The Arabs I Know

http://www.counterpunch.org/fugate0810.html

Wake up America!...Special interest
groups, news media, and money hungry
politicians are duping you into profiling all
Arabs as bad Arabs.. Often, the news media tell
us the polls show Americans support Israelis
over Palestinians. Based on what? How many of
these poll participants have seen an Arab,
talked to an Arab, or worked with an Arab? Very
few I would venture. On what then do they
base their opinion? They are largely influenced
by the biased news media, which gives no
quarter in making sure we see all Arabs as bad
Arabs. Are there bad Arabs? Of course there
are. Are there bad Americans? We have plenty
of them. Where are all the bad Israelis? There
must be some. Why don't we hear more about
them?

I lived in the Middle East for over 33 years. I
have seen Arabs, I have talked with Arabs, I
have worked with Arabs and I have lived with
Arabs. Over this span of 33 years I had an
opportunity to meet and interact with Arabs
from all walks of life - Kings, Ministers, Emirs,
College Professors and Businessmen - and I
worked with Arab employees from Laborer to
President. I believe this qualifies me to speak
about Arabs.

Arabs have many of the same desires and
expectations as we Americans. They love their
families, they love their country, they love their
land, they want to better themselves, they
want to live in peace, and they worship the
same God as Christians and Jews. They are the
most hospitable people I have ever known. The
Arabs I know do not judge people by their race,
religion, or nationality - but by their character.
They are some of the best people observers I
have ever encountered and I have traveled the
globe. They will judge you in their hearts, but
are reluctant to criticize you face-to- face or
publicly. Arabs greet you with Salaam Alaikum
(peace upon you) - and your response should
be, Wa-alaikum Is-salaam (and upon you
peace). To Arabs, peace is not rhetoric; it is a
way of life.

I went to the Middle East in 1954 to work as a
young Engineer - eager and adventurous. I
spent my first month in Sidon, Lebanon at a
training center. Where I learned some
conversational Arabic language and was
introduced to Arab culture. On weekends and in
the evenings I would travel all over Lebanon by
motorbike and even to Syria. I had nothing but
good experiences. I would stop at a village to
have refreshments and on many occasions I
was invited to homes by Arabs to meet their
families, view their olive groves, and have
refreshments. It was a wonderful experience.

I then traveled to my ultimate destination -
Saudi Arabia. I continued my interest in the
Arab world by visiting villages in Arabia. Arabs
would invite me to their village and their homes
for a meal and/or coffee. They shared their food
with me. I sat in their majlis (living room) along
the wall on cushions and drank coffee with
sometime as many as 20-25 people present.
The host would move about the room with a
large Arab coffee pot and a stack of petite cups,
serving his guest hot coffee flavored with
cardamom seeds, until we all had drank our
customary three cups. Then he would start his
rounds again serving hot tea. The conversation
was a good chance to practice my Arabic. They
would laugh understandingly when I
mispronounced a word. If we had been invited
for a meal, we would retire to another room to
sit around a huge brass tray heaped with Arab
rice around a steaming spit-roasted lamb. The
delicious rice was flavored with nuts, raisins,
and spices. There would also be spit-roasted
chicken. On some weekends I would visit as
many as ten homes in one day to share their
food, coffee, or tea. I had to turn down
invitations because there were so many. I
would no more than step into the street when I
would be taken by the hand and told, "you must
come to my house for gahwa (coffee)." The
congeniality was sincere and hospitality was
never lacking.

I was there during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The air was full of tension because the US was
supporting Israel. One of my Arab friends
wanted me to send my family to his village to
stay with his family for safety. Of course I
wouldn't let them go, because I did not want to
put his family in harms way. As a result, he
brought with him another Arab friend to stay
with my family for our protection. I had a hard
time convincing them it wasn't necessary.

Another Arab friend called me on the phone
during the 1967 Arab- Israeli war and said he
had heard they were evacuating Americans and
wanted to know if I were leaving. I told him I
was not going, but was considering sending my
wife and three-year old daughter. He said,
"Why? You have many friends here." I replied,
"It's not my friends I am worried about." We
laughed about that for years afterwards. He
would ask me if I was now worried about my
friends.

When one of my Arab friends went to America
for a medical problem, he brought me a huge
amount of cash and asked that I look after his
family while he was gone. His oldest son would
come every week and I was to give him a
specified amount for expenses. My boss heard
about this and advised me not to do it, because
something could happen to my friend and his
family could cause me problems. Obviously my
boss did not understand the bond of friendship
that existed. There was no way I would violate
that friendship. For over a year, I looked after
his family until my friend returned to Saudi
Arabia.

Returning to Saudi Arabia after a vacation, my
wife and I inadvertently left one of our many
suitcases on the sidewalk, outside the airport,
when we were loading them into the car. After
the weekend, we asked a company driver to see
if by some chance it had been turned in to
lost-and- found. The driver returned with the
bag. Airport security told the driver it sat on the
sidewalk for two days. When no one picked it
up a policeman finally brought it to lost-
and-found. Try leaving your bag on the platform
in the New York subway for two days.

The Bedouin hailing down your vehicle as it
neared his tent - insisting you stop and have
coffee with him, traveling all over Saudi Arabia
without fear of carjacking, camping deep in the
desert with Bedouin strangers stopping to visit,
stuck in the sand and have every passerby
stopping to help, and leaving your doors
unlocked (something you don't do in America)
--- on and on --- these are the Arabs all
Americans should know.

I leave you with these few examples of the
many, many good Arabs I know.

Frank Fugate is a former senior vice-president
of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company.

http://www.counterpunch.org/fugate0810.html