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In the Press: ADC national convention highlights Arab American issues (June 24th, 2006)
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ADC national convention highlights Arab American issues
June 24th, 2006
WILL YOUMANS, ARAB AMERICAN NEWS
WASHINGTON - June 24, 2006: The largest Arab-American civil rights organization held its 26th annual convention June 15th to 18th in Washington, D.C. Arab-Americans from all over the country gathered at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) meeting to hear speakers, attend banquets and network with others.
Though the annual event was held at a new hotel, Washington's Wardman Park Marriott Hotel, it had a feel similar to previous conventions. Old and young Arab-Americans lined up to challenge speakers such as Mike Wallace, the senior correspondent of 60 Minutes.
Mr. Wallace asked the audience of the panel on "Press Critique" why ADC is needed – is there discrimination against Arabs, he pondered. By the end of the day, as he received his lifetime achievement award from ADC, he admitted that he regretted his remarks. In his acceptance speech, Wallace said that for the first time he "fully understood" ADC, and said the Arab-American community is "insufficiently understood" by other Americans.
However, he insisted that only Arab-Americans can fix the media's bias against them. "It is up to you to change the attitude of [other] Americans toward you. You owe it to your kids," Wallace said.
As with previous ADC conferences, most of the attendees showed up for the banquets, rather than the panels. Several awards were given. Star-gazers flocked to celebrities. Between panels, the bazaar area’s exhibitors, from the Palestine Center to Imagine Life, attracted crowds interested in their offerings. Each morning, countless panel-goers looked tired from the hafla the night before. And as the comedian Maysoon Zayid pointed out at Sunday's luncheon, the ADC convention still served as Arab America's biggest matchmaking event.
Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps, charmed audiences with her direct and eloquent critiques of the political situations in the Middle East. In the Friday morning panel with Mike Wallace, she criticized the mainstream media's failure to understand Arabs. She said, "people fight for their country. Believe it or not, even Arabs."
One of the most exhilarating speeches came from professor Clovis Maksoud. He was honored, along with his deceased wife, the former ADC President, Hala Maksoud at the Friday night banquet. Professor Maksoud, a one-time Arab League Ambassador, is famous for his oratorical skills. His speech began with a disclaimer that he deserves no such award given his failure at achieving any of his policy goals then he delivered a powerful speech forwarding all the causes he dedicated his life to.
In a display of unusual candor, the actor Omar Sharif shared intimate details of his personal life, as well as his role in key political events, to a partially stunned banquet audience. Some were taken aback by his descriptions of his past love life, his witnessing of Elvis Presley’s pool parties, and his divorce from his first wife. The classic actor, who appeared in such films as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, professed his love for ADC. Sharif, who now lives in France, said an ADC is needed in that country to protect the civil rights of its millions of North African Arab immigrants.
Also during Friday night, ADC recognized Hany Abu-Assad with the "Voice of Peace" award. The following day, they showed his Golden Globe-winning film, "Paradise Now," along with the late Moustapha Akkad's films. Akkad, the director killed last year in the bombing of a hotel in Amman, was celebrated for his contributions to the community. His son Malek spoke during the tribute to his legacy. Abu-Assad also won an award at the Cannes Film Festival for the short documentary feature Curfew in 1993.
The Arab American Press Award was given to Osama Siblani, publisher of this paper, a bilingual weekly newspaper in Dearborn, Michigan. The Arab American News has become a popular resource for American journalists seeking news about the Arab-American community. Good-natured banter between Sharif and Siblani brought hearty laughs from the audience.
The Distinguished Cultural Contribution Award was conferred on Ghassan Massoud, a Syrian actor and filmmaker, who played Saladin in the 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven" and played the sheikh in the Turkish film "Valley of Wolves: Iraq."
The ADC Humanitarian Award was given to Richard Shadyac, who was instrumental in establishing the Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon, a partnership between the American University Hospital in Beirut and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. St Jude was founded in 1962 by Arab-American entertainer Danny Thomas.
Saturday's panels continued to deal with such matters as academic freedom, giving to charities post-9/11, U.S.-Syria relations, and civil liberties.
At the banquet that evening, Congressman John Conyers (D - MI) presented a U.S. flag to the family of the assassinated Lebanese leader, Rafik Hariri.
The keynote speech was delivered by Prince Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, who suggested Arab Americans seek "new and enduring bridges" between the Arabs and the United States. He declared, "the terrorists and deviants who are trying to create a wedge between the Arab world and the United States, are not part of us. We look at you Arab Americans as the role models that we need to emulate in our part of the world."
"Part of my work as ambassador during the last several months has been to go out and talk with the American people. I have had the honor of being invited to visit many of your major cities and smaller towns. At each stop, from New York City to Seattle to Phoenix to Nashville, and to Manhattan and Kansas, I have been overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality with which I have been received.
"Since America is, as they say, a melting pot, I have spoken with Americans of all faiths. I have had conversations with Americans who are of African and Asian and European descent. And I have also been meeting with Americans of Arab descent.
"I have made a certain point to visit some of the Arab American communities in the U.S. and I have talked with their leaders. I have been to their homes. I have listened to their issues and concerns. And throughout all my travels, I have come to some conclusions about what I have witnessed.
"America is truly a melting pot of different nationalities, ethnicities, religions and ideas. It is an open system in which each and everyone can thrive and excel. The only limits I have seen are those of one's imagination. It is a nation of great innovation and productivity, grounded in faith and fairness and justice. And while it may stray from its principles from time to time, it always returns to its proper balance.
"I see that Arabs have an important place in this great American society. We only have to look at how Arabs for more than a century have built thriving communities all across the country. We can look to Michigan - particularly to Dearborn - where Arab Americans have been integral in the growth of the automotive industry.
"I also see that Arab Americans have made valuable contributions in other fields. And America appreciates it. For example, if it were not for Danny Thomas and the American-Lebanese-Syrian associated charities, there would not be a St. Jude's children's research hospital. This center has changed the lives of millions through medical discoveries that treat cancer and other diseases.
"For many Americans, Arab-Americans are invisible, recalled only when words like 'terrorism' or 'anti-American sentiments' arise. However, people of Arab descent have been contributing to U.S. culture since the 1870s in fields as diverse as literature, science, politics, medicine, and commerce - witness surgeon Michael Debakey, former Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh, author Khalil Gibran and consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
"There is also Dr. Ahmed Zewail, who in 1998 won the King Faisal Prize and in 1999 won the Nobel Prize for chemistry. The director of the jet propulsion laboratory is an Arab, Charles el-Achi. We can even see here at this conference alone, there are some great examples of Arabs who have paved a path for others, like Omar Sharif and Helen Thomas. The contributions Arab Americans have made are extensive.
"I also see that individuals in the Arab American community have worked hard to improve their lot. They've struggled - as all immigrants have in this country - to secure a place for their family, faith, and heritage. Since the turn of the last century, Arabs, as individuals, have come to the U.S., found opportunity, and sent back for their family to be schooled or employed. This is the classic American story and many Arab-Americans have successfully shared in this dream.
"But though I see all of these accomplishments and all of this good, I also see something else that gives me pause. I see that Arab Americans - as a group - are holding themselves back.
"When I go out and speak with Arabs in the U.S., I sense great frustration - frustration that they are not being heard. The voice of the Arab American community in the U.S. is either being drowned out or not expressed loudly enough. And the needs and the rights of Arabs in America need to be emphasized to a greater extent - in both legislation and in the media.
"I also sense anger - anger that the progress Arab Americans have made throughout the years has been upended by terrorists and deviants who have no values in common with us. The accomplishments of all the Arab Americans were so quickly washed over by the tidal wave of misinformation that followed September 11. Fear and suspicion suddenly replaced appreciation and respect."
On, Sunday, June 18th, Ralph Nader attended the convention, and shared remarks before ADC presented the Rose Nader award to Denyse Sabbagh, a bright attorney and activist. Ralph Nader, the crusading activist, told stories about his mother, an early Arab-American activist who the award is named after.
The last luncheon featured the PLO's Mission head, Dr. Afif Safieh. ADC presented the co-founders of the International Solidarity Movement, Huwaida Arraf and Adam Shapiro, with the Rachel Corrie award. This activist award is a tribute to the young woman run over and killed by an Israeli soldier on a Caterpillar bulldozer.
After 26 years, ADC appears to be going strong. However, it clearly needs to grow its membership and get more financial support from the community. Arab-Americans who complain about politics should be joining and supporting the community's few budding institutions.
Will Youmans is the Washington, DC-based writer for The Arab American News. He blogs at www.kabobfest.com
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