Arab-American Group Extends Helping to Haiti

Portland, Oregon - January 12's devastating earthquake in Haiti has precipitated a worldwide outpouring of compassion and assistance. The U.S. government has donated approximately $467 million to help Haitians. American nongovernmental organizations have donated more than $770 million to help feed, clothe and provide medical attention.

However, one of the best examples of American giving is provided by a small organization, the Arab American Cultural Center of Oregon (AACCO).

AACCO ( http://www.araboregon.org/joomla/ ) began its life three years ago and received official status as a charitable organization only recently. Based in Portland, Oregon, it has a very small, informal membership. Yet it has already developed ambitious programs, not only to provide relief to the people of Haiti but to support the Arab-American community in Oregon.

If it seems unusual that a small organization should direct efforts toward an enormous tragedy in Haiti, it seems perfectly logical to AACCO's president, Hala Gores. In a recent interview with America.gov, Gores said, "It's important for us to teach our kids that they're not just connected to the Middle East, and not just to the community in Oregon, but that they owe their brothers and sisters around the world a helping hand."

The focus of AACCO's fundraising effort for Haiti is a sale of items donated by the members of Oregon's Arab-American community. The event, called "The AACCO Haiti Benefit Community Sale and Baklava Without Borders Bake Sale for Haiti," will be open to the public and feature Arabic music, coffee and baklava, made and donated by a local Arab American who owns a doughnut shop.

Members of the organization will staff the event, to be held in a local church. Gores, a prominent local attorney, said the group hopes to raise $2,000, which will be sent to Haiti through the private relief organization Mercy Corps, also based in Oregon. Gores promises that there will be plenty of items for sale. "I have a three-car garage, and I can't park in it, it's so full of boxes for the sale," she said, laughing.

While Gores and other adult members put together their fundraising event for Haiti, their children are already pitching in. Gores smiles proudly as she tells how her 10-year-old son and a friend have added their own toys and belongings to the contribution.

Though AACCO has raised funds for various causes in the Middle East, the Haiti fundraiser reflects an interest in helping neighbors, too. Last year, flooding displaced many members of the Lummi Indian tribe of Washington state. AACCO helped to obtain and deliver a large truckload of household goods as well as cash to the strapped tribe.

In fact, the Haiti fundraiser is only the latest in a string of events organized or co-sponsored by AACCO. AACCO has helped organize concerts, produced plays and participated in multicultural festivals. Among its most recent activities, AACCO organized a formal tribute to former Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh, the country's first Arab-American governor, and put on an Arab-style Thanksgiving Day dinner on the theme "We are one family." The dinner, Gores said, proved hugely successful. "We were hoping for 150 people, and more than 300 showed up."

Many of the guests were non-Arabs who wished to share in an Arab-American experience. They even included a Japanese diplomat based in Portland. Gores said, "This is our way of really reaching out to Oregonians."

Gores makes it clear, though, that AACCO's goals go beyond organizing events. Educational seminars, conferences, dinners and artistic productions help fulfill AACCO's goal of promoting Arab-American culture. The organization, though, has committed itself to preserving that culture in the context of American society. "We would like to be the hand that's extended to Arab immigrants when they arrive, to assist them in understanding how to assimilate while holding on to what they dearly value."

Gores said the phone at her law office rings every day with someone from the local Arab-American community asking for help. Offering one example of the range of assistance and advice, Gores tells of one family that called her because of concern that the daughter's classmates might tease her for wearing a hijab. Gores was able to tell them of a public school located near a mosque where a number of girls wear a hijab and she might feel comfortable. "We are a resource," Gores said. "We are a helping hand to them."

Gores also makes it clear that the focus is on Arab Americans regardless of their religion. "Our focus is of a strictly cultural nature," Gores said. "It's important that we welcome people from all walks of life, whether they are Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs or Jewish Arabs."

This broad appeal is reflected in the genesis of AACCO. Gores said she and the members of the group are modeling their organization on a highly successful local Jewish community center, which offers extensive sports and other facilities on a site covering several hectares. The children of AACCO members have been welcomed there and participate in its activities. AACCO hopes one day to play the same sort of focused yet inclusive role. "Though," said Gores, "it may be our grandchildren who live to see that."