My home town of Dearborn, next to Detroit, is once again under the microscope during a tight election season. While analysts and pollsters see numbers and statistics, I see a beautiful place thriving with diverse communities. Michigan is a key swing state and has the highest Arab-American population in the US, and when I walk in my neighbourhood, I’m greeted by a sea of kofias, Middle Eastern bakeries that make your mouth water, and fancy Yemeni cafes. “Free Palestine” and “ceasefire now” signs pepper the town, in yards and on windows. People express their solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon through T-shirts, watermelon earrings, flags, pendants and bracelets.

The Muslim and Arab community isn’t a monolith, of course, but Gaza is top of our minds this election. Like many in my community, I struggled to get out of bed and go about my daily life after the assault on Gaza began. As we saw our friends and family members being massacred, many of us banded together to put pressure on the Democrats to do something. We mobilised and got more than 100,000 “uncommited” votes in the Michigan presidential primary, showing how those opposed to US-funded genocide could vote as a bloc.

Our movement spread around the country, sending a message loud and clear to those in power – Americans want an end to the genocide – and contributed to Joe Biden stepping down as a candidate. We wanted to send a message that unless the Democrats committed to a permanent ceasefire, and ended arms sales and funding to Israel, we would not be voting for them. Candidates from both parties would need to work to earn the votes of our community.

Despite the media declaring that Kamala Harris won the first debate, the people around me in Dearborn weren’t so impressed. I started off with very low expectations: Harris’s policies don’t align with my values and Donald Trump is just yikes.

In 2020, when Harris was running against Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary, she campaigned on Medicare for all and student loan forgiveness. Now that she is running against Trump, she has been very pro big corporations, bragged about Dick Cheney and 200 other Republicans endorsing her, and has abandoned progressive issues she previously campaigned on. She has been trying to one-up Trump on his most rightwing policies in order to appeal to Republicans, and that scares our community.

If I had to decide right now, I would lean toward a candidate who supports progressive policies, such as a $25 minimum wage, universal healthcare, student debt relief and an arms embargo on Israel. Unfortunately, none of the major parties are currently aligned with these issues, and in Dearborn, the general sentiment is that Harris isn’t gaining much support. The majority of Muslims and Arab Americans are sceptical about a Harris presidency, as her complacency regarding Gaza issues has deeply hurt our community. This pain was evident when delegates returned from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) after witnessing the treatment of anti-genocide delegates. The DNC featured a moving speech by an Israeli family but did not extend the same respect and humanity to Palestinians by including a Palestinian voice.

I can comfortably say that the majority of Muslims and Arab Americans are sceptical about a Harris presidency. She has deeply hurt our community, and this pain was palpable when delegates came back from the Democratic national convention (DNC) having seen first-hand how anti-genocide delegates were treated. The DNC brought an Israeli family on stage for a moving speech, but did not afford the same respect and humanity to Palestinians by featuring a Palestinian voice.

For us, this isn’t about a single issue. Think about it like this: the Democratic administration is funnelling billions of our tax dollars towards genocide, and that prevents us from taking care of the average American. We want our money to go to fixing the housing crisis, lowering inflation, funding reparations and relieving student loan debt. We don’t have universal healthcare, which is a basic human right. How can we trust the Democrats to protect any of our interests?

Our communities and homelands have been decimated by US imperialism for decades. My uncle was killed attending a funeral service in Yemen on 8 October 2016. His little son was attending the funeral with him. Saudi Arabia dropped two US missiles and more than 150 people were killed, with hundreds injured. That experience altered me and my family for ever. Because the Obama administration was enabling and abetting the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Yemen, my US tax dollars killed my uncle – his son miraculously survived. Barack Obama oversaw more drone strikes in his first year, targeting countries including Yemen, than George W Bush carried out during his entire presidency. If you ask Dearborn residents if they have lost friends or loved ones to US military violence, the chances are high you will hear similar stories to mine.

It is less than a month until the election, and there are a lot of people who don’t feel comfortable voting for either of the main presidential candidates. Many are voting for Stein, some are thinking about sitting this one out, and some are considering voting for Trump.

These are people who would have never, ever voted for Trump, but billions of dollars are being spent by the Democrats to slaughter our loved ones and our families. Israel has been decimating south Lebanon, where many of our relatives live, and now this administration is deploying US troops to the Middle East. Not exactly a winning strategy if they actually want our votes.

Some people think of a Trump vote as a protest vote. I have heard arguments being made along the lines of “Trump is not the person who is committing the genocide right now” or “Well, we didn’t have any wars under Trump”. I personally disagree with this, and consider Trump to be a fascist and fearmonger who deeply traumatised our communities during his presidency. He was a hateful leader who slammed the door on refugees by implementing a Muslim ban. While he didn’t start any wars, he did escalate existing wars in the Middle East and vetoed a series of bipartisan bills that aimed at prohibiting arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Some may scratch their heads and say “Arabs and Muslims voting for Trump are voting for somebody who literally hates them”, but it’s much more complex than that. These Trump votes are the result of disingenuous engagement from the Democratic party and limited opportunities to build a political home for Arab and Muslim Americans outside of elections. The Democrats show up to our communities every four years during an election cycle, repeat soundbites to get our votes, then fail to deliver on their promises.

At Detroit Action, I am building a long-term multiracial movement in Michigan that can continue the vision and values of the uncommitted movement. I want to elevate the voices of Muslims to show party leaders and candidates that our issues – here and abroad – matter. And if they don’t take us seriously, they will lose.

• Mona Mawari is a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, a pharmacist, and a community organiser with Detroit Action, and was a volunteer coordinator for the national uncommitted movement. These views are her own and do not represent those of her employer