Débora Rubin*
debora.rubin@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Since August 15th, it has been like this: On Wednesday nights the Arab Chamber Space, the auditorium belonging to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, is crowded. They are students taking the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe) course. In all, there are 87 students, from university students to retired people, all interested in the theme discussed – "The contemporary Arab world: history and geopolitics". The lessons cover from the formation of the Arab countries to the current situation in Iraq. The theme was asked for by the students who participated in the first course promoted by the Icarabe, the Panorama of Arab Culture, last year.
The audience on the Wednesdays is very varied. However, Heloisa Abreu Dib, one of the course coordinators, explained that the volume of journalists in the audience has attracted attention. "I believe that they total approximately 30% of the total," she said. "It was a great surprise to us, but a good one, after all, it is an opportunity to demystify some matters. It is a subject that has little space in papers, and, when it does, it is in a very distorted manner," she explained. Due to the number of journalists, the organisation has even created an extra activity, to discuss the way the Arab world is treated by the media.
Another surprise, according to Heloisa, is the volume of youths and women – 70% of the students are women. And, although some of them are of Arab origin, most, around 80%, have no relation to this universe. This is the case with journalist Aurea Cristina dos Santos, aged 24. She started becoming interested in the matter in her first year in college, in 2001, when the Twin Towers, in New York, came down in the view of the whole world.
"After that, I started noticing that very little space was granted to the Arabs in Brazilian media. I started studying the matter, going to talks, reading books and I even did my course conclusion paper on international journalism," explained Aurea, who has private Arabic classes. The differential in her curriculum has landed her a job as a producer for Al Jazeera TV for almost a year. The channel from Qatar does not have a Brazilian branch, but they do sporadic articles in the country.
Another person who is not of Arab descent but, like Aurea, is greatly interested in the Arab universe is Marcelo de Souza Oliveira, who works in foreign trade. As a journalist, he also takes Arabic lessons. And he has decided to take the Icarabe course to learn more about the matter. Every week, he checks the Al Jazeera, LBC (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation) and Al-Manar sites. He has never been to any Arab country, but he has already scheduled a tour for 2009, in which he may visit from the United Arab Emirates to Libya.
"Of course this helps me on the professional side. But it is much more personal. My interest in the political and economic universe of the Arabs is something that not even I understand," he explained. "And a course like this is fundamental. After all, we do not learn things like this at school."
Descendants themselves are also curious about the history and geopolitics of the Arab countries. Denise Abdalla, a retired lawyer and psychologist, is a granddaughter of Syrians. When she heard about the course, she became interested, but apprehensive. "I grew up among the community, and feared that the course might be closed, conservative, like many of the things I have seen throughout my life," she explained. "I was greatly surprised at how serious and professional the course is. It is like university, an open discussion."
Denise, who has never been to Syria, but who has lived in Algeria for four years, says she decided to do the course not due to her Arab origin, but to her love for history of the formation of a people, whichever it may be. "I already know much of the content because I read very much, but they are such varied subjects that there are many windows. You may choose a matter and search for more information if you want to learn more."
Rada Smaili, on the other hand, a 51-year-old son of Lebanese tradesmen, says he is not just interested, but is a militant. "Since the early 1980s, when Lebanon was invaded for the first time, I have been participating in groups that defend causes like the Lebanese and the Palestinian question," explains Smaili, who is Muslim. When I was twelve years old, his parents sent him to study in Lebanon. He lived there for four years.
As an adolescent, he went to live in Spain, where he met several Arab students. It was there that he was awakened to political questions. And it was also there that he understood the meaning of Arab-Brazilian more deeply. "I related well to both the Arab and the Brazilian groups." Although he already knows very much about some of the matters discussed in the course, Smaili says that he goes to the Arab Chamber Space every Wednesday with the spirit of someone who always has very much to learn.
New courses
Heloisa Abreu Dib explains that, starting in 2008, the Icarabe intends to promote courses more frequently, preferably twice a year. Apart from that, for the beginning of next year, the Institute is preparing an exhibition with the Federation of Industries of the state of São Paulo, showing the collection of the Arab World Institute, in Paris. "We are still after sponsorship, but it is almost all set."
Learn more:
www.icarabe.org
*Translated by Mark Ament
