Abstract
Abdullah Almualem is the director of AACCESS-Ohio, an organization that at one time in Cleveland was thriving and helping Arab immigrants settle into the area. The organization is located on Cleveland's west side, near West 117th and Lorain Ave., an area designated by the city of Cleveland as 'Little Arabia'. Abdullah explains why he immigrated from Aleppo, Syria in 1994 to Cleveland and why he believes Aaccess to be integral to a prosperous immigrant population seeking to assimilate into American society as currently the organization has no funding. He also gives a very touching story of his own daughter's experience as a child attending school in Lakewood, who spoke little English
Interviewee
Almualem, Abdullah (interviewee)
Interviewer
Assily, Rania (interviewer); Tayyara, Abedel (interviewer)
Project
Arab Community in Cleveland
Date
5-28-2016
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
46 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Abdullah Almualem interview, 28 May 2016" (2016). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 345002.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/903
Transcript
Rania Assily [00:00:04] So, okay. This is Rania Assily conducting an oral history of Abdullah Almualem of Access Ohio. So this is again for Cleveland State’s digital history project. And I’d like to welcome you, Abdullah.
Abdullah Almualem [00:00:21]Thank you, thank you, Rania.
Rania Assily [00:00:23] Thank you. Can you just sort of tell me a little bit about your background, Abdullah, like what you do and what you do for a living here? Yeah.
Abdullah Almualem [00:00:35] Okay, I am originally from Syria, immigrated here to United States back in 1994. I came like with all the immigrants, with all the region or the expectation of United States. My expectation whether life for me and my family. I have three daughters right now and one small little son.
Rania Assily [00:00:58] Oh, wow. So you have four children?
Abdullah Almualem [00:01:01] Four children, yes. Our expectation here to have better life and that the reason why I came, I start from the bottom rung as a dishwasher, go all the way through to managing nightclub in downtown Cleveland for almost four years, one of the most prime locations at that time. After that, in the year coming through, I decided to go back to college. I went and I attended Tiffin University and redo my bachelor degree and master’s degree from there with business administration. In the year 2000, I joined AACCESS-Ohio, the nonprofit organization. It is the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS). This organization was established in 1991, and I joined as an employee for the AACCESS in the year 2000, about April of the year 2000.
Rania Assily [00:02:03] So you said you came here from Syria. Did you have family here, Abdullah?
Abdullah Almualem [00:02:07] I have a cousin who is like, resign here in Ohio, in Cleveland. And that’s the reason why I’m here right now in Cleveland.
Rania Assily [00:02:16] And what was life like growing up in Syria? What was the climate like overseas? Where in Syria? Can I ask you what village?
Abdullah Almualem [00:02:22] A city, it’s called Aleppo, Syria, one of the prime city over there in the very busy cities. I came from different background, came here to United States to establish a new identity and new safe for me and my family to live here in the United States. And that the reason why I know, I suppose to start right away.
Rania Assily [00:03:02] Okay, so, Abdullah, you were saying, so you came here to start a whole new sort of chapter in your life.
Abdullah Almualem [00:03:07] Yes.
Rania Assily [00:03:08] What was life like in Aleppo, though? Like, what would you say, sort of the city was like life growing up there was?
Abdullah Almualem [00:03:14] Busy, friendly everywhere you feel home, especially me.
Rania Assily [00:03:21] And your family growing up there,did they, did they ever imagine that one of their children would come to America?
Adbdullah Almualem [00:03:28] No.
Rania Assily [00:03:29] Was that like a dream of theirs?
Abdullah Almualem [00:03:30] No. No. Wasn’t that the dream for us, I was the first one to move out and will be very big movement for them. But I don’t have no but this choice to go out and do the steps.
Rania Assily [00:03:45] So you came here for mainly economic, would you say more for opportunity
Abdullah Almualem [00:03:49] Economic and safety also, yes.
Rania Assily [00:03:57] And when you came here, tell me about your sort of, what were some of the things that stood out to you coming to America? Like some of the differences, let’s say, with the way you.
Abdullah Almualem [00:04:08] I was shocked, to be honest with you. I was seeing America in different was than the one we see right now. We America was big, simple for us. So it’s basically passing this ocean. It is big remarks in my life, you know. But I was surprised when I see America the way how I see it. I see some of the stuff is greater here and I see some stuff is greater in Syria, where I grew up. There is stuff here, I still disagree with it and there is stuff in Syria, still disagree with it until this moment. But the greater here, you get your chance if you decide to work and work hard, yes, you will get the rewarding over there. You will get where you are and you stay with your salary if you are an employee.
Rania Assily [00:04:58] So would you say that’s like one of the biggest differences between overseas and here?
Abdullah Almualem [00:05:03] Yes. Here you promote yourself with more hours and that’s the reason why you make more money. And basically the odd hours. I make most of my money when I was working in a nightclub because the odd hours working nightclub that means my hours only at night and nobody like to handle this job. And something else also, when I’m working at nightclub, I don’t have no alcohol problem, no smoking problem, no even cigarette problem, so my boss was very happy with me to have this pure person who worked for him in this environmental issue with the bar. And I’m still continue doing what I grew up doing it because I am mature enough when I came here and I can continue my, have my vows and value to me, myself and my families.
Rania Assily [00:05:50] Yeah. I think that’s a big thing that a lot of Americans don’t realize is that immigrants mainly who come here, mainly from the Middle East, grow up in an environment where, you know, they are taught values and, you know, certain things of what to do and what not to do. And when they come here, it’s like freedom all over the place.
Abdullah Almualem [00:06:12] Right, we not go to play innocent here. There is people overseas who can drink, who using drugs, who smoke a cigarette for me, for me cigarette, it is one of the unacceptable for me myself, but there is people who do all this stuff. But in the meantime there is people who is done doing it and they will continue carrying the same value over here.
Rania Assily [00:06:35] Sure, sure. I see what you mean. I see what you mean. So tell me a little bit about your family growing up. What did your mother do? What did your father do? What were their jobs?
Abdullah Almualem [00:06:47] My dad is lieutenant general in the army and my mom is a homemaker who passed away in early age.
Rania Assily [00:06:57] So do you have siblings?
Abdullah Almualem [00:06:59] Yes, I do. I have three brothers and one sister. I am the oldest of the whole family.
Rania Assily [00:07:03] Oh wow.
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:04] Yeah.
Rania Assily [00:07:05] And do all of them live overseas or they’re here too?
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:08] Until 2011, yes, they was living overseas, but now they are all over the world.
Rania Assily [00:07:15] Oh, that’s great.
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:15] Yeah.
Rania Assily [00:07:16] Do you get to see them?
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:17] No, I see only my brother for the last 22 years. One of my brother. That’s it. And my sister. I’m sorry. And my sister. Yeah.
Rania Assily [00:07:27] Is it would you say, would you say it’s hard to keep in touch with them because they live in.
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:33] Telephone? Yes. Internet? Yes. What another media right now is available is much better. But also it’s very hard me myself, to travel back to Syria. I have some obligation. I cannot do it right now.
Rania Assily [00:07:48] Is your family safe in Syria?
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:51] Is nobody in Syria?
Rania Assily [00:07:52] There’s nobody in Syria.
Abdullah Almualem [00:07:53] Nobody in Syria. From the immediate family, yes, there’s nobody in Syria. Some of them in Canada, some of them in Dubai, some of them in Beirut, Lebanon.
Rania Assily [00:08:06] So tell me what, when you came to Cleveland specifically, what did you notice about Cleveland, Ohio?
Abdullah Almualem [00:08:14] Cold. Cold. And it is, honestly, I call it always a quiet city in the United States. You can live very peacefully. The expenses, it’s nominal, according to the other cities, like in New York or whatever. When you heard from your friend, what the apartment rent in New York, you get scared away and you had to run away from that city. Myself, I don’t like to put myself in jeopardy by always working harder than supposed to be just to keep my minimum life going. Necessity of my life.
Rania Assily [00:08:49] Sure. So do you. So you would say Cleveland, was it welcoming for you?
Abdullah Almualem [00:08:54] Yes, yes, yes. Cleveland never been bad city to live. In. Some of the era, like after September 11, there is a few incidents, but that is not going to change my subject and does not change my vision of Cleveland just because couple people do what they do.
Rania Assily [00:09:11] Oh, sure, sure. That happens everywhere. Why did you go into the business of AACCESS-Ohio? Was there anything specifically that. Because I know you mentioned you started off in the nightclub industry. What sort of shifted you to go into this, sort of. Was that intentional or did it sort of happen?
Abdullah Almualem [00:09:32] Actually is intentional, it’s not. I’m talking about myself right now here. When I came here in 1994, I wasn’t speaking English, but I know a lot of my friends, they came to me and they asked me to establish them phone services, them gas services, them electric services. With my own deep accent and lack of English, I’m able to do all this stuff. So I find on me and those friends still around me until now, and I’m still doing much better with them in this communicating with the people. So when I see the opportunity coming to access, I go to it. And when I introduced to AACCESS, I was more thinking about it as a service wise more than anything else.
Rania Assily [00:10:19] Wow. So when you’re saying you had limited English speaking, but yet you’re, you were in demand.
Abdullah Almualem [00:10:25] Yes.
Rania Assily [00:10:30] So I think where we left off, you were explaining how working in Cleveland, you felt that there was, you were welcome to volunteer.
Abdullah Almualem [00:10:41] Yes. And some of the payback for the people, the one who trusted me and put me in this position, I’m continuing what I started doing here 15 years ago with AACCESS.
Rania Assily [00:10:54] So tell me about when you started with AACCESS. What sort of, what were some of the things that sort of stood out to you about this organization? Can you tell us about AACCESS a little bit?
Abdullah Almualem [00:11:05] AACCESS-Ohio is nonprofit organization. The name Access Ohio came from the Arab American Community center for Economic and Social Services. And the abbreviation basically is AACCESS-Ohio. We did help develop any new businesses in the Ohio area. We did help them with the impact of the new businesses or the existing business in Ohio. And my job originally, when I started with AACCESS, was a community liaison between the city of Cleveland and the Arab American merchant. That the first position I hold here in AACCESS-Ohio.
Rania Assily [00:11:47] And so when you worked with them, did you find that it was an easy process for people to get out businesses?
Abdullah Almualem [00:11:56] It is easy, and there is always a story behind that, why we are the Arab American grocers. There is a lot to do about this. First of all, the language barrier will make it different and basically the trend. He came here, he will see his family doing that, his in-laws doing that, and the best to be trained in this store and go again and do it by himself, after a few months or one year from me being in the United States, limited English needed to run a grocery store and don’t need a rocket scientist to run the grocery store. And basically learning the number and few words that he can establish and he can mask his English negligent in the long run.
Rania Assily [00:12:50] Abdullah, I noticed you are located on West 117th street, which is a lot of Arab grocers and businesses. So would you say that you have helped a lot of these people?
Abdullah Almualem [00:13:01] Yes, we do. In the year 2000, the city of Cleveland designed the area from west Boulevard to 140th and Lorraine Avenue as “Little Arabia”. September 11 coming after that, we hesitate to put the sign, and the sign is still sitting in the basement of downtown of the city hall over there to be named the “Little Arabia” over there.
Rania Assily [00:13:27] Really? Yes, they really need to put that up. Do you think it’s safe to do that?
Abdullah Almualem [00:13:32] The reason why the decision was from the board to hold on in this position right now because September 11 was rolling and people still warmed up after that. So the reason why they postponed it, but look like take little longer what it is and some more incident coming, the Iraq war, whatever, and continue going on. So there’s no touching for that right now.
Rania Assily [00:13:56] Yeah, I mean, because when people talk about getting food and getting the best food, the Middle Eastern food, they think of the bakeries on this street and the restaurants on this street to get the real authentic food.
Abdullah Almualem [00:14:17] Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:14:19] So there’s no question that this is the area where so many of these businesses…
Abdullah Almualem [00:14:24] I’m going to give the credit to another community also. This Lorain Avenue have everybody in, but we are stand out over there. There is Italian, there is Afghani, there is Hispanic. But we are stand out because a lot of businesses who run in Lorain Avenue and fill its home, the second home here in Lorain Avenue.
Rania Assily [00:14:46] Do you see any, are there any roadblocks or hardships for Arab immigrants or, you know, people who want to open a business? Have there been any sort of roadblocks or anything that has kept them from opening up their business?
Abdullah Almualem [00:15:04] Statistic, 10%, ten businesses will open, eight of them close down. We don’t see that trade in the Arab American business. Yeah, we do much better than the general about this kind of business. Very limited people who is closing a business after they started, they struggle, they know how to put it together. They know how to eliminate a lot of unneeded expenses and that the reason why they are doing much better than the general public in this case.
Rania Assily [00:15:36] I was going to say, do you think it also has to do with their work ethic?
Abdullah Almualem [00:15:40] Absolutely. We work 16 hours, 14 hours. I mean, I know people who leave home at 10:00 in the morning and come back midnight every day. Yeah. They don’t have a banker hour. They had to work. And they are behind this cash register or behind this deli and they keep rolling sandwich until the last one who ordered. And sometimes they had to close the door because the time is over… and they take a risk, to be honest with you, some of the area is very risky for operating business there. And we know what’s the risk factor, like the area, unsafe, unsecure, all this stuff will play factor. They take in the risk and they open the business in this area and they serve the population over there around them. And that’s very needed for, because people have a lack of transportation, lack of income and funding. They try to get like whatever they need, day to day life, you know, and they take the benefit of that.
Rania Assily [00:16:44] Wow. What would you say are the best things about what you do here at access? What are some of the best?
Abdullah Almualem [00:16:55] Some, let me say most of the people leave here with a smile and a face. They did what they asked him to be done. You cannot please everybody, but a lot of big percentage being pleased and go out. We wish we have more funding to start new programs and new avenues so we can be more helpful. And we know the funding will play a role. We have ten programs already now postponed just because we don’t have funding for them.
Rania Assily [00:17:26] Where do you have to go to get that funding? Is it national funding or state funding?
Abdullah Almualem [00:17:30] Everywhere we can able to get. But we can tell the shrinkage of the funding, who is available around us in the state of Ohio, city of Cleveland, some of the institution, they cut the funding and that will make a difference.
Rania Assily [00:17:48] So what sort of services do you provide for Arab Americans or Arabs?
Abdullah Almualem [00:17:54] We talk about in general or now both, I guess. Both.
Rania Assily [00:18:00] Whatever you want to. Yeah, whatever you want.
Abdullah Almualem [00:18:02] Originally AACCESS-Ohio was providing translation, interpretation, immigration and legal presentation with the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio. And we do program like ESL, ASL, and we do program as after school tutoring, merchant enhancement and code violation prevention. And we do also some of the program, they have a pilot program like the youth program and the senior program, but they see the daylight, but not for the longest.
Rania Assily [00:18:49] Really. So are these programs like seasonal programs?
Abdullah Almualem [00:18:54] Yes. Yes, yes. The youth program? Yes, was a seasonal one. And after tutoring during the school year, and we have summer camp, we do it for a few years. Was very successful.
Rania Assily [00:19:05] Really?
Abdullah Almualem [00:19:06] Yes.
Rania Assily [00:19:07] What kind of summer camp? For the youth?
Abdullah Almualem [00:19:08] For the youth, yes, yes.
Rania Assily [00:19:10] Really? Like do they do like field trips?
Abdullah Almualem [00:19:14] We do field trip. We do kind of education, languages, culture. We touch in religion for extend like for the whole three religions who is in the area, yes.
Rania Assily [00:19:30] Wow. Wow. That would seem like a very important something that should be funded.
Abdullah Almualem [00:19:34] Absolutely, absolutely. There is a lot of factor play role in that. Basically.
Rania Assily [00:19:41] Can you tell me more about the immigrant experience here? For those that come here, what are some of the things that you notice what are some of their needs, that some of their primary needs when they come here to AACCESS that you.
Abdullah Almualem [00:19:57] The tongue. The tongue, yes.
Rania Assily [00:20:00] Tell me more about the tongue, because that’s absolutely true!
Abdullah Almualem [00:20:01] Yes. The tongue, they need somebody to speak in their behalf. Need somebody to speak them language and understand them need and translate it to the person, the one who is in the other end of the phone or another face to face interview just to make sure they get what they ask him for. 100%.
Rania Assily [00:20:19] Do you charge for that service or is that something…
Abdullah Almualem [00:20:21] No, no, we don’t charge for that. But we do charge for a service who is like paperwork. If somebody comes said, talk to my caseworker 10, 15 minutes, if they have the communication, we don’t have no problem with that. Yeah, but if there is like a paperwork need to be done, yes, we’ll consume some time and just because we are zero funding, ZERO with the four letter clear out, so we had to charge some nominal fee so we can continue and open the door and invite you and invite everybody else to see us and see what we can do. But we know our fee is nominal. We know we do our job. We are proud of our job. I’m proud of it. So I believe we’re doing a good job for the good x amount of money we serve for.
Rania Assily [00:21:11] Do a lot of people that work with you, are they volunteers or do they work?
Abdullah Almualem [00:21:19] No.
Rania Assily [00:21:20] Do you say they volunteer?
Abdullah Almualem [00:21:21] Yes, yes. I don’t have too many people who is involved right now, but most of the people here, we don’t have enough payroll for them.
Rania Assily [00:21:29] Yes, but they do it because.
Abdullah Almualem [00:21:33] Because the cause of it. Yes, yes.
Rania Assily [00:21:37] What would you say is the hardest part of what you do? What would you say is the hardest part of it?
Abdullah Almualem [00:21:44] The hardest part, if I know for fact, somebody don’t have enough money to do what he do and you had to charge him to do it? That the most? If I have the funding to do it, I would like to don’t charge nobody. But if you don’t have the funding, you have to pay for your electric bill, your insurance, any other need needed here. So with all due respect, we love to do it for free, but in the meantime we have to do it for nominal fee just to continue going and floating. Because for x amount of time the AACCESS was closing the door because nobody here to do this one. And fortunately enough, I have my other income that will help me and sustain me and that the reason why I’m here volunteering.
Rania Assily [00:22:38] So what would you say, Abdullah? How does AACCESS-Ohio benefit the health of Cleveland as a city. What would you say this organization does to benefit the community and benefit the city in general?
Abdullah Almualem [00:22:56] First of all, we are the first step for the people who just came to Cleveland to know and understand Cleveland. Usually when somebody come new, I will flip a piece of paper and show him how his Cleveland look like. Very nice, easy grid, easy to go back and forth. I explained to him about the street and how they’ve been marked. What the west, what the east, where does the zero go? By the lake. Going all the way up there. And we try to identify for him the area where he live. How to get easy between the two line and how to go transfer himself without asking tons of questions. That the first. Second, we try to evaluate his credential and personally, not like go through all his detail. You have a high school let us send you to the another sister organization like Tri-C, Case, or another… CSU, to continue your education. Because you are a person with one tongue and that’s not enough. Here in the United States you will find 2 million- 3 million who speak Arabic. And we love you all. But in the meantime, we like the other 300 million love you too. So that the reason why I tell them English, English, English. I did the mistake. I don’t learn English when I came here. I came right to work. I wish I start from the bottom rung to the top.
Rania Assily [00:24:19] Can I just tell you, your English is excellent. I mean like it’s…that’s one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of Arab, Arab-Americans. They may start off not knowing the language very well, but they pick it up. Once they start putting the time into it, they seem to pick it up very quickly.
Abdullah Almualem [00:24:34] Absolutely. I wish I started earlier, so I will get some of those barriers I do have. I’m proud of it, don’t take me wrong, proud of my accent, proud of my bad grammar. Don’t worry about it. I’m proud of both of them!
Rania Assily [00:24:48] No, you have very good grammar actually!
Abdullah Mualem [00:24:51] Yeah, I mean, thank you, but in the meantime, I’m proud of those. If there is any of those, yes, I do it myself. I start late to learn English when I work, originally, as I said, they start from the bottom rung, don’t pay attention to the language. I start doing in nightclub, basically, no English needed and no even speaking needed. You use your sign language, the music is too loud, the people had to see your hand, don’t see your tongue. I mean, they cannot hear you because the music is too loud. And I have a personal story I would like to share with you.
Rania Assily [00:25:27] Yeah, please do.
Abdullah Mualem [00:25:28] Okay. My daughter came here four years old. So we put her in the school of Lakewood, she’s in first grade. When she is ready to go to the first grade, she came here in four and she do couple movements. So she’s in first grade and she had a teacher, I forget what the name of the teacher. My daughter, she decides she don’t like to go to school. Give me reason. She said the people over there don’t like me, don’t like to play with me, don’t like to talk to me. What’s wrong with you? I mean, I know she is very smart in my language. She know very well, she has very good vocabulary in Arabic, she knows a lot of my poem, a lot of songs for the kids’ age, a lot of the holy biography of the Quran, she read them all, she don’t have no problem with any of those. So we go with the other lady who is from the neighborhood, who is Arab American, and that the reason why said we need the tongue. She talked to the teacher, tell her, the girl, she don’t feel comfortable here, please try to welcome her a little bit. It’s okay. Couple days later the girl come in and was a weekend and she said, “I’m not going, period to this school, you cannot even force me to go. Dad, why, why, why?” We start talk about it. She said, “I’m not going. Everybody…”
Rania Assily [00:26:55] She’s four years old?
Abdullah Mualem [00:26:57] Yeah, actually at that time she was about five and a half.
Rania Assily [00:26:59] Okay.
Abdullah Mualem [00:27:00] Yeah, in 1997 and she is 1992, so she is five, five years and few months old. She’s in the first grade. “Dad, I’m not going there, whatever he does, I’m not going.” And she put in her mind, after the weekend, “I’m not going there.” It’s like about 3:00 after she gets from school, I pick up the phone, I know two words in English, two words in Greek, few cussing words in any language, you think I don’t use any of them, but I try to be appropriate talking to her teacher. And I tell her teacher in my broken language, grammar and accentuate. My daughter, she have very good brain, her accent and her tongue, not in her brain. If you go to treat her as accent in the tongue, I will welcome that. If you need her, treat it as accent in her brain, I’m not going to allow that. And I will go anywhere in the world to protect my child. The teacher claimed she cried. She cried, yes. And we do the kids math over there by Monday. I went to Sam’s Club, bring one full sheet of cake, send it with the tongue. The lady, the Arab American lady who speaks better than us English at that time to go to the school and cut it for the number of the kids, and the teacher who is there and said, that’s from your friend Natalie, who has come here and we like to see if she had a friend. And to start, she will invite you to this piece of cake, who like to be friend with Natalie, he can pick up a piece who don’t want to, he don’t have to take the cake. Definitely all the kids take the cake. She graduate with the “A” bachelor degree from BW, master from CSU, second year in law in ONU. That the person was tongue problem. Then the reason why I said learning the language, where you go that the most important, don’t let it to the end get it in the first. That’s my personal story with the language. That’s where I see the need for the language. Still, she’s doing very good. She correct me many times, but the only one is okay herself. She will take that with her.
Rania Assily [00:29:57] The story of your daughter is, I imagine it is a story of what this country can be when you have parents who care about their children and really encourage their kids and help their kids get used to the tough life here because it can be very hard.
Abdullah Almualem [00:30:22] We changed the environmental from where is the family, all the family was taking care of her. To be her here alone with her mom only that’s where it’s a difference start. We had to let her be in friend with the mom, the sister of the mom, the mom of the moment and interpreter and translator for the mom in the same time.
Rania Assily [00:30:45] She must be such a strong young woman.
Abdullah Almualem [00:30:49] She is.
Rania Assily [00:30:54] You know, she. She took on that role of being the strong one.
Abdullah Almualem [00:30:55] Yes, she is. And all her sister following her. Thank God, all of them. They are doing great. Very good.
Rania Assily [00:31:02] If she’s ever in town, I’d love to meet her someday.
Abdullah Almualem [00:31:08] She is now. Yeah, she is in town. Yes.
Rania Assily [00:31:14] Thank you for sharing that story.
Abdullah Almualem [00:31:15] No problem.
Rania Assily [00:31:15] That’s a beautiful story. I want to ask you. So would you say then that most immigrants, when they come here to AACCESS, would you say that they have a real want to learn the English language? Or would you say they struggle with that still? Because I wonder if their children even struggle with that. Do they ever feel like they’re afraid to lose their children to the American…
Abdullah Almualem [00:31:37] Culture? Yeah, definitely. And we see a lot of those examples around us here. They let them go with the friend, the one, they don’t know a lot about it. And that’s the reason why they are far away from the family values and moral. They allowed them kids to be associated with not a correct friend, let me say, because the parent don’t know how to put them in the right environment and that’s where the problem start. And if you notice, I tell you she is a big sister and a young daughter. She’s an interpreter and the translator and she is a friend and a mom.
Rania Assily [00:32:17] That’s your daughter?
Abdullah Almualem [00:32:19] Yes. And that’s how supposed to be with everybody. Make yourself friend to your children. Let them go, but don’t let them go without the string. You can go, but I need the string to know exactly where you went and how I bring you back to me.
Rania Assily [00:32:39] There you go. That’s absolutely true. And I think in my own life growing up I can relate to what you’re saying, my father was very similar in that way.
Abdullah Almualem [00:32:42] Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:32:48] What would you say, how has your work and your personal experience, Abdullah, how has it changed you and shaped you into who you are today? How would you say, having grown up in Syria, perhaps having immigrated here, how do you feel this has made you who you are?
Abdullah Almualem [00:33:03] I was fortunate not like anybody else. I travel a lot. In my case of work before I was seeing all the world before I came here to United States. But doing that will put me also to judgmental for some of the stuff. The one I don’t like when I start here in the United States, I see the other part of the world. I see the good part and I see the bad part. So that’s what put me if that’s real, do I have to put up with this kind of people just because I’m here? That will make a difference.
Rania Assily [00:33:39] Do you think that Cleveland has a lot to learn about these Arab community or do you think they pretty much are familiar? What are your thoughts about that based on your experience here?
Abdullah Almualem [00:33:50] Depends where you live, how you grow up and why you are need to learn about them. Yeah, yeah. Some of the suburbs, basically they don’t want them, period. Some of the suburbs, they okay with that. Even they have a little hesitant to accept them. The way how it is, the more you go far from the intercity, the more you get a little insulated and be small pocketed there. Yes.
Rania Assily [00:34:20] What would you like to see happen for AACCESS in the future? Like what would be your vision for this organization? What would you like to see happen?
Abdullah Almualem [00:34:30] I know what the need. I know we cannot do everything in one time, but I like to see the new immigrant, the one that’s coming here to get help from the right organization. All those waves of immigrant, they’re being shifted out somewhere else. We are here to serve them and we here to provide those services for them. We like to get the right contact with the right people. The one who brought those new immigrants here to serve them the way how they being deserved to serve.
Rania Assily [00:35:08] And do you see AACCESS, sort of, would you like to see it grow?
Abdullah Almualem [00:35:16] Definitely nobody like to be just to shrink down and go in his shell. Definitely. But will take a lot of effort, take more than Abdullah, take a lot of ten people to do what it is does. Funding, funding, funding. That’s all back to funding. If the, if any another organization give the funding not to the right people or probably they are more confident to do it than us. But we are the people who can serve this one with the tongue, the one they need. We see a lot. I mean, some people come to me here from the new immigrant. We hesitate to tell them, we don’t have your contract, go to another organization, the one who have your contract and the one who is supposed to serve you. Yeah, but we have a limited time. They are already coming with no money. We cannot ask them for nothing to do for them, you know?
Rania Assily [00:36:13] I know, with everything happening overseas now, do you sense a lot of people, I mean, is there still that stigma associated with, you know, recent new wave immigrants coming here? Do you sense that here in Cleveland that there’s a real blockage to that?
Abdullah Almualem [00:36:33] I mean, Cleveland is getting very nominal, I mean, very minimum number of people coming in. Another state is much better. And I heard the other state they have more benefit for the newcomer, more than Cleveland. Cleveland, they shorten them out. Yeah, yeah, depends the organization. The one who get them, who had the contract with the State Department that the most important, you know.
Rania Assily [00:36:57] Because I know AACCESS also has offices in other areas, right? Other parts of the country?
Abdullah Almualem [00:37:01] Yes, we are have sister organization. They are totally operated separately, but all of them it is work under the same vision to enhance better life in the new immigrant.
Rania Assily [00:37:15] And let’s say Abdullah, you did get the funding that you needed in this organization. What would you like to see happen with that money? What would you do with that money?
Abdullah Almualem [00:37:23] English, ESL, ASL, Arab American as a second language. The number three after school tutoring and speak classes. Public speaking, that the one we don’t touch, but that the one we need to get. Yes. Reveal your face, talk what you need to do and explain yourself better than the reason why I see it.
Rania Assily [00:37:55] Do you think the older generation would be open to that? Or do you think they’re still kind of. Would you say the younger generation is where you would target that? Or would it be all people?
Abdullah Almualem [00:38:05] Depends what kind of part of the world you coming from and what’s your background and what’s your future vision. If you planning your kid to be with you in your establishment, the grocery store, whatever, you don’t care about this stuff. But if I would like to see my daughter as a successful lawyer, yes, I would like her to get those public speaking glasses when she is in 10th grade, not now that the difference. When my daughter, she expressed her feelings, she like to be a dentist, we are all for it. You know, even I know I start calling all my cousin around the world to put some kind of documentation for her to get her loan, whatever, you know, when she decided to need to go to law school, all for it too. We help her to go and that’s our second year. She’s doing very good.
Rania Assily [00:39:03] Wow. Most of the Arab Americans in this area, what would you say? Where do they come from? What countries are most of them from would you say?
Abdullah Almualem [00:39:11] Two prime, Syrian, Palestine. And when I say Palestine, I would say Jordan included, because most of the people coming here is Jordanian, who is originally Palestinian. Yes, that the most two. And I will add another category, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to forget them. The Lebanese who is originally, when they came here, they called Syrian. But after that, they being undefined themselves as a Lebanese.
Rania Assily [00:39:41] What about Iraqis? Do you get Iraqis?
Abdullah Mualem [00:39:43] That’s a new way of coming here, they still not that much anyway. Yeah, but I’m going to give you an example about the Syrian, if you don’t mind. Okay. If you go to the cultural garden by Martin Luther King Boulevard, you go to see the Syrian Cultural Garden. And that’s where the whole honesty, not just Syrian, it is for the greater Syria at that time. So all the Lebanese, all the work the one does at that time, and the Syrian was here being contributed to this garden now will hold the name Syrian. But honestly had to be a great Syria.
Rania Assily [00:40:23] So you’re talking about when they did that garden, it was including the Palestinian.
Abdullah Almualem [00:40:29] Syria, Syrian Lebanon, Lebanese and part of Jordan.
Rania Assily [00:40:37] And part of Jordan.
Abdullah Almualem [00:40:38] Yes.
Rania Assily [00:40:33] So, it’s really. They’re talking about the greater Syrian.
Abdullah Almualem [00:40:38] Greater Syria. Syrian, yes, because let us look for the time was established 1919, it wasn’t Syria Syria, there wasn’t Lebanon as a country. So I’m going to give them the credit. It’s not only the Syrian. Basically they can add the word greater Syria.
Rania Assily [00:40:52] No, but that’s good, that’s good that you mentioned that because people forget that. Yeah, there’s, there was a big wave of immigrants coming in the early…
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:00] I don’t know if you heard that before, but we also called Turk at that time. You know that.
Rania Assily [00:41:05] Yes. Yes.
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:08] Okay, so we called Turk. Yeah, Turk from Asia. The reason why we are part of the Ottoman Empire and everybody come from that era, it’s called Turk because they hold a Turk passport or Turk travel document, whatever they have. So then the reason why they’ve been holding that.
Rania Assily [00:41:22] Yeah. And that’s very misleading because we’re not Turkish.
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:25] We are not Turkish. We are an Arab language. Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:41:27] We have different language, customs, yeah.
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:34] Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:41:31] Yeah. Would you also say, Abdullah, that the religious diversity within the Arab-American and Arab immigrant community, does that sort of play a role in their assimilation process or do you think that’s irrelevant like in terms of like their opening to the American way of life? Would you say that?
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:50] Absolutely, absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:41:52] Can you talk a little bit about that?
Abdullah Almualem [00:41:53] Yes, I will talk and I will add to you culture also play different. Lebanese is different than Syria, the Iraqi is different than the Syrian, the Moroccan and Algerian is different. We carry whatever we have over there and the religion will make it different. And we don’t go to forget some of the ethic. The one we have like another group like the Durzee (Druze), the, I mean there is a lot of groups over there, Chaldani (Chaldeans), whatever, they are here and they are exist so they will carry them value. They like to marry from each other group. That’s first of all. Second, they marry from the same religio, number two. Number three, anybody who will marry out of this religion or out of this group, they will take some time to accept that. And the more now with the time the more is accepted. But originally it was very sometime you have divide the whole family, if you decide to move and marry from the other culture or another religion or another ethnic group. Are you agree with that?
Rania Assily [00:42:56] I absolutely agree with you, yes.
Abdullah Almualem [00:43:03] And for extent it’s healthy to pee with the same of your group, you will keep your identity, you keep your values and moral and all your ethnic altogether in one part, yes.
Rania Assily [00:43:15] Certainly, would you say though that there needs, would you say though that in terms of a need there need to be more reaching out to Americans from the Arab, from the Arab perspective or do you think that it’s more Americans that need to reach out or do you think it just means there needs to be.
Abdullah Almualem [00:43:32] They had to meet more interaction, have meat in the middle of the way. Basically the American, they do them job, them country, they are here. We have to introduce ourselves and make sure we are here. We can put the grocery store over here but we cannot force the American to come here. But when they heard about the original olive oil, all the spices, whatever the good pricing. Basically, you see more American walking in.
Rania Assily [00:43:57] Isn’t that interesting? Because I think about, for example, the big, the food culture in this country. People are talking a lot about organic and healthy food, and the healthiest food…
Abdullah Almualem [00:44:09] Is the Middle Eastern. Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:44:11] And a lot of people don’t realize that the Muslims, for example, they eat halal. They don’t, you know, so their food is going to be prepared and cooked, cooked in a very healthy way.
Abdullah Almualem [00:44:20] Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:44:21] And it’s a good thing.
Abdullah Almualem [00:44:24] And we’ll add to our friend from the kosher, I mean, the Jewish also, they are doing the same. If I’m an airplane, the best thing to do, just check kosher and I will have very good food, you know, beside, you know, the preference of religion. But for me, it’s perfectly good.
Rania Assily [00:44:43] That’s why I keep saying the more Arab, Arab immigrants, the better, because the healthier our food will be.
Abdullah Almualem [00:44:50] Absolutely.
Rania Assily [00:44:52] People will learn about the health of.
Abdullah Almualem [00:44:54] Absolutely. Live health. Yes, yes.
Rania Assily [00:44:58] Yeah, absolutely.
Abdullah Almualem [00:45:00] We are in, there is some chain of restaurant here. It’s called Aladdin, I’m sure, eatery. They are providing some Americanized Arab American food. And there is more, also room to put more into it, you know. Yes.
Rania Assily [00:45:15] Is there anything else you want to share, Abdullah?
Abdullah Almualem [00:45:18] I would like to thank CSU for this kind of study, and I would thank you personally for taking your time and come to meet with us here.
Rania Assily [00:45:27] Well, thank you as well, Abdullah. It was a real pleasure speaking with you. Now, you are the director of AACCESS?
Abdullah Almualem [00:45:31] Yes.
Rania Assily [00:45:33] Is director of Access Ohio here in Cleveland and thank you again for your time and your story.
Abdullah Almualem [00:45:37] No problem thank you very much, thank you.
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