Being Middle Eastern in the U.S

I'm no stranger to different cultures. I live with an Indian (from India) named Shaan, a Cambodian (from Cambodia) named Van (It's actually Vatinthya, but after hearing us try and pronounce it a couple times he said "Just call me Van"). I also live with a large angry white guy, but that isn't important. I've lived with this motley crew for almost two years and have experienced several clashes of culture. Our first interesting discovery was that Shaan does not, and refuses to, wear deodorant. The second discovery, is more a series of discoveries that I have made coming home from a long day of school. Van is apparently a very excellent chef, specializing in many Cambodian delicacies. Unfortunately for me, Cambodian delicacies also stink up the entire house. Investigating an odd smell in the kitchen one day, led me to a cache of dried fish in the cupboard. Van also celebrates Chinese new year (his mother is Chinese). Last new year, he knocked on my door and asked for a beer to offer to his ancestors (I grudgingly gave him one).

With all this on my mind, last Thursday, I attended a "forum" of sorts on the issues that middle easterners faced, living in the US. I didn't know what to expect, but entering the room I was pleased to see a DVD menu for the “Axis of Evil” comedy tour being projected on the screen. We watched the first two comics, Dean and Ahmed, make fun of stereo-types and the way Middle Easterners are treated in the US. For me, it was an interesting juxtaposition of laughter and depression. They were joking, but there was a certain element of morbid truth to the whole thing.

Afterwards, the audience was invited to ask questions of the 6 international students present (they also served snacks, some sort of pastry with pistachios and other nuts, very delicious). The discussion started out as an exploration of language, they all speak Arabic, but their dialects are vastly different. We learned about the seven levels of “I love you”and how to say the seventh one (which is the most romantic). The subject of camaraderie came up, and they told us that in the US they are close friends, but back in the Middle East they would not be friends. Apparently there is a hierarchy of Middle Eastern races. They talked about Dubai, and how Chico is very visible on a worldwide scale. The current economic minister of Dubai had graduated from Chico.

I think in terms of social discourse, comedy is the best first step. It exposes the issues, REAL issues that people face and forces us to examine them. If the discussion had been better organized, I think we would have uncovered a lot more “inconvenient truths” and dealt with them. The biggest thing that this forum accomplished was the “humanizing” of Middle Easterners. It showed the side that the media doesn't talk about. Dean, the first comic, had a joke about how Middle Easterners are portrayed in the media, he said “there are good stories and bad stories. The bad stories are about Arab terrorists bombing buildings, while the good stories are about ALLEGED Arab terrorists bombing buildings” We have to laugh at ourselves. Without laughter, what's the alternative?