Press City Arab-American culture fest counts out Queens July 13, 2006
TimesLedger.com By Adam Pincus
Queens residents participated enthusiastically in a street fair in Manhattan Saturday, kicking off the city's official Arab-American Heritage Week, but despite a vibrant Arab community in Astoria, none of the events over the week will be taking place in the borough. Organizers attributed the lack of events in Queens, where some 50,000 Arab live, to the longer established communities in other boroughs and a lack of organization in Queens.
Rami Nuseir, an Astoria community activist, hopes to change that next year, saying such events were needed to challenge negative stereotypes of Arabs held by some Americans. "We need to help the Arab-American community in Queens," said Nuseir, 34, the president and founder of the Long Island City-based American MidEast Leadership Network. "There are stereotypes of Arabs as terrorists or ignorant members of society. We are a very rich culture in religion, hospitality and food... It is very important to share our heritage."
The second annual weeklong set of events was scheduled this year from July 8 to July 16 and included additional street fairs, music, dance and public discussion forums in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Several Queens residents took part Saturday, including Nourhan Sharif of Sharif Productions in Long Island City, a company that offers belly dancing classes and related supplies, and Ahmed Ahmed, 24, who was selling gifts from Egypt. He lived for 11 years in Astoria before moving two months ago to work for Mabrouk Imports in Rhode Island.
Briarwood resident Amal Elsheemy, 27, was a co-founder of one of the festival's organizing groups, the Network of Arab-American Professionals of New York. Standing on the crowded Bond Street at Broadway on Saturday, he said the heritage festival was a positive forum to bring different people together. It is "something that New York needs, both for the Arab American and the overall community," he said. "It is a great way to showcase our culture."
Ahmed Hamdy, 27, of Astoria, was born in Egypt but moved to the United States six years ago, and now works as a budget analyst in Manhattan. "It would be great to have a festival like this in Queens," he said, noting that there is a substantial Arab presence on Steinway Street in Astoria.
Nuseir said his group was the first Arab-American organization based in Queens to support community services, such as immigration forums and cultural events. The young non-profit group helped in the organization of the citywide events this year in the other boroughs and hopes to take the lead for a Queens event in the future.
"Insha Allah we will have something here in Astoria" in the coming years, he said, using the traditional Arabic phrase meaning hopefully. Reach reporter Adam Pincus by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
©Times Ledger 2006
