Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

BYU's Arabic Club shows another side to Middle East conflict
By Emilee Erb
The Daily Universe (BYU)
08/15/2006

(U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah — Many see the Israel-Lebanon conflict in the short term — only a four-week-old war, but members of BYU's Arabic Club see the conflict for what more it likely is: A flare-up in a region that has seen war for 60 years.

Club members from the Middle East sat on a panel and answered questions posed by an audience of roughly 30 students Thursday, Aug. 10.

The club entitled the forum "You're Always in our Hearts" as a memorial to family and friends living in the Middle East. Two of the panel members are from the Gaza Strip, whose family members experience the horrors of war on a daily basis.

Hani Almadhoun, a BYU student pursuing a master's degree in the Marriott School of Management, and Said Alhayek, a computer engineering student, both have family living in Gaza now and share personal experiences about the region — the stories Western media frequently ignores.

"People are starving because food is so expensive and it is hard to get food," said Almadhoun. "Our families only have power for two hours during the day, which is enough time to get water upstairs to their house. Many people haven't been paid for their jobs in more than six months. I have never sent more money to my family than I have this summer. Israel has sealed off the borders into Gaza and nothing can come in or go out."

Alhayek adds more to Alhadhoun's description of life in Gaza.

"Hospitals are not functioning — they have collapsed." Alhayek said. "If you need to go to a hospital, you might as well just go to a cemetery because it is the same thing. There is no food. The unemployment rate is 55 percent in Gaza. We can talk about it, it is not the same as when you live it."

This is a picture of the region that is rarely portrayed.

In spite of this, Arabic club president, Ahmad Salah, an Egyptian working on a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering, said it is more important to understand the reasons behind the fighting than to attach blame to one side.

"I hate to think in terms of sides," Salah said. "If everything else were fair, then everyone would be concerned about everyone. To me, it is humans — civilians, that I am more concerned about then who is right and who is wrong. I hate to see kids being blown into two parts while they sleep."

Some feel the United Nations is the key to establishing peace in the region.

"The United Nations is an important organization to the peace process," Said said. "But the U.N. is crippled — not by bad intentions, but is still crippled. It has helped lots of people but it could have helped more."

Panel members expressed a concern that many are sensitive about coming across as anti-Semitic but don't feel the same concern about expressing anti-Muslim sentiments. They feel this particularly is a problem with Western media. Club members feel that Western media is very favorable toward Israel while portraying Arabs as terrorists and villains. Members do, however, believe the Arab media is biased against Western media.

"Americans relate to Jewish people better than Arabs," Almadhoun said. "If students want a less-biased opinion, they should read Israeli newspapers. American journalists are concerned about being called anti-Semitic so they don't tell the whole story but Israeli papers are free to criticize their government and people."

If conflict continues, the club plans to host another forum for discussion in September, but club members hope that will not be necessary.

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