Abstract
Irene and Michel Farah are Palestinian Americans who came to Cleveland, which they love, in 1972 for medical training. Michel is a cardiologist studied at the American University of Beirut and Irene has a Master’s in French literature from Case University. The both from the city of Jerusalem, which, plays a significant role in their life and identity. They have two girls and two boys. Irene and Michel believe it is of great important to preserve their Arabic culture as well as the Palestinian identity. They also are involved in the life of the Arab community in Cleveland.
Interviewee
Assily, Rania (interviewer); Tayyara, Abedel (interviewer)
Interviewer
Farah, Michael (interviewee); Farah, Irene (interviewee)
Project
Arab Community in Cleveland
Date
11-12-2016
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
49 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Irene and Michel Farah interview, 12 November 2016" (2016). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 345006.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/907
Transcript
Michel Farah [00:00:00] Sit down. Sit. Okay.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:00:02] Okay, hi, this is November 12, 2016. This is Abed Tayyara.
Rania Assily [00:00:09] And Rania Assily.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:00:11] And we have today Irene and Michelle Farah.
Irene Farah [00:00:15] Yes, I’m Irene Farah.
Michel Farah [00:00:19] I’m Doctor Michel Farah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:00:21] So, can we start by asking you to introduce yourself? Who are you and what you’re doing?
Irene Farah [00:00:32] You want to start, Michel?
Michel Farah [00:00:34] Okay. I’m a cardiologist at University Hospitals, and we came to the states in 1972 for training and stayed here.
Irene Farah [00:00:51] And I’m Irene Salam Farah, and I came with Michelle when we got married. And I took my masters from Case Western Reserve University in French literature. And now we’ve been here since 1972 in Cleveland, we haven’t moved.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:01:12] So where were you born? Where were you born?
Michel Farah [00:01:18] I was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Jerusalem for about high school. And then I went to the American University of Beirut to study medicine. And then I came to the United States. The main reason was for training in cardiology.
Irene Farah [00:01:41] I was born in Manila, Philippines. And we left at a very young age. I was like two when we left to Amman, Jordan, where I lived for like ten years. And then we moved to Jerusalem. But I was always in a school in Jerusalem, a boarder in a school in the old city of Jerusalem.
Rania Assily [00:02:00] Can you tell us a little bit about what Jerusalem was like? First of all, what year you were born, if you don’t mind? Like, what Jerusalem was like as a city, growing up in Jerusalem, like, what was it like?
Irene Farah [00:02:11] Well, it may be different for either one of us. I was born in 1953 and we lived, I lived in Jerusalem for like ten years between, because before that we lived in Amman, so it was between ’60 and ’72. Jerusalem was the nicest city to grow up in. It was small, everybody knew one another. It was very safe. People were so nice, very modern and safe, that’s the main thing. It was very safe. People used to leave their doors open and just go outside. And especially before the ’67 war, it was just heaven to live in Jerusalem. And then all hell broke loose. Your turn, Michel.
Michel Farah [00:03:04] I was born in 1946. So that was in Jerusalem. So that was before the 1948 War. At that time, in ’48, my father and my parents lost their home in Jerusalem. And that was taken, occupied by the creation state of Israel. And then we came back to Jerusalem at the end of 1948, to the part of Jerusalem which was, became part of Jordan. So we were in. So I grew up East Jerusalem, so I grew up in east Jerusalem, and that was part of Jordan. And it was separate from West Jerusalem. And it was a beautiful, beautiful city, very nice to grow up in. It was very, very safe. You couldn’t build high rise buildings. The old city was gorgeous. Nobody ever heard of a bank robbery that was non-existent. And prior to Jordan it was under British rule. So Jerusalem was a very safe and disciplined city.
Irene Farah [00:04:37] Nice families. Many nice families.
Michel Farah [00:04:39] So when I grew up in school and everything, it was still part of Jordan. It was totally out of politics, in 1967 when Jerusalem was occupied by Israel, at that time I was in Beirut, Lebanon studying medicine. So I was able to get family reunion and come back with an Israeli identity card. So I saw Jerusalem change over the years. And of course, you know, with West Jerusalem, it is more modern, more high rise building, more like New York style. So it is different, but it’s still a beautiful city. The old city will never change because it has walls and nobody can build too much in the old city.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:05:34] Can you tell us more, like, about your family, siblings, how many brothers and sisters and where are they now?
Michel Farah [00:05:49] Actually, my parents died. I have a sister who lives in, still lives in Jerusalem, she’s married and she lives in Jerusalem. I had a brother who died in medical school. So that was many years ago. And my sister still lives in Jerusalem, actually, we just met with her, and we went to Sicily three weeks ago. And she and her husband met us in Sicily. But they still live in Jerusalem.
Irene Farah [00:06:22] As for me, I have a brother and a sister. My sister Carmen Tata is married to doctor Khalid Tata. And they lived in Jerusalem for the past 40 years. They just moved to the states two years ago. Just because she wanted to be near her kids. She’d much rather be in Jerusalem. He was an ophthalmologist at St. John’s Hospital. And he was one of the best ophthalmologists in Palestine, Israel, really, for…till he retired. And then my dad used to own a hotel in Jerusalem called the Ritz Hotel. And just loved Jerusalem. Although my dad was born in the states and raised in the states. But he said, this is. This is, he’s from Ramallah, so he said, this is the city I want to live and die in. And he did. But my mother was also born in Jerusalem. And her family owned hotels all over the Arab world in Amman, and actually her father was the one who started tourism in Amman. Philadelphia hotel was built in 1925 or ’26. The Philadelphia Hotel, and then he had the vision of Sidon Anton Nazzal. He was called Anton Nazzal. And they built the Winter palace in Jericho. And he was the one who saw the vision of Petra. Nobody knew about it then. And they built Nazzal’s camp in Petra. And that’s in the thirties, when there were no highways and people would go. It would take them like six, 7 hours to get to Petra. And my grandmother, Jamil Shamali Nazzal was a very kind woman. And she always felt bad for the Bedoul who lived in Petra. So she’d go to the society in Amman and Jerusalem and collect food and clothes and so on. And whenever my grandfather went to Petra, to Nazzal’s camp, which is till now, inside the city of Petra, she would take all these clothes to the Bedoul. Until now, when we went, like six, seven years ago to Petra, I was inside to talking to one of the guys, the Bedouins there. And he knew the Nazzal family. He knew what they had done to Petra and so on and so on. Anyway, now the family is my brother. And I have a brother who lives in Carmel, California, but who also, I mean, we all grew up in Jerusalem. He studied in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the hotel management school and lives in Carmel, California. And. Yeah, that’s it.
Rania Assily [00:09:12] Listening to the two of you talk, there’s a real, I can sense nostalgia for what life was like before modernity, or at least the sort of the hustle and bustle of industrial life. And would you say that the Palestinians really built, in many ways, the infrastructure of Palestine? Obviously, would you say that it was. It was, at least in the case of Jerusalem, it was built by the people. And would you say that they also, in turn, helped to contribute to building the country of Jordan? In many ways? I mean, in terms of, like, before they immigrated there? Would you say that there’s a, because the way you both speak, it’s almost like this, like, wonderful place that I wish, we all wish we could go to.
Michel Farah [00:10:04] Still a wonderful place even now. You know, my father was a doctor. You know, like the cops say, my father was a doctor. My brother was a doctor. Two of my children are doctors. But my father, remember, he lost his home in Jerusalem, in West Jerusalem, and the city was separated. And he had a lot of courage to go back to East Jerusalem and start from scratch. He lost his clinic. He lost his house. He lost everything. So he had to go rent a place and start a clinic. And he still wanted to serve the people as a doctor and started from scratch. And it’s true, the Palestinians did build Jerusalem on both sides. I mean, all the houses that were in West Jerusalem were built by the Palestinians. And, you know, they lost it in 1948, but they, the Palestinians. And then many of the Palestinians went to Jordan. And they really improved the economy of Jordan. And they are, what should I say? The Palestinians were dispersing all over the world. So they went to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, but they played a good part in building the economy of Jordan.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:11:25] So why you decided, I mean, to be a doctor, is that because of, like, you know, your father was a doctor?
Michel Farah [00:11:35] You’re always influenced by, you know, what your father does. And I was, yeah, I was. I remember when I was five years old, they asked me, what are you going to do in the future? I said, I’m going to be a heart doctor, which is a cardiologist. And even though after that I went to school, medical school, and you’re exposed to different areas in medicine, and I had to make decisions that many times I ended up becoming a cardiologist. So I think I was influenced by my father that you could serve people and treat people, and it was a good profession. So that’s what I did.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:12:14] Was he also a heart…
Michel Farah [00:12:15] No, he was an intern. He was a doctor in internal medicine, general doctor at the time. You know, at my father, there wasn’t too much specialization as it is now. And my father was an internal medicine, so he was a general doctor.
Rania Assily [00:12:31] What about you, Irene? What about you in terms of going to get your masters, for example, in French? Do you have a family of…
Irene Farah [00:12:40] No. You know, when we got married, we were very young. We were in love and wanted to come here. So after my first year at AUB, we decided to get married. So we went to Jerusalem, went back to Jerusalem, got married in Jerusalem with our parents, and then came to the states, to Cleveland, and I don’t know, I was in a French school in Jerusalem, and I love literature, so this was a choice to make. You know, thinking back, maybe I would have picked something else, but with the, with the hours of school and so on, this was the easiest to go in the daytime and take the classes rather than night classes that like journalism, which I really wanted to do.
Rania Assily [00:13:31] And do you work or have you taught?
Irene Farah [00:13:33] I have taught French, but for a very short while. It was very hard with the children. Taught for like six years, and then I substitute taught for a while, and then I coached tennis for a few years in the school. Yeah. Yeah. And that was it. Yeah, I was busy with the kids. Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:13:55] So you met at the American University?
Irene Farah [00:13:58] We met in Jerusalem at the New Year’s Eve party in Jerusalem. We were with different groups at the YWCA in Jerusalem.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:14:06] This is before the AUB (American University of Beirut).
Irene Farah [00:14:08] Before he was at AUB, she was still in school. We dated when we were at AUB for a year, and then we got married in 72. I went to AUB. Yeah, we got married in 72. 71. 72, freshman year. And then came here, did my BA with the two boys. I did it in three and a half years, and I had two kids. And then did my masters, pregnant with my third child. And then I stopped. It was enough (laughing) Yeah, yeah. But it took me a while to get used to this country. Although I’m a natural American born citizen, it took me a while to like it, to adjust to it. It was hard being far from my family and his family.
Rania Assily [00:15:03] So can you tell us about that, that experience, immigrating here? So you said you immigrated in the 1970s?
Irene Farah [00:15:09] Let me tell you one thing. When we lived in Jerusalem, we lived in a beautiful house. There was people helping in the house. We lived a nice life, a little, maybe on the spoiled side, but we weren’t, you know, showy or anything. No, we were nice people, and we. In AUB. When I was at AUB, my dorm room overlooked the Mediterranean. And then we come here as a young couple in love, and we live in Indian Hills Colony, which was fine. We’re very happy together in the small place. And then I go to Case in ’72, which was nothing like it is now. And I said, I’ve died and gone to hell (laughing), and then the snow came and I said, this is hell (more laughing) What did I do?
Rania Assily [00:16:03] What about culturally? Was it culturally or were you uncomfortable?
Irene Farah [00:16:05] No, we were very comfortable. Culturally, there was nothing that shocked us. Culturally, no, no.
Rania Assily [00:16:15] But in terms of the living here, the climate…
Irene Farah [00:16:17] Yes, the climate shocked me. The climate shocked me. The distance from my family was the hardest thing. But culturally? I honestly, it was a very smooth transition.
Rania Assily [00:16:34] When people found out you were of Arab descent or Palestinian background, did they understand what that meant?
Irene Farah [00:16:40] No, they, no…
Rania Assily [00:16:41] Tell me about that, what was that like? Was that hard?
Irene Farah [00:16:45] No, that was horrible.
Michel Farah [00:16:47] When we first came here. First of all, we are fluent with the English language because we went to American University of Beirut, so there was no difficulty in getting along with Americans and Jews as well. I think we became friendly with many Americans, including many Jews. But we also discovered that there are many people from the Arab countries, from Syria, Lebanon. And these people became very close friends, and we have friends all over, and we meet often. So even since we came here, you would be invited to dinner, There’d be about 50 people, all from different Arab countries, and there you could use, you could speak English as well as Arabic. So we did not feel at any time that we were strangers here, or that we were totally bored or anything. And of course, I came here to train in medicine, and I loved my work, and when I finished my training, I started contributing to new areas in cardiology. So they asked me to stay on and be part of the staff at the university and at the hospital.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:18:02] So if I ask about the main, there are many reasons why you came here. So what do you think? The main reason?
Michel Farah [00:18:10] Oh, there’s no doubt in the main reason that, yeah, the main reason we came here was to train in medicine. It was. It was customary that if you want to promote your career, that you want to specialize more. And the best place to specialize more in medicine is in the United States. So I think most of the graduates in the American race, Beirut, come to the United States, and we even have a. We have an alumni here. And I think there are so many of us in every major city in the United States.
Irene Farah [00:18:48] The reason we stayed was the political situation in Jerusalem.
Michel Farah [00:18:52] Correct.
Irene Farah [00:18:53] Otherwise we would have gone back.
Rania Assily [00:18:55] Why Cleveland? Is it because of the Cleveland Clinic and Case and all that? Why Cleveland, particularly?
Michel Farah [00:19:01] No, I think what you said is true. It’s the, I had a friend who trained here in cardiology at University Hospitals, and so it was, you know, there are, like, maybe ten top centers in the United States, and you have to choose one. And we picked Cleveland based on the merit of medicine. At the time, we didn’t know anything about the climate (laughing)
Irene Farah [00:19:26] I know.
Rania Assily [00:19:27] It always gets back to our cold winters!
Michel Farah [00:19:28] Cold winters, but the alternative was actually some states south, which are very, very hot in the summer, and I’d rather take the cold than the hot summer.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:19:45] So you’ve been to many places, actually, Palestine, Lebanon.
Irene Farah [00:19:49] Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:19:50] And even United States. Yeah, I guess so what, in retro retrospect, I mean, what do you think about this journey? Like, you know, how you. Like, you know, we feel as Palestinians, like, you know, you have feeling of being in situation of out of place. So if you can, you know, share with us how you feel about that, like your, your journey and living in different places?
Michel Farah [00:20:16] Well, first of all, as a Palestinian, we always felt that we wanted to go back home. You know, everybody wants to go back home. And my inspiration was to go back to Palestine and work there and help the people there. But Irene just mentioned that when I finished my training, the political situation was very difficult. So there is no more Palestine. Palestine was occupied by Israel, and everything became more difficult, and the easier path was to stay in this country. And over the years, we kept saying, well, maybe next year we will consider. And I did go and look at jobs in Jerusalem and in Jordan, but it was not the same. You know, you’re under occupation in Palestine, and Jordan is now separate from Palestine. So we kept always thinking, maybe next year, maybe in a few years, we’ll go back. But then the reality of it is we went to visit every year because we had family there. So we went to visit every year, and our children went there every year, learned the language, and they know the area and the geography. But again, you are a Palestinian in America thinking that maybe one day you’ll go back to Palestine. But I think now we’re settled in the United States.
Irene Farah [00:21:45] You know, what makes it easier for us here, and while we’ve been here for over 40 years, and we love this country and we love Cleveland, is that our children are here, and we see how much Cleveland means to them. Although they love Jerusalem, they love it, and they feel American-Palestinians, this has not gone away with our children. They combine both cultures very well. And when we first came to the states, that’s what I wanted to tell you, that when we first came to the states, especially in Cleveland, Ohio, I don’t think anybody knew who the Palestinians were. I mean, there was. If so, we were, Palestinian equals, terrorists. They knew nothing about Palestinians. And that was so hurtful. As the years went by, as the years progressed, I see also them, I see the people understanding the situation better. There are more speakers who come and speak about Palestine. There are more movies. I mean, there’s still this bias towards Israel, but people are more open-minded. And at least when you tell them you’re Palestinian, they know, at least many of them know who you are. So I found a big difference in how they view a Palestinian nowadays.
Rania Assily [00:23:17] That’s positive. That’s a really positive change. Do your kids speak Arabic?
Irene Farah [00:23:22] We have. Yes, our boys speak it very well. We have two boys and two girls. Our boys speak it very well. Our girls, not so much, because we had a child who had learning disabilities and we had to focus on one language. But she understands everything.
Rania Assily [00:23:41] So you taught them the language or did they go to Arabic schools?
Irene Farah [00:23:44] We speak Arabic at home. And they went to Arabic school. Yeah, the boys speak it very well. Yeah, they speak it. And they used to go to Jerusalem, to Jerusalem a lot, although all the family speaks English. And they would. And I say, no, no, no, stick to Arabic. So they speak. I mean, if they went there, they’d manage. It would be no problem. Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:24:06] So the Arabic culture, it’s very important in your life, like, if you can share with us, like, how the Arabic functions in your life, like Arabic culture, language. Did you read (in Arabic), can you talk about this?
Irene Farah [00:24:25] Yeah. If you can talk about this, you know, to me, it’s mainly the, I am proud to be an Arab. I’ve always been proud to be a Palestinian Arab, to tell you honestly. And we kept the culture because we are involved with so many people. And the food, the kids are very impressed with, not the kids, actually, the in laws. My boys wives love our food, and they’ve learned our food, and they keep on saying the Middle Eastern food is the best. So it’s with the food and the language. My son tries, one of my sons tries to speak to his children in Arabic, and he says, you know, they’re learning here and there, but even the little ones say, “I’m also Palestinian”, and they’re three and five, you know, and they say, “I’m American, but I’m also Palestinian”. So we kept that heritage going. They’re proud of who we are. Yeah. Anything else, Michel, you can think of? I can’t think of anything.
Michel Farah [00:25:31] No, I think we have the mixed culture here that we maintain our Arab culture as well as the American culture. And it’s interesting, when we go back to the Arab countries and we talk to people there, they are surprised that our Arabic is as good, as fluent as it has ever been. You know, many people who come to the states, many immigrants come to the states, especially from Arab countries, you know, when they go back, you know, their dialect and their talking changes, but we haven’t, I think mainly because we talk to each other and we have a lot of Arab friends. So we try to maintain both the Arabic and the American culture, and it works pretty well.
Irene Farah [00:26:15] Yeah. I never even felt a difference.
Rania Assily [00:26:17] That’s great.
Michel Farah [00:26:20] Sorry. No, I was going to say we even have some friends, and there’s an American family that is pushing us to have a,a Palestinian Culture Society. So even though we have not formally made that, we’re still meet and try to get speakers and discuss issues. And sometimes we’ve had fundraisers for three years in a row. We had a big fundraiser for the crippled children in Jerusalem. It’s a Princess Basma, Princess Basma (Jerusalem Princess Basma Center). It’s a, it’s a non profit organization that my father developed in the sixties, and it was inaugurated by the king. And what it is, is they have a building and school where they get people who are disabled, crippled from all kinds of neurologic diseases. And the whole idea was to have a living for them and schooling them at the same time. So they get medical treatment and they get education in the same place.
Irene Farah [00:27:43] Plus they educate the mothers, too.
Michel Farah [00:27:45] They get the mothers how to take care of the.
Irene Farah [00:27:47] And they educate them how to take care of the children. It’s a wonderful program.
Michel Farah [00:27:52] Right. And it’s still in existence. And for three years in a row or four years, we had a fundraiser where we had a dinner party. We invited a lot of people, and we raised around $20,000 to send it back, which went directly through a church organization to the crippled children. So it didn’t, there were actually no expenses or no money lost everything went there. So we try to maintain the Arab Palestinian culture with the American culture. It works pretty well.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:28:30] Because actually, I met a number of Arab families. They don’t practice Arabic in their houses.
Irene Farah [00:28:37] They don’t really?
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:28:38] They don’t. And then their kids, they don’t speak Arabic. And it’s very funny.
Irene Farah [00:28:43] That’s sad.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:28:44] We have many students at Cleveland state, and then you pass, they speak in English, and the only word that you hear that they know, they say “wullah”.
Irene Farah [00:28:52] “Wullah”, that’s it.
Michel Farah [00:28:53] “Wullah” and “Yella”. Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:28:55] And.
Irene Farah [00:28:56] But that’s it.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:28:57] That’s it, yeah. The most for, for some students, I mean.
Irene Farah [00:29:01] Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:29:02] So, I mean, it’s because they don’t. Practice, practice the language.
Michel Farah [00:29:05] Yes.
Irene Farah [00:29:06] What do you teach at Cleveland?
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:29:07] I teach Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Irene Farah [00:29:10] Oh, how nice. Only at Cleveland State?
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:29:13] At Cleveland State, only.
Irene Farah [00:29:14] That’s wonderful.
Michel Farah [00:29:15] They should learn from the French. You will never, ever meet a French couple and their children don’t speak French. Never, no matter where they are in the world, I’m sure. Other. Yeah. The Armenians, the Russians, but the French in particular. I mean, I’ve been all over the world because they speak to their children only in French. But I think many of the Arabs who come to this country, they’re worried about their children not learning, not learning English. So, and they don’t want them to be picked as people who are of Arab origin, so they want them to speak English. And I told some of my friends, I said, I don’t think your kids want to learn English from you. Let them learn English from people who know how to speak English. That’s a good point.
Rania Assily [00:30:09] That is a good point. Actually, what you bring up about this next generation of Arab generation that, you know, the question is, are they willing, like, your kids are willing to hand over those values and the beauty of the language and the culture? You know, not everything is beautiful in every culture. So you take it so good and you carry that. But there’s a lot. I mean, how do you, do you get a sense that based on your own experience, maybe your generation is different than the younger? But do you think that there is perhaps a future where people are going to no longer identify themselves with their Arab culture? Or do you think this is something that people should be teaching their kids? How do you do that?
Irene Farah [00:30:59] You know, my dad was born in Brooklyn, New York, and his father emigrated here in the 1905 or whatever. His brothers, none of them went back to Palestine, to Jerusalem. None of them went back. He was the only one who went back. None of them. And my cousins were all born here. And they don’t speak Arabic. They don’t. But do they identify themselves as Palestinians? Absolutely. You hear them with a Brooklyn accent and they say, oh, we’re Palestinian, but they’re very American. I mean, they speak, they act Americans, but they still say, we’re from Ramallah. And they go to the Ramallah conventions and they know everybody and they love it if their kids married somebody from Ramallah (laughing), so it’s, although they’re Americans, 100% Americans, they, you couldn’t tell. But they always stress on the point that they are Palestinians from Ramallah. Yeah, yeah.
Michel Farah [00:32:07] Same thing with our children. They are maintaining the culture. They all say, we are Palestinian. They’re trying, they also teach their children to say that they are of Palestinian origin. Maintain the culture, maintain the customs, maintain the food. I mean, but the only thing I think is that with time, there’s no question that the language will be lost because, because we speak Arabic fluently. We read and write. Our children speak Arabic, but not as fluent. They cannot read and write. And their children, their wives are American, and the chances are that their children will not speak Arabic. So we think that the culture and the customs will be carried over the generation, but I think we lose the language.
Irene Farah [00:33:00] You know, it’s interesting because one of our sons, whose wife is American and Scottish American, their kids names are Naya, Layla and Keyan. So she wanted only Arabic names. And when she introduces herself, she says, I’m Palestinian by choice. And she’s proud. She’s very proud, and she is very vocal about the Palestinian situation. And she keeps on saying that she and Peter, ultimately, when the kids are older, are going to go to Gaza and help trauma victims. She’s a PhD psychologist and he’s an attorney. And they have not given up, want to help and to feel connected to Palestine, all Palestinians, you know, and I noticed even when we’re at a wedding and we meet somebody, they meet somebody whose father is half Palestinian, they’re so thrilled. It’s like, oh, there’s something that bonds us together. Yeah. And that’s so typical of Palestinians, though. There’s this bond even if once we’re at a wedding, and this young man was from Nicaragua and he’s Palestinian, and he was so thrilled. It was an all hundred percent American wedding, and he wanted to meet the Palestinian couple that was there. So there’s always been this unity amongst all Palestinians all over, all in diaspora, there’s always been this unity.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:34:34] I want to move maybe to ask you about the Arab community in Cleveland. I mean, the first question, how you compare the situation of the culture, social, economic situation of the Arab community now and in the seventies when you came.
Irene Farah [00:34:54] It’s a good question.
Michel Farah [00:34:57] In terms of how they get along together and things like that?
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:34:59] Yeah, and then there, how they incorporate into the life of Cleveland, also.
Michel Farah [00:35:11] It is interesting that when we came here and we go to dinners, and I think I mentioned before, our usual weekend dinner will have people from seven different Arab countries, and you don’t even feel the difference. Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, you don’t even, you feel that. They all feel that they’re of Arab origin, sometimes speak the language, and they all feel they’re American and they’re all professionals. But we always said, we wish all the Arab countries would have the same relationship and feel that they are united as one people as it is, you know, when you are abroad in the United States. But we feel very, very close to our friends, whether they’re Palestinians or Syrian or Lebanese. And I mean, tonight we’re going to a dinner party, and it’s, again, people from six different Arab countries are going to be there.
Rania Assily [00:36:12] Do you think the immigrants of today, I don’t know if you, I imagine you interact a lot with immigrants as you’re attending these functions, but would you, would you say that they assimilate well today, or do you think today they struggle with that assimilation because of what they’re going through, a lot of them being pushed out of their countries without really wanting necessarily to come here. Would you say that their struggle is a little bit different than yours was?
Michel Farah [00:36:35] No. You see, the only thing that you have to be careful is that our friends are all professionals, so we are not dealing with the common immigrants. But there are a lot of issues. I think in the last few years, I mean, even religion became an issue. You know, if you’re Muslim, it’s a little bit more difficult to handle the situation being in America, but I’m sure it’s difficult for new immigrants who come here who don’t know the language. Like I said, most of our friends are professionals. They came here they know the language. They are well to do. They have a profession, they have a job, and they’re doing well. So we really don’t represent the common, down to earth people. But I’m sure a lot of difficulty with immigrants.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:37:30] But would you think that the situation in terms of assimilation today is better than for the Arabs, is better than, like, in the seventies?
Michel Farah [00:37:43] Oh, I think. I think definitely. And especially when people, especially when people emigrate and they stay for a longer time. I mean, they. They are very attached. They are attached to this country. I mean, I have heard many of my Syrian friends say that we’re so happy we’re in this country that we don’t have to go. Of course, Syria now is under a lot of trouble. But, yeah, the people who have been here for a long time now really have assimilated, and they feel that they are more American than anything else. Good citizens.
Irene Farah [00:38:15] They do feel they’re more American. But I think before, prior to ISIS and all this extremist movements that have been happening in the Arab world, I think they felt more secure and more assimilated. Right now, many of my friends are scared, and they say, wait a minute, you know, we’re Muslims. God help us, you know what’s going to happen? Because people, I mean, educated people know the difference. But many Americans think all Muslims are ISIS. They don’t know the difference between that. And many of my friends are scared. You know, they say, we’re Muslims. And so they’re feeling a little more isolated now than they did ten years ago. Ten years ago, it was an easier life. Everything is getting complicated now in the United States, and I’m worried that it’s going to get even worse. And the situation in Syria has not helped, especially our Syrian friends. They’re so divided, even amongst each other, and many of them are sticking, they’re not even mingling with Americans anymore. They just stick to each other. And as you know well, your mom knows many on the west side. It’s like they live in their own world, and they. As if they’re not in the states, as if they moved Syria here. And that’s not right either, because this is a beautiful country and people are nice and they’re willing to accept, but let them get to know you. Let them get to know you, and then you can show them who you are.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:40:05] Yeah, but I’m sure, like, you have many American friends here.
Irene Farah [00:40:09] Yes. More so Arab Americans. But we have many American friends. Pure American. Yeah.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:40:15] And then you have in laws and.
Irene Farah [00:40:18] Yes.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:40:18] Yeah.
Irene Farah [00:40:19] Yes.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:40:20] So. And you’re saying that, you know, certain community that they decided to be isolated like you just don’t mingle and have friends.
Irene Farah [00:40:30] By them, by themselves. Oh, we have friends who have zero American friends. Zero. They don’t know what an American friend is. They’re always together. Always together.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:40:42] Which social class you think?
Irene Farah [00:40:44] No, no, they’re all doctors. Doctors and restaurant owners and attorneys. They’re all highly educated. Yeah, but they stick together and they don’t mingle.
Michel Farah [00:40:57] But because there’s many…
Irene Farah [00:40:58] They’re happy. They’re very happy together.
Michel Farah [00:41:01] Because there are many of them and they understand each other. They live in a bubble. So it’s as if they’re living in, as if they’re living in the Middle east or in the Arab world, but they live in the United States.
Irene Farah [00:41:11] They have the benefits of this country.
Abdelraman Tayyara [00:41:14] And they’re educated. I mean, you are saying.
Irene Farah [00:41:15] The women are all doctors and pharmacists.
Michel Farah [00:41:21] But many of them have friends.
Irene Farah[00:41:23] They’re very nice.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:41:24] Like you have it, in other immigrants, like, you know, Chinese or Hispanic. I mean, they. I lived in New York City for many years, and then you go to the neighborhood of Hispanic or Chinese.
Irene Farah [00:41:34] Exactly.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:41:35] And they cannot speak, speak English.
Michel Farah [00:41:36] Yeah, they live in their bubble.
Irene Farah [00:41:39] It’s even more so. More so with the Asia, with the Asians.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:41:42] Yeah, that’s true. But, you know, you talk to people in the market. I mean.
Michel Farah [00:41:47] Right. Well, I think from, you know, talking to friends, if somebody comes from an Arab country and goes to a, one of the cities in the United States where there are no Arabs or people from the same origin where he came from, he is forced to assimilate. And they would say 90% of our friends are American because they had no choice. But like you said, the Arab, the Chinese, if you can find people who are from the same origin, the same culture, you’re comfortable with them, it is likely that you will mingle more with them, and then you will have some American friends. And I will bet you that the Arab doctors in Cleveland, they will say that 90% of their friends are Arab and 10% are American because they’re present, they’re available, convenient.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:42:44] So which leads me to another question. Do you think in general, like the story of Arab immigrants and Cleveland is a story of success?
Irene Farah [00:42:53] Absolutely. Absolutely.
Michel Farah [00:42:59] Are we talking about new immigrants or talking about the immigrants who have already come here?
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:43:03] Yeah, they already have come.
Michel Farah [00:43:04] Oh, I think. I think it’s very successful. The people who’ve come here are successful. They all seem to have jobs and they have assimilated. They know the system. I think they have done well. But we’re expecting now more immigrants with the troubles in the Middle East, more immigrants coming. And I think there is a lot of resistance from some people, you know, about immigrants. They behave like this country never had immigrants, and everybody in this country is an immigrant. Yeah, it’s going to be tougher for the newer immigrants to come. I think the people who have immigrated 10, 20 years ago, I think they’ve done pretty well.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:43:47] I mean, I asked people like, you know, about this type of a question, and then some of them, they say, you know, like the Syrian community, the old Syrian community is more successful than the other Arab communities. What do you think about that?
Michel Farah [00:44:06] Oh, this always relates to the professions. You know, the majority of the Syrians in this, in Cleveland are physicians, and they were accepted to come here because they’re physicians. So if you have. If you have, like, I don’t know what the number is, but if you have 500 Syrians, I think 60 or 70% of them are physicians. If you look at the Palestinians, you will find that, yes, there are a lot of doctors, but I would say 90% of the Palestinians are not professionals, neither lawyers nor doctors. So that’s different. So you can’t compare success. You have to compare with what type of people immigrated to the country. Now, the Lebanese immigrants, many of them came here 100 years ago. So they’re really, really established. So, yes, I think the Syrians as a whole are more successful, but I think mainly because the majority of them are professionals. And very few people before now, before the Syrian war, very few Syrians immigrate to the United States are accepted. Most of them were professionals. So that’s what their success is.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:45:31] So what do you think? Maybe one of the last questions. Questions. I mean, what do you think the future of Arabs here in Cleveland, if you like, you know, do you think that they will assimilate more, their relation to the…you know…
Michel Farah [00:45:49] I think they will continue. I think they will continue to assimilate. They all feel that they are true American citizens, and they feel and they behave like Americans, and I think they will do very well. I truly hope that the ISIS issue would be solved, because I think that is beginning to have an effect on people who live in this country, because you don’t want to see any hate crimes. You don’t want to see that people look at them and try to try to label them as Muslims and related to terrorism, which is not true. I mean, the terrorists are a vast, vast small minority. But if you start labeling people as such, a lot of them are not going to feel comfortable living in the country. And I’m beginning to feel it. And sometimes, you know, people are scared with what’s going on. But I’m hoping that this issue will be resolved and we can crush ISIS somewhere or the other.
Irene Farah [00:46:56] I think it all depends on what our new president does. If he promotes racism, then it’s going to be scary for the Arab Americans here, especially the ones who are the devout Muslims who people can see in the streets that they are Muslim. If I’m walking on the street, nobody can tell who I am. But if I have a friend who wears a hijab, if she’s walking down the streets, people know that she’s a Muslim Arab. So it all depends on, hopefully our president will promote tolerance and change some of his views.
Michel Farah [00:47:35] I have to continue with that, even though I’m not crazy about a new president, but I think that he used many issues of racism and things during the elections. But I think that he’s not gonna be a racist. I think he’s gonna be very good in that sense because he’s a businessman and he knows how to deal with people. Yes. And I think he will treat everybody the same and he will do that. But during the primary, he was trying to get certain people to come on his side for voting and use all kinds of things, but I don’t think he’s going to.
Abdelraman Tayyara [00:47:12] It’s the political rhetoric, mostly.
Michel Farah [00:47:14] Exactly. Exactly. So I don’t think that would be. I don’t think there will be an issue. I’m not worried at all about the government or the president being racist. I’m not worried about that.
Rania Assily [00:48:28] No. I just want to say, you mentioned down to earth people, and I have to say the two of you are very down to earth. I want to thank you both for sharing your stories, your beautiful stories of how you met and where you grew up and just your views on things.
Irene Farah [00:48:46] And thank you for doing this. This is great.
Abdelraman Tayyara [00:48:49] Thanks a lot for being willing to meet with us.
Irene Farah [00:48:52] It’s our pleasure, it’s our pleasure.
Abedelraman Tayyara [00:48:49] No, thank you a lot for willing to.
Irene Farah [00:48:52] It’s our pleasure. It was. And I need to give you a meeting.
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