because they color how I talk about present-day politics around immigration - especially since I haven't been in the United States for 3 1/2 years.