European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daher amp sons Ink Iii  amp Lei i of. 1111 8 j i 8. So amp is amp i. M a a grocery sign and the Spires of the Dix mosque in Dearborn mich., reflect the concentration of arabs in the Detroit area. Arab american John Sununu White House chief of staff. America s leading consumer advocate Ralph Nader. A american top 40�?� Host Casey Kasem is an Arab american. Almost every Middle easterner of the second and third generations Speaks of supportive families and a commitment to education. Quot i fulfilled the dreams of my grandparents Quot says Shalala who was a professor at Columbia University president of Hunter College a governor of the american Stock Exchange and a director of the municipal assistance corp. Which helped new York City out of its fiscal crisis. She is also vice chairman of the children a defense fund. The latest immigrants Are fleeing for their lives mostly agrarian moslem families from Southern Lebanon but there Are also iraqi chaldean and some palestinians some of them professionals Many of them seeking greater opportunities. The yemenis Are fleeing poverty to seek jobs in idled Auto plants or to work the Fields of California. Ismael Ahmed runs the Arab Community Center for economics and social services Access in a depressed neighbourhood of Southern suburban Dearborn practically under the smokestacks of the Ford River Rouge Plant. The area he serves is considered the largest concentrated Arab Community outside the Middle East. Quot just within five Miles of our Center there Are 60,000 arabic speaking people a Ahmed says. Quot six out of 10 of them have been Here less than five years one out of three does no to speak English two out of three done to read or write English and one out of three does no to read or write arabic. Quot there is an infant mortality rate of 38.5 per thousand births which is As High As a lot of third world countries. The unemployment rate is from 30 percent to 40 percent  yet Ahmed says there Are up to 5,000 new Middle Eastern immigrants driving in Detroit each year Many of them seeking out family. Quot right now the majority can be described As refugees without refugee  his Center provides a base for transition. And despite the illiteracy Many do Well. They learn to read and write English in less time than it takes an american Grade school Pupil to reach the sixth Grade level. Ahmed s English classes can handle 250 people and there is never an empty Slot. Quot in 10 years a new immigrant family will be buying a House in a much nicer part of town a Ahmed says. Quot and people will say a where did they get the Money to do that they just got  Well they did t go to the movies and they made do. They systematically aimed at that kind of jump and they helped others in their family to do it  it is the same sense of family that enabled previous Waves of immigrants from other areas to Advance in the space of two generations. But while the new Arab americans Are similar they Are different too. Quot at one time Detroit Sarab Community was overwhelmingly Christian Quot Ahmed says. Quot that a changed. I think it s much closer to equal now with the  Arab americans also have Quot that feeling you Are Worth something a he says. Quot your religion your culture is Worth protecting. Its stronger now among the new immigrants. It s something we work  he sees Many individual Success stories but he is More amazed with the general tide of advancement and its regularity. Some first generation families will never be Rich but their aim is to establish a jumping off place for their children. That of course is something in common for All immigrants Arab or otherwise past or present. Like others they tend at the beginning to Cluster where they can share ethnicity in Kitchen and Church. Today the greatest concentrations besides Detroit Are Southern California Brooklyn n.y., the Cleveland Toledo area Illinois Massachusetts and Texas. Their Success says something of the american climate for Opportunity and change. Donna Shalala remembers her father telling her of anti Arab discrimination in his Early Days. But by the time she was ready to emerge from the shelter of her family Quot those barriers were Down for me. When i got to new York i was a Little More conscious of it because of the size of the jewish Community. But i found them very supportive very helpful and very protective. Prominent leaders in the jewish Community were Good friends and watched out for me because the Issue would arise once in a  today she is a member of a no name informal group of 10 composed of jewish leaders and Arab americans such As former special Middle Eastern envoy Philip Habib and Najeeb Halaby once head of pan american world airways. When col. James Jabara became America s first Jet Ace during the korean War or when Joe Robbie the son of a poolroom owner bought the Miami dolphins Arab americans were not in the habit of exhibiting their ethnic Pride. Don Bustany a radio producer who works with Casey Kasem says he never thought consciously of Quot assimilation or being absorbed Quot in american society. Quot i always had my pita bread sandwiches in High school and my friends were delighted when they could share arabic food at my House Quot he says. He also remembers the exhilaration at meeting a fellow Arab american when the common salutation was Quot Kenefic  he grew up with the attitude that lebanese were Superior people. Quot i discovered not Only was that not True but every ethnic group believes that they Are Quot he says. Casey Kasem who like Bustany grew up in Detroit where he acted in a Community playhouse with George c. Scott is emerging As a spokesman for an affirmative Arab image. He is working with Norm Fleischman who is known As Quot the conscience of Hollywood Quot to carry that message to the movers and shakers of film and to. He suspects the negativism came Over from Europe when the Arab world was viewed As a threat to Christian nations and the crusaders were sent out to Battle Saladin in the holy land. Quot Arab americans Are coming out of the closet Quot he says. Quot they Are More outspoken now than Ever before. People Are beginning to realize who they really Are that they Are not the people who yell and scream on their nightly  Arab americans Are All Over the american landscape today from teen pop Singer Tiffany to Singer dancer Paula Abdul from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jeff George to Mezzo Soprano Rosalind Elias. Race car Driver Bobby Rahal is balding wears glasses and is in Short not your typical race car Driver. But his father once told an interviewer Quot it s in the genes. Arab people the lebanese especially always run scared. That s what drives us. We re More afraid of failure than anything. It s an ego thing. We hate the flavor of failure and we revel in  or 1.1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15