Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – The Arab world has great painters, artisans, sculptors, a rich and diversified culture and art. This is what Arab ambassadors are willing to show beginning today (21) in Brazilian capital Brasília. An exhibition will kick off at noon, at the Cultural Space of the Lower House, to remember the 62-year anniversary of the League of Arab States, an organisation that gathers the 22 countries in the region. The date is officially celebrated tomorrow, March 22.
"In Brazil, when one speaks of Arabs, one speaks of sad things such as the problems in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. We want to show that there are other things, that there are people who love your culture, your music. We want to show the history, the culture of these peace-loving countries," said the Moroccan ambassador to Brazil, Farida Jaïdi. The idea is to show the other face of the Arab world, which is not always displayed by the media.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public until April 03, will feature 100 art objects, including paintings, craftwork, silverware and tapestry from several Arab countries. "We want to take advantage of the occasion in order to show our art, our culture," claimed the Palestinian ambassador to Brasília, Mayada Bamie.
The exhibition will kick off during a solemnity to be attended by the president of the Lower House, Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP), diplomats from Arab and non-Arab countries, and Brazilian federal and regional authorities. The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Sarkis Jr., will also attend the solemnity. "This is the acknowledgement of a group who came to Brazil, became integrated, helped the country achieve progress and is very dear to the Brazilian society," Sarkis said.
Also as a part of the celebration, entitled Arab Day, a dinner will be held tomorrow at the Mount Lebanon Club, in Brasília. The event will be a tribute to the Syrian-Lebanese, the Arab peoples that have the largest number of immigrants and descendents in Brazil. "The Arab community is present in the daily life of all Brazilians. I myself was born in São Paulo and was brought up with friends of Arab descent. Here at the Itamaraty (Brazilian Foreign Office) we have several colleagues who are Arab descendents. They are integrated in the Brazilian society," claimed the head of the Middle East division at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, Rodrigo do Amaral Souza.
"Brazil is very important to the Arab community," said the Sudanese ambassador, Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman, remembering the positions that they occupy in various segments, such as the political, technological and economic sectors.
Ambassador Mayada said Brazil has strong ties with the Arabs due to the large colony living in Brazil. "This day is a celebration of the fraternity, family ties between the Arabs and Brazilian peoples," the diplomat stated.
The Lebanese ambassador to Brasília, Fouad El-Khoury, said Brazilians hold Arabs in high regard. "Every Brazilian has a Lebanese friend. The Arab Day will highlight this relationship of friendship and fraternity that exists between the two peoples," he said. The idea, according to the Moroccan ambassador, is for the celebration to grow and increase with each new year. "This is the first step. Next year we will try to do something even bigger," Farida claimed.
The League and Brazil
The League of Arab States plays a key role in the relations between Brazil and the Arab world as well, since it is the mediator for diplomatic affairs of the region as a whole. Brazil is currently an observer country in the League. The meetings of heads of state in the bloc usually count on the participation of an Itamaraty representative.
The Summit of South American-Arab Countries, held in May 2005, was organized, on the Arab side, by the League. "The Summit was the clearest example of mediation, but it did not end in May 2005. The League of Arab States plays an important, deciding role in following through with the subjects of the meetings as well. The League is a very important forum for political coordination of the Arab countries and, since we are interested in straightening ties, this dialogue is important," Amaral said.
The Arab Day is organised by the head of the mission for the League of Arab States in Brazil, Mahmoud Elsouri, and also by the Council of Arab Ambassadors to Brazil. This is the first time that the anniversary of the League will be celebrated in Brazil. The organisation was established in 1945 to be a space for economic, cultural, political and social cooperation between Arab countries. The head office of the League is in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and currently it gathers 22 countries. When it was founded, the League had only seven Arab nations as members.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
