São Paulo – A special online meeting will mark the Arab Community Day on Thursday, 25. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and the Arab Chamber will bring together experts to discuss the community presence in Brazil and show the life story of Arabs and descendants who made meaningful contributions to the country and people who were impacted by the Arabs in their lives.
The online meeting “Arab Immigration: History, Legacy and Influence” will take place at 7 pm (BRT) and is free of charge. Registration is open. Video testimonies of Arab descendants and professionals who were impacted by the Arab culture will be permeated by talks with ABCC’s leaders and guests. Pictured above, an example of the Brazilian miscigenation, which includes the Arabs.
ABCC president Rubens Hannun says that, due to the pandemic situation, the institution is not celebrating, just marking the date in some way for the Arab community and non-descendants as well. “It’s time to show that we must have a common consciousness and union, which leads to a great integration,” says Hannun on the results of the Arab integration in Brazil. According to him, in this difficult time the world is going through, union and common consciousness can lead to a better future for all.
The online meeting will be divided into three sections. The first one will bring an overview on the history of the Arab immigration and Brazil’s Arab Community Day, as well as the presentation of the main figures of a recent survey by institute H2R and Ibope Inteligência on the size of the colony and its inclusion in Brazil. Hannun says that the survey showed that Arabs and their descendants are spread across the entire country and that, since the event is virtual, it can be watched from anywhere.
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The Arab community in Brazil will be invited to send their personal immigration records as documents, pictures, letters and others for the Digitization Project of the Memory of Syrian and Lebanese Immigration in Brazil. The initiative is carried out by the ABCC in partnership with the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) aiming at documenting and digitizing the history of this immigration in Brazil.
Solidarity efforts
The second section of the webinar will show the solidarity efforts uniting Brazilians and Arabs. In the pandemic, at least two major solidarity initiatives took place. The first one was when the Arab community in Brazil, coordinated by the ABCC, donated protective equipment and hospital device to fight the pandemic. The second was following the Beirut port blast when the Arab and Brazilian community supported by the ABCC and other entities sent relief goods to Lebanon.
The webinar will close with the Arab influence in the life story of Arab and non-Arab descendant Brazilians. The testimonies will include videos by former president Michel Temer, basketball player Oscar Schmidt, journalists Diogo Bercito, Aurea Santos and Renata Maron, dr. Alvaro Sarkis, singer Rhanna, scholar João Baptista Vargens, and executive Alessandra Frisso.
Campaign
In addition to the online event, to mark the National Arab Community Day, the ABCC is making a campaign in its social media. Videos on the size and story of the Arab colony in Brazil have been posted. Posts are in Portuguese, English and Arabic for both Brazil and the Arab countries. Portuguese will be spoken during the event.
Quick facts:
Webinar
Arab Immigration: History, Legacy and Influence
March 25 (Thursday) at 7 pm
Free of charge
Registration is open
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
