Interview with Sam Bahour, a NAAJA member living in the Occupied West Bank; PSA on Domestic Violence in the Arab American community
Some resources: An Interview with an American Palestinian activist in the Occupied West Bank; a Public Service Announcement addressing rising domestic violence in the Arab American community in Chicagi's Southwest Suburbs (where the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the Chicago area live):
SAM BAHOUR INTERVIEW: If you would like to understand the otherside of the Middle East conflict, you can check out the interview with NAAJA Palestine member Sam Bahour. Sam writes frequently and is published in many Arab American newspapers and American mainstream newspapers. he is an American Palestinian living in al-Bireh, a Palestinian city situated between East Jerusalem and Ramallah to the North in the West Bank. He talks about the Israeli government policies that restrict Palestinians who are fighting for peace based on compromise. He left his Youngstown, Ohio home after the 1993 Peace accords to return to al-Bireh, which is where his father was born (he's American born) to contribute to the economy. Here's his story, a complete contrast to the images asserted by publications like Commentary Magazine. This interview is produced for Comcast Cable TV and broadcast in 145 Chicagoland suburban communities on Public Access, one of the few opportunities for Arab Americans to broadcast their stories to Americans. (www.TVChicagoland.com.)
Here's is the Interview link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3842306105735161967&hl=en
You can get more info on it at www.ArabAmericanTVOnline.com.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PSA: Pillars is a community social service organization based in the Chicago Southwest Suburbs where one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans live. It provides counseling to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, for all victims. But it has a program targeting Arab American victims, mainly women but also men. Here is a PSA that I helped them produce to promote their services (in English and in Arabic):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7437340846504031956&hl=en
Most Arab American media is through alternative media sources like public access, and brokered radio programming, and through Ethnic American newspapers and magazines. Pay attention to them if you want to understand the trends (good and bad) in the Arab American community and their impact on mainstream America.
Thanks
Ray Hanania