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 This week, the Arab American Institute (AAI) hosts its annual Khalil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” Awards Dinner in Washington, DC. This year’s event also marks the 25th anniversary of the AAI, but, as in past years, the spotlight will not be on the institute, but on those who have been selected to receive the awards.
Named for the Lebanese poet and philosopher, Khalil Gibran, the awards recognise individuals and institutions who, by the work they do or the values they project, exemplify the “spirit of humanity”.
Past recipients have included Senator George Mitchell (for his work in Northern Ireland), Lech Walesa (the leader of the Polish Solidarity movement), Refugees International and the boxer Muhammad Ali.
This year’s award recipients are no less significant, and two of them have a connection to the UAE.
The UAE businessman and philanthropist Juma al Majid is being honoured for his extraordinary efforts to preserve Arab and Islamic culture. The restoration projects undertaken by his Centre for Culture and Heritage have ensured that the magnificent work of the past will be of benefit to future generations. Through his efforts, thousands of books and manuscripts have been saved.
Mr al Majid is revered in his own country for his philanthropy. When Arabs in nine countries were asked to name their favourite personality in the region, in most countries the winners were athletes or entertainers. Emiratis chose Juma al Majid.
Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley is being recognised for his efforts to promote cultural understanding between Chicagoans and the world community. Under his leadership, Chicago has established sister-city relationships with Amman, Casablanca and most recently Abu Dhabi. The city has also hosted events to promote education, as well as business and cultural ties with the Arab world, and has also supported Arabic language training in the city’s public schools.
Mr Daley’s efforts remind us all not only of the need to celebrate cultural diversity, but of the need for America to make itself more open to the world.
Since there is no higher calling than to serve the needs of others, this year the AAI also honours the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). As a result of one such CNCS project (Americorps), scores of young Arab Americans have moved from college into work by serving the needs of their communities nationwide.
The last two honorees are Arab Americans whose personal stories, though different, are both remarkable American stories of service and commitment.
Judge Rosemary Barkett is this year’s recipient of the Najeeb Halaby award. Named for the government official whose career in public service began in the Kennedy administration and concluded with his chairmanship of Save the Children, this award is given annually to an accomplished Arab American elected or appointed official.
Born in Mexico to Syrian immigrant parents, Judge Barkett was appointed by the former US president Bill Clinton. For her work promoting justice and equal rights, she has been honoured by numerous organisations, including those representing women, Hispanics and members of the legal profession. This year, Arab Americans are proud to recognise her service and the way she has embodied the values of our heritage.
The story of Abdul Rahman Zeitoun has been told in the best selling book Zeitoun, written by David Eggers, and is soon to be the subject of a Hollywood film. A hero of the Katrina disaster, Mr Zeitoun risked his life for days on end saving others. In a canoe, he went from flooded house to flooded house delivering supplies and rescuing the helpless. Then a week later, this courageous and selfless hero became a victim himself of cruel discrimination. He was inexplicably arrested by federal officials and held incommunicado as a suspected terrorist.
He was exonerated and despite an ordeal that would have made a lesser man bitter, Mr Zeitoun has established a foundation donating the proceeds from the book to the rebuilding of his beloved city, New Orleans.
When the AAI was founded 25 years ago, its goal was to secure a rightful place for Arab Americans in the mainstream of American political and social life. The community had to face bigotry and political exclusion, and, after September 11, suspicion.
To a degree, this has borne fruit, though challenges remain. But in honouring those who define the values we share and those whose work we seek to emulate, Arab Americans make a statement about who we are, what we bring to this country and the way forward. This is the community’s tribute to the spirit of humanity.
* James Zogby is president of the Arab American institute in Washington, DC
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