Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2001, page 85

Arab-American Activism

Rene Moawad Foundation Honors Dr. Hala Maksoud

The friends of the René Moawad Foundation (RMF) held their eighth annual benefit gala dinner April 20 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC to raise funds for the children of Lebanon. Master of ceremonies, former U.S. Ambassador to Algeria and Syria Christopher Ross, described the important work of the foundation, which raised $227,000 for Lebanese development and educational projects in the year 2000. Last year’s gala dinner alone raised $64,000, which was sent to the Working Children Literacy Program.

RMF president and founder Nayla Moawad, widow of Lebanon’s President René Moawad, and member of the Lebanese parliament, told the audience that because there is no free education in Lebanon the poor cannot send their children to school. As a result there is a large number of working children under the age of 18—some even younger than 10—working long hours with no hope of obtaining an education. The literacy program provides working children with milk, food and a place to learn and study three hours a day after work.

Nayla Moawad presented a distinguished service award to a “special lady,” American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) president Dr. Hala Salaam Maksoud, “in the name of every Lebanese and every Arab in the United States.”

Moawad described Dr. Maksoud as a critical thinker who has never been timid about sharing her social and political views. She was born into a prominent Lebanese family that gave Lebanon many great leaders, including an aunt who was the first Muslim woman to unveil in Lebanon. The ADC president is married to Dr. Clovis Maksoud, who was the Arab League’s permanent observer in the United Nations and its chief representative in the U.S.

A founder of the Arab Women’s Council in 1982, Hala Maksoud has worked tirelessly to combat the negative stereotypes of Arabs in the media. She is a “scholar, individual, intellectual and an activist” who has worked hard for social change for Arab and Muslim women and for a solution to the conflict between Arabs and Israelis, Moawad noted. “We are all grateful for what she has given to the Arab world,” she concluded. “She is a role model for us all for the way she stands up for her convictions.”

Dr. Hala Maksoud accepted the award, saying she was touched that the foundation found her worthy. She graciously acknowledged the late President René Moawad, who gave his life for Lebanon and always shunned communal strife. “His torch has been carried on by his wife, Nayla,” Maksoud said.

Dr. Maksoud, who is undergoing chemotherapy, said, “In the tough battle I’m fighting now, this reinforces my own commitment.”

The thunderous applause that filled the room showed that Hala Maksoud has a lot of admirers supporting her in her struggle.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Maryland Co. Celebrates Arab-American Heritage Month

Montgomery County, Maryland, in the suburbs outside Washington, DC, celebrated its second Arab-American Heritage Month in April, beginning with a celebration April 18 at the Executive Office Building in Rockville. In welcoming remarks, Ronald Clarkson, filling in for County Executive Douglas Duncan, and County Council president Blair Ewing read the joint proclamation.

Samira Hussein, who for her community activism has won awards for Outstanding Citizen of the Year, Maryland Women Who Dare, Community Hero Award, and Human Rights Hall of Fame, received the proclamation. When the Hussein family first moved to Maryland 10 years ago, the harsh treatment she experienced made her determined to work to promote harmony in her community.

Palestinian-born Elham Eid Alldredge talked about starting and succeeding in building a flourishing minority-owned business in Maryland. “The United States attracts the best from every country on earth,” she concluded, “and the combination of all that energy makes this the greatest nation in the world.”

Aref Dajani, the son of a Palestinian refugee from Beit Dajan, described growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in Montgomery County and facing negative stereotypes and bigotry. He recalled the time he visited a Jewish friend after school whose mother put a plate of cookies and a glass of juice in front of him and asked, “Do you hate Jews?” His experiences made him determined to build bridges to other communities and learn from the experiences of other ethnic groups who have settled in the United States.

Dr. Imad-Ad-Dean Ahmad sang a song and third-grader Christina Reem Francisco read a poem. An art exhibit sponsored by the Muslim Women in the Arts (MWIA) displayed ceramics, jewelry, painting and other artwork. MWIA is a volunteer support group for Muslim artists which seeks to educate the public about the creativity and talents of Muslim women artists.

An Arab-American Heritage festival was held April 29 at the Gaithersburg City Hall Grounds, complete with poetry reading and folk tales, arts and crafts, music and dance, Middle Eastern food and sweets, a fashion show, henna and face painting, calligraphy, games and lots of vendors, including the American Educational Trust’s traveling Book Club booth, featuring AET Book Club director Hugh Galford.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Sting Accepts Arab American Institute “Spirit of Humanity” Award

Grammy award-winning British rock star Sting accepted a Kahlil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” award from Jordan’s Queen Noor in the presence of Secretary of State Colin Powell May 5 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. The award, sponsored by the Arab American Institute Foundation (AAI), was in recognition of Sting’s efforts to promote cross-cultural understanding. He and Algerian musician Cheb Mami joined forces for their latest smash hit, “Desert Rose,” a haunting blend of two cultures that brought Arabic music to the top of the U.S. pop charts. Sting said that “Desert Rose” was the first duet involving Arab and Western singers and it had become “an enormous hit all over the world…Although it didn’t help the peace process, it nonetheless made a difference.”

Sting greeted the 700 guests at the awards dinner with the traditional Arabic greeting, “Salaam-aleikum” or “Peace be with you,” eliciting wild applause. To accept the award, Sting took time out of a Middle East concert tour to come to the U.S. Sting and Mami held a benefit concert for Palestinian children at the pyramids in Egypt for 10,000 fans, and gave concerts in Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, and Tunisia. The widow of the late King Hussein praised Sting, saying, “I think we can count Sting among the heroes of our time.”

Other 2001 Gibran award recipients included organizations both within and beyond the Arab-American community such as: Reading is Fundamental (RIF), whose more than 360,000 volunteers motivate young children to read; the Grameen Global Network, which created a micro-credit program that has moved millions of people out of poverty; and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), a Dearborn, MI non-profit that helps newly arrived immigrants become self-sufficient and independent.

In his remarks, Secretary of State Powell complimented AAI “on the work it does day in and day out to fight discrimination and to promote inclusion in this great land of ours and around the world. As the son of immigrant parents myself and as a minority American who faced discrimination in my time, this is not just an idle or passing compliment, but one I feel deep in my heart. People talk about discrimination and racism as something that might have existed in the past in this country, but it is still with us and we have to fight against it wherever it is found. I will never stop fighting, because it is not history for me; it was part of my life, part of my experience as an American.

“And America has to be even greater in the future,” Powell added, “because America has to be that model of what is possible—the universal nation—a place where people of every background and distinction can live in peace and harmony, the kind of peace and harmony that God meant for all of His children, from the noisy, troubled and often violent world. This is an uplifting concept, one not always easy to translate into reality, especially far from our shores.”

Powell reassured the Arab-American audience that the Bush administration was working hard to end the violence in Israel and Palestine, saying that the stakes were too high for a hands-off approach. Powell said the administration was “deeply engaged on a daily basis in trying to lower the level of violence…President Bush will not turn away, nor will I,” Powell promised. “We will not rest, because the stakes are too high.”

“Above all,” Powell concluded, “let us keep hope alive. Hope for the day when Palestinian and Israeli children are free from the chains of violence and tragedy and dream together of limitless opportunities, and when they together can build a future of peace and prosperity.”

In addition to members of the administration, Congress and ambassadors attending the event, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Congressman Nick Rahall, dean of the Arab-American congressional delegation, Darrell Issa, and former White House Chief of Protocol Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt presented “Spirit of Humanity” awards. The musical group Qantara, featuring Simon Shaheen, who performed with Sting at the 1999 Grammy Awards, provided traditional Arabic music.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Council on Egyptian-American Relations Holds Second Annual Banquet

The Council on Egyptian-American Relations hosted a May 5 banquet in honor of the first Arab-American Nobel Laureate, Dr. Ahmed Zewail, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Master of ceremonies Dr. Ibrahim M. Oweiss welcomed the attendees and introduced distinguished guests. Congratulatory messages were read from the heads of state of Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait and from the outgoing secretary-general of the League of Arab States and Egypt’s minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, as well as from Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States Nabil Ismail Fahmy and Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S. Hussein Hassouna addressed the audience, each saying how proud Nobel Laureate Dr. Ahmed H. Zewail has made Egypt. It was noted that after he received the award in October 1999, Zewail did not promote himself, but worked to bring credit to his mother country and “bring back the glamour of science” to Egypt.

In his inspiring keynote address, on “Science and Technology in the Arab World—The Need for Renaissance,” Dr. Zewail warned that without science and technology the Arab world cannot compete and survive in the global economy.

There is no race that is superior or inferior, he said, because every person, whether born in Egypt, Africa or the U.S., is made of the same genetic material. Arab society achieved mathematical and scientific greatness in the past, he noted, and there is no reason for it to be left out now. It is essential for Arabs to invest in the education of their young people in order to close the gap between developing countries and the developed world. Nearly 4.8 billion out of 6 billion people live in the developing world, the Nobel laureate pointed out, with half of planet Earth living on less than $2 a day. Unless there is a renaissance of science and technology, the figures will remain the same.

Dr. Zewail listed four problems the developing world must overcome:

1. Illiteracy, for a person can’t join the computer age without being able to read or write;

2. An incoherent science and technology policy;

3. Restriction of youth participation in the hierarchical working system;

4. A mix-up among progress, religion and politics.

Dr. Zewail advocated a restructuring of scientific education and building a center of excellence for those students who demonstrate superior scientific abilities—building a “Little Cal Tech” in the Middle East. He concluded by admonishing people who look at AIDS, the environment, and the difficulties faced by “global humanity,” and say, “It’s really not our problem.” If neighbors suffer, he said, it becomes our problem.

Mansour Hassan, a junior at Duke University, talked about the younger generation’s hope for the future. The evening closed after classical piano music played by Kareem Oweiss and Arabic music by Dr. Ayman Fanous.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Palestinians Demonstrate Outside Israeli Embassy

A group of 200 to 300 demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on the evening of Wednesday, May 23 to protest Israel’s ongoing occupation of and escalated warfare against Palestine. Chanting slogans, carrying signs and waving the Palestinian flag, protesters elicited mostly positive response from passers-by. Unfortunately, there were few of those to witness the cry for justice. If there were watchers inside the Israeli Embassy, they kept strictly apart from the crowd outside. However, hope lies in the fact that for each and every demonstration, new converts to the cause of Palestinian justice appear to add their voice to the growing demand for that justice.

—Sara Powell

Pen Pal Program

Since its inception in October 2000, Al-Awda Refugee Support Committee’s Refugee Letter Exchange Program has matched pen pals from America and across the globe with English-speaking Palestinians living in the refugee camps of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine. For many of the Palestinian youth, these letters of correspondence serve to strengthen their English-language and communication skills and, more importantly, the feeling of solidarity from their comrades around the world.

Al-Awda hopes this program will be the beginning of many beautiful friendships and a commitment from Americans to these refugees and their struggle. Their database of more than 50 names is made up of students between the ages of 13 and 25 in Shatila, Nahr el Bared, Ein el Helweh, and other Palestinian refugee camps who have communicated directly to Al-Awda, or through their schools, that they are eager to begin corresponding (primarily via e-mail) with pen pals.

For more information, or to begin corresponding with a pen pal, e-mail Leena at <SnOOpyAIAS@aol.com> or visit the Al-Awda Refugee Support Committee Web site at <http://www.al-awda.org/refugee_support.htm>.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Sanctions on Iraq: A Report from Baghdad

Members of the American Friends Service Committee Rick McCutcheon and Tamara Fleming addressed the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine (CPAP) concerning their relief work in Iraq. Marking the date, May 15, CPAP board member Samih Farsoun requested a moment of silence in remembrance of the Nakba—the Palestinian catastrophe of “destruction, dismemberment, destitution, and dispossession” that marked the beginning of their long ordeal. Farsoun told the already somber audience that tragedy was also occurring in Iraq, then introduced the young Canadian couple, both specialists in conflict resolution.

McCutcheon first emphasized that the Iraqis affected by the sanctions are not numbers or statistics, but people with faces and children—part of the human community. So the point would not be lost, he showed slides of some of the people he and Fleming grew to know over their year’s service. McCutcheon then mused that when he became active on the issue of Iraq in 1990, he never thought such activism would still be necessary 11 years later.

Against a backdrop of destroyed buildings, the couple was involved in such projects as the rehabilitation of schools and distribution of food, as well as a project to grow tomatoes. They worked directly with the ministries of health, education, and labor and social services, as well as consulting with such organizations as the Red Crescent. Despite such efforts, McCutcheon said that Iraq had no clean water, schools without roofs, and an incredible shortage of medicine. Though the oil-for-food program has helped somewhat, UNICEF has stated that health problems, though now level, are at unacceptably high levels, and that education problems are still spiraling, according to McCutcheon. Even if sanctions were lifted in their entirety right now, he said, the decade of sanctions has produced a generation that has lost its education completely. Such a generation, McCutcheon averred, has been deliberately disabled.

The war and the sanctions are examples of “direct” and “structural” violence, McCutcheon said. However, there is another type of violence being perpetrated in Iraq, an “epistemic” violence which is manifested in the loss of a culture. McCutcheon and Fleming pointed out that the Iraqi people are suffering from all three forms of violence and that each component exponentially increases the others. The children have missed getting an education, the women have lost their jobs—the few available all go to men as the heads of their households—the country has lost control over its own resources, and the people have lost their world.

—Sara Powell