I was born in Brooklyn, NY. My father came from Egypt in the late 60s and mom in mid-70s. I grew up in suburban Westchester County outside of NYC area from first grade on. In first grade, I learned all the patriotic hymns like God bless America; You're a Grand Ole' Flag, This Land is Your Land and of course our national anthem The Star Spangled Banner. I was the only Egyptian-American student in my school at the time...I didn't think about being Egyptian because I was too busy being a patriotic American every morning saying the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a patriotic song. I learned about American History and how great the USA is. My dad told me that in 2nd grade that my teacher was going to quiz me on all the Capitals of the US. So I spent my summer memorizing the US map. Until today, I can probably remember about 90% of the Capitals. That same summer, was my first trip to Egypt. I didn't know much about it except for the Pyramids, my church that I went to on Sunday recited prayers in Arabic. I think the entire family met us at Cairo Airport. I got applause coming out sitting on the luggage carriage waving both the American and Egyptian flags. I think people thought I was a daughter of some diplomat but I was just showing Egypt that I was ready to meet my ethnicity and that I was American born and raised. I had no concept of religion outside of Christianity, so I did ask my uncle why there were so many nuns in the country. I had no concept of what Islam was and that women were wearing the hijab--they weren't nuns (i was 7 years old by the way)
Growing up, my parents wanted me to learn my Egyptian culture, by forcing me to speak Arabic on the weekends. I threw tantrums to speak English, but Saturday mornings were met with a 'switch'. I was embarrassed because my friends would have to hear me speak to my parents in some crazy language. I think I gained popularity in school when there was a unit done on Egypt and I brought in Omar Sharif's narration of Mystery of the Pyramids. In college, I decided to take Arabic classes and concentrate in Middle Eastern Studies (as part of my international affairs degree). I became more in tune with the Egyptian/Arab culture, while also tuning into everything Washington DC had to offer. I volunteered for the NATO 50th anniversary celebration. Everytime you stepped on 23rd Street at that period there was another motorcade. We tried to guess who was in there....going to volunteer there, I went to old government buildings--there was history, grandeur--contributing to my country was a great feeling.
9/11 happened. It was my first week as a paralegal at a firm in DC. I was just out of college. My family and friends were in NY. I had to evacuate not knowing how to get back to my house in Virginia. I randomly found someone in the office who was going in my direction and we hitched hike from constitution ave in DC to courthouse area in virginia . We knew this was dangerous, but honestly we didn't know what was going on. I immediately got on the phone and attempted to call everyone in NYC but wasnt able to. 2 hrs of trying to actually get out of DC we walked from courthouse to clarendon and could smell the smoke coming from the Pentagon....we ended up in a coffee shop where we would rest before my coworker dropped me off at home. I got through to people speaking half English/ half Arabic. My coworker said 'honey if I were you, I wouldn't be speaking that language now'. I responded 'I dont care what you think'. We watched CNN at the coffee shop and I was already dealing with the sorrow of what was going on with my city but I had to deal with the ignorance at that point of my ethnic origin. 9/11 I thought of the WTC and how I was just there just weeks before the towers went down, I thought of Trinity Church and the day care center they had because I was in the first class of their day care. I thought of all the people I knew and what was going to happen next. That evening, I attended a prayer meeting at the Coptic Church in Virginia where so many people came up to me to make sure everyone I knew was okay. I called my family in Egypt and Canada to let them know we were safe. I felt the unity of everyone coming together....there was kindness...and there was darkness as well.
Darkness came from attacks on people who looked remotely Middle Eastern...even Sikhs got targeted. These last 10 years I have had to prove that I am a loyal American. I have been met with discrimination due to my ethnicity at the workplace and on vacation. So many times someone asks 'where are you from?' I respond: 'New York'. They ask: 'no ethnicity'. Me: "I'm Egyptian'.....and the smile goes away and body becomes all tense. sometimes they continue the conversation by asking 'So do you like celebrate Ramadan?'...I say 'Um, do you see this cross I'm wearing? I'm Christian'. Them: 'oh so you're not Muslim but you're Egyptian?'....me: 'not everyone from the Middle East is Muslim and not everyone is a terrorist'...I walk away because I can't believe the ignorance. One lady at work refused to work with Arabs....three years later when she was forced to sit next to me while I was filling in for her partner, she apologized for her racism saying that 9/11 affected her and made her angry against all Arabs.....I told her that those who terrorized us that day were not representative of the entire community....and I had to remind her that I was AMERICAN and I was brought up in a dual culture household; proud that my ancestors were the likes of King Tut (well she bought it...I can't track my family that far back)
When going to Egypt, I was met with some animosity since I did come from the US...it didn't help that I was Christian. During the 00 decade, I would go to Egypt at least once a year to see my ailing family (uncle and grandma God rest their souls). I remember being in a supermarket getting a stare down from women because I wasnt veiled. I was extremely uncomfortable...I got hissed and whistled at...but I was told to ignore -- something I normally don't do. I was hissed and whisteled at in Morocco back in 2000--and they didnt think I understood Arabic...until I opened my mouth and basically gave it to the two guys sitting making obnoxious comments..... They're mouths literally dropped to the ground (the NYer in me can't just stay quiet). So many other things I realized in Egypt, I'm not an equal to the rest of the population.
It is plain and simple ignorance on both sides of the Atlantic. Proving I am just as American as Wonder bread has not been an easy task. And in Egypt, completely different story. At times, I didnt think I belonged anywhere. Only during early 2011 when people would ask about my ethnicity and I would respond: Egyptian...I got hi fives for the revolution. I had people who I was out of touch for years come out of the woodwork to ask about my family and the Egyptian revolution. If anything, the terrorist stereotype briefly vanished as everyone wanted to know what was going on, listen to my opinions and to ask when my mother would be able to leave the country (she was stuck in Alexandria and left late Feb back to the States). It was a great feeling because I was able to use what I knew through my culture and education to give an educated view of what was occurring in Egypt.
Now it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I choose to honor those who perished that day. I choose to honor the first responders and all those who sacrificed their safety to help others. I will not be making this political. I've seen some articles regarding how American Muslims have been discriminated against in the past 10 years....media, it's not just the Muslims, but anyone who looks remotely 'Arab' regardless of religion. I'm not Muslim but I have felt the brunt of discrimination. My goal is to continue to educate to show that there are great American citizens of with ethnic origins that trace back to the Pharoahs and to 2011 revolutionaries, while of course I continue to sing my heart out at the Yankee game 7th inning stretch of God Bless America.
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