Issue No. 610
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31 Oct. - 6 Nov. 2002 Issue No. 610 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Working through the system
Fatemah Farag listens to a message of political determination delivered by James Zogby at the American University in Cairo
On his second visit to Cairo since September James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), came to Cairo calling on Arabs to take the American system seriously. "If I have a complaint, it is that the Arab world has not been participant enough [in the process of American policy-making]," Zogby told a several hundred attendees at the American University in Cairo (AUC) just hours after his arrival from Washington DC. "We [the Arab American community in the US] cannot defend civil rights and at the same time be responsible for defending the rights of Arab countries. We can participate in policy debate in the United States, but we cannot be expected to take on the role that Arab states refuse to take on because they don't take the system seriously," said Zogby.
Delivering his lecture just ahead of Congressional elections in the US, Zogby was eager to point out that the dangers are very real -- if a more active role is not taken on by Arab countries within the American political system. "These are dangerous times. Egypt is under attack. Saudi Arabia is under attack. The Palestinians are under brutal siege. Don't look to us [Arab Americans] to do it all."
A member of the Democratic Party and a veteran activist, Zogby has been active in the anti-war and civil rights movements in the United States, campaigned with Jesse Jackson in 1989 and is one of the founders of Zogby International which has been tracking public opinion for the past 16 years in the US. Zogby explained that since 9/11 there has emerged a significant policy debate in the United States. Unfortunately, however, the far right has attempted to capitalise on domestic shock to pass legislation that seriously curtails civil rights within the US.
Zogby highlighted the Patriot Act and initiatives by the Attorney General which give the government the right to conduct secret searches, deny people the right to an attorney etc. At the same time, the government is also working to extensively reshape foreign policy. "A new coalition has emerged including the ultra-right, the neo-conservatives -- who hold key positions and control much of the opinion/ editorials printed -- and the religious right, which has grown in power to the point that today they represent one quarter of the Republican Party. These have a vision of foreign policy that is contrary to the one that I have, and AAI has been a vigorous part of both debates."
He went on to point out that the combined message of polls carried out in the US showed that public opinion presents a picture that is a far cry from the existence of widespread anti-Arab, pro-war sentiment that much of the media portrays it to be. "While many people in the US do not like Saddam Hussein, many question whether war is the answer. The final score of this game is not in yet. It is true the US has been subjected to shock. It is true some have responded in dangerous ways, but the debate is not over."
Zogby is a positive man. And while he is clear on the challenges, he is also "confident we will win". In support of his optimism, Zogby charted the development of the political activism of Arab Americans. "In Dearborn, Michigan -- a working class town with a large Arab minority -- a mayor ran for office in 1985 on the grounds of solving the 'Arab problem'. At the time there were many recent immigrants from Lebanon and Yemen. I went there and found that with the number of Arabs there, they should have constituted 20 per cent of the voters of Dearborn. But when we went to the registry we found that less than 1,000 Arabs were registered voters. The mayor won and he is still in office. But in the year 2000, he invited me to dinner and in Dearborn they no longer give people the key to the city, they give the city's mesbaha (prayer beads). And more importantly for me, he now has two Arab Americans in his cabinet. The mayor, you see, knows how to count."
The moral of the story is, of course, that communities must empower themselves, basically by working through the system. "At another function some people were complaining that he [the mayor] was pandering and I said: 'Great! To pander is a lot better than to ignore.'"
For Zogby these victories did not come out of nowhere. "We worked to build institutions that work to defend our rights and guarantee our role in politics," he said. And in the wake of 9/11 the accumulation of recognition and political savvy helped the Arab American community to emerge from the event, in his view, stronger and better protected. "When 9/11 happened, first there was fear. I was frightened for myself, my family and my staff. It pained Arab Americans that we were part of what was happening and at the same time we had to look over our shoulders. The [understanding of] the event, as a result of years of negative stereotyping, was that Arabs were responsible. And then, when we found out that it was true, there was anger. Anger that the bastards would use our freedom to do this to us. The event literally created a nightmare for people of Arab descent in the United States. But our work over the past 20 years was not in vain," he said.
Zogby went on to detail the support he and Arab Americans in general received from the highest authorities. On the importance of political activism, Zogby drove his point home by pointing out, "There is no Palestinian representation in Washington DC not because the [American] government closed it down. There is no Palestinian representation in Washington because they [those who man the office] do not do anything."
Zogby went on to ask why it was that Ariel Sharon, "who is not popular in the United States, will visit four states before going to Washington, and your president, who is popular amongst Americans, will only come to Washington and give a press conference at the end of his stay that nobody listens to?" It is no way to a win a fight, Zogby argues. "If you do not engage the American street you lose," he added.
"The challenge is greater today than it has ever been before. But so are the potentials." Is anyone listening?
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