Michigan Sisters Helping Syrian Refugees

Two of my fellow graduates of Wayne State University in Detroit are abroad looking into the situation of Syrian refugees.

Neda Kadri, a Syrian first generation American from Dearborn, Michigan is currently in Greece as part of a volunteer group that is helping rafts full of people onto shore and assisting with immediate aid such as mittens and blankets. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian first generation American from Southwest Detroit and former Michigan Congresswoman, is part of a delegation visiting refugee camps in Lebanon along with Ali Saleh, the mayor of Bell, Michigan. They are doing a brilliant job bringing light to the American people regarding the desperate yet seemingly permanent situation of Syrian refugee families.

"Most days are 15 plus hours of nonstop work. I haven't even yet processed what I'm experiencing," Neda Kadri messaged me. "I've never felt as alive as I do on this island. I've found my calling and it is I that is grateful for the opportunity to serve!"

The volunteer group, whom celebrity Susan Sarandon joined for a day, waits by the shore for rafts full of refugees. People in wetsuits wade into the frigid water to bring people ashore. The weather is cold, but this has not stopped the influx of refugees. As each raft lands, the people shout "Allahu Akbar!" and help the people onto land. Many rafts arrive every day. When it is pouring rain and these people have no shelter. People can hand out blankets but at a certain point, everything is soaking wet.

"We are deeply concerned because hundreds of refugees and migrants are continuing to arrive despite the winter cold," said Boris Cheshirkov, the UNHCR spokesperson on Lesbos.

Cheshirkov said that in the first three weeks of 2016, more than 20,000 people have arrived after crossing the Mediterranean, more than the total numbers of arrivals for the first five months of 2015. "It's an incredibly desperate situation. Yesterday alone, on January 20, we saw about 40 boats, overloaded rubber dinghies, amid ice cold winds, with snow and rough seas, coming through this perilous journey from Turkey to Greece to seek safety," Cheshirkov said.

Ongoing funds are desperately needed to provide basic necessities to people landing on shore. https://www.gofundme.com/85evvexn 

There is no government, nor NGO, who is doing this. This is a totally volunteer group relying on your donations to help each Syrian person arriving on a raft.

Meanwhile. Rashida Tlaib visited Shatila refugee camp of Palestinians that had to flee their homes in 1949 and 1969. The delegation from Michigan not only observed but played with the children, some of whom were wearing flip flops in the snow. The delegation traveled about two hours from Beirut over the snowy mountains to the border of Syria, in the Bekaa Valley. They found a small camp full of Syrian refugee families being housed in temporary shacks. Some have lived there for nearly 5 years.

"Their stories deserve to be told individually. Like Hajji who is 9 years old but is smaller than an average 5 year old and healthcare is really impossible. Or Zeinab who is an orphan and is mothering (pretty darn well) her younger brother and has more dignity and honor than I can fathom. And Yisra who is embarrassed she has worn the same pink outfit for 3 yrs and can sing her ABCs so well," writes Kristin McCarthy.

"My heart broke today. This is beyond a crisis," reported Rashida Altlaib. "When we pulled up to Barelias Syrian Refugee Camp in Bekaa Valley, it was three large fields of tent homes. So many children, beautiful children who are more than statistics spewed out in the news and policy briefs we are given. The health clinic coordinator said he never seen people like us who just stopped and played with the kids, but really looked at them and listened. The tears won't stop when I think of those precious faces. May Allah protect them and give them strength, Ya Rab." The group also visited Burj el Barajneh refugee camp in Lebanon.

"Met with U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Stephen Beecroft. Most people think of the pyramids when Egypt is mentioned, it is so much more. One of four Arabs in the world are Egyptian and the instability in the country can impact the rest of the world because of the importance of the Suez Canal," posted the Mayor Ali Saleh, of Bell, Michigan.

The Arab American Institute delegation held a panel forum at the American University of Cairo on public policy and the experience of serving as Arab Americans in our communities. Rashida took some photos of Shatila Refugee Camp, which demonstrate a serious need for electric rewiring.

"Over the past 4 years, I've been touched and deeply saddened by the Syrian refugees suffering due to the war in their country. Yesterday, the Arab American Institute delegation ‪#‎aaiusa‬ visited a refugee camp in the border area of Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley. None of us were prepared to the human tragedy we've witnessed no matter how many pictures/ videos we've seen, articles we've read or conversations we've had about it.

"Hearing from Zeinab how both of her parents were killed in the war, and how she fled Aleppo with her grandmother and uncle is heartbreaking. Zeinab and her friend Aya insisted that I have a cup of tea in their tents.

"Hajji is 8 years old boy looks like a 5 years old due to a disease. His mother has desperately talked to every agency that visits the camp to no avail. A mobile "pharmacy" , a doctor and two nurses visit the camp once a month to provide medical care. As moving as these pictures are, the tragedy is much bigger to be depicted in pictures, videos or even personal stories!"

These amazing women from Detroit area are bringing us the real situation.

Inspiring Women Discuss Their Motivation at ICNA-MAS Convention

TMO 

Rashida Tlaib

Chicago, IL – ICNA-MAS held its annual national convention from December 26 to 28. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib was featured in a panel discussion at ICNA-MAS’ annual national convention. Her panel, titled “Strong Faith Has No Gender: Empowering Women,” also featured Ibtihaj Muhammad, an athlete on the women’s US fencing team.

Muhammad, a team gold-medal winner at the Pan-American Games, spoke about participating in sports growing up as a hijabi wearing modest dress. “Hijab brought me to fencing,” she stated, because the fencing outfit covers the body, unlike other sports costumes. She said that by succeeding in her sport, she was able to open the door for other hijab-wearing women.

Although Muhammad experienced racial discrimination and religious bigotry, she did not let this crush her self-esteem. She advised Muslim women athletes to strive to be successful regardless of what anyone says. “Being different has its obstacles, but it’s not something you can’t overcome,” she said.

Muhammad also spoke of the importance of humility. “Don’t think you are the best. There is always someone running faster, jumping higher. Champions train hard. If you want to win, you have to work harder than the next person.

“You hurt yourself when you think you are the best and you know everything.”

Following Muhammad was Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to be elected to Michigan’s state legislature and the second ever in the United States overall. Tlaib spoke about the importance of Muslim women engaging with institutions to serve the community.

Tlaib said that she does not consider herself to be a politician but an activist and public servant. She explained that political activism does not have to revolve around a candidate but can focus on an issue, and not necessarily an “Islamic issue.” Like Muhammad, Tlaib also believes that acceptance comes after achievement.  “Once people know who you are, they won’t care that you are Muslim,” she said.

Tlaib recalled the time she was going to campaign at a black Baptist church. She was the only non-black person there, and she could feel the tension. But then an old lady stood up, pointed her cane at Tlaib and said, “That’s the lady that saved my home from tax foreclosure!” Immediately it was like a light came on in the room.

Tlaib told TMO that she does not wear hijab because she doesn’t want the burden of representing Islam, but she said it is not impossible to get elected with hijab. However, wearing hijab does make getting elected more difficult. “You will have to answer questions about Islam every time you knock on a door, before you can even talk about your campaign platform,” she explained.

As a Muslim woman asserting yourself in the community, you are going to get “pushback,” she said. But it is very important to be in the room. The majority of Americans have never met a Muslim. 80% of the legislature has never met a Muslim. When they start saying ignorant things about Islam or Muslims, it’s important for you to be there, to correct them.

Tlaib was able to defeat a proposed anti-Shariah law by joining forces with Jewish and Catholic groups in the name of religious freedom.

When she heard that all the Michigan legislators except for her were invited by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to go on a free trip to Israel, she advised her colleagues to “pay attention to Us vs. Them thinking.” When they came back, they told her, “You were right!”

She tells the other legislators, “now you have met a Muslim that cares about her community and her country. So when you make decisions that impact people of my faith, think of me, not the TV stereotypes.”

“Do not wait for permission,” she advised Muslim women interested in getting into politics. Her own father told her, “No one is going to vote for an Arab,” while her mother asked if running for office meant she wasn’t having another baby. Yet, through an aggressive door-to-door campaign and by addressing general community concerns such as environmental pollution and stopping scrap metal thieves, Tlaib was elected by a constituency where Arabs are only 2% of the population.

The questions from the audience revealed a hunger to understand how these Muslim women do it.

“My family keeps me grounded,” Tlaib explained. “When I go home I’m not a legislator, I’m a Muslim and Philistina, rooted in my culture and my faith … I always remember the verse from the Quran, ‘With hardship comes ease.’”

Tlaib told TMO that she gained her strength from growing up in Southwest Detroit. Primarily Latino and African American, this inner city community is known for pushing barriers away and making succeeding no matter what. When they fail, they get up and fight again. She said the spirit of Detroiters is “invincible.” She told TMO that if America ever had to fight a ground war, the people of Detroit would be on the front line.

Tlaib said being the eldest child in her family “presented challenges that gave me the strength and courage to represent my district. This urge to fight for the weak, the disadvantaged comes from those experiences I lived through,” Tlaib told TMO.