Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Arab-Americans revel in Obama mania 48 hours before inauguration
Published in Daily News Egypt on 20 - 01 - 2009

WASHIGTON DC: Two days before Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, Washington D.C. was already teeming with people who have come to be part of this historic event.
Hotels were booked, train tickets into the city were sold out and over 2 million visitors were expected to pack into the capital city.
People from all walks of life fill Washington's streets, demonstrating the wide spectrum of those who have caught the Obama fever, including Obama supporters from the Arab-American community who came to witness the moment when for the first time a racial minority will take over the highest office in the US.
This was one reason why New York lawyer Samer Khalaf decided to travel to Washington to attend the inauguration.
"I think it's the historic nature of the event - the first African-American to be president of the United States, said Khalaf who had volunteered for the Obama campaign. "It's an 'I'll have stories to tell my kids' type of thing.
Washington resident Arab-American Rana Malek told Daily News Egypt that she planned to brave the crowds and cold temperatures on Jan. 20 to go down to the capitol lawn to experience the inauguration celebration. Thus far, this has been the only inauguration she could ever see herself attending.
Like Khalaf, Malek had started volunteering for the Obama campaign during the primaries and spoke of feeling a "self-identification with Obama due to the half-Kenyan's global upbringing and world-view rather than the "close-mindedness she had seen during the past eight years of the Bush administration.
Similarly, Janan Omar feels that Obama epitomizes the synthesis of "East meets West that she experiences in her own life. Omar, who is half-Egyptian and half-American, was raised in Maadi, but has been living in the US for the past four years.
"I really have faith in people who I know have also traveled and lived in other places, Omar said, "especially now with globalization in the Arab world, I think it's important to have someone with [a global] mindset.
Obama was the preferred candidate for Arab-Americans in the American presidential election. A Zogby poll taken just before the election reported that he led by a 3:1 margin over Republican nominee John McCain. The Arab-American community has tended to vote Republican during previous presidential elections.
According to Khalaf, Obama's popularity among Arab-American voters had much to do with his minority appeal.
"He represents an exposure to something different than the normal, white America, Khalaf explained. "This is a person whose roots are in the third world. That has a lot to do with the appeal. That at least this guy could know where we were coming from.
"I think this is great for minorities. I think that it breaks the glass ceiling, he continued.
Malek felt that Obama had won the Arab-American vote because the Bush administration "proved to be so horrific to minorities.
"It was very hard to be Arab or Muslim and support the republican platform after what they've done, she said, citing Guantanamo Bay and policies that encouraged racial-profiling.
However, Malek continued, Obama's Middle East foreign policy did not play a major role in her support for the candidate.
"A while ago I realized that I could never vote for any elected official based on their Middle East policy, she said. "You'll never have someone who will run for office and say that I believe Palestinians are equal to Israelis.
Omar, on the other hand, was more hopeful when asked if she foresees American foreign policy in the Arab world changing course under the incoming Obama administration.
"I think Obama is definitely going to focus a lot more on the Middle East, and not just on the security aspect, she said.
Despite Obama being viewed as a more pro-Palestinian figure in American politics early during the campaign, he remained silent during the recent Israeli onslaught on Gaza. While this has disappointed members of the Arab-American community, none of the interviewees for this story are discouraged enough to forgo attending the inauguration.
New York-based comedian Dean Obeidallah talked about Obama's response to the Gaza crisis with guarded optimism.
"When he gets sworn in we'll hear what he has to say, Obeidallah said. "I don't expect him to be pro-Palestinian. I just expect him to be balanced.
As a professional comedian, he mentioned one downside to an Obama presidency compared to George Bush's last eight years.
"Obama is not going to provide the same amount of material, he said.
All interviews expressed a twinge of nervousness when asked about the anticipated chaos that is going to take place in the US capital during the inauguration. No one knows quite what to expect.
"I'm just looking forward to it. I'm really excited. I don't know what's going to happen, Khalaf said. "I still have to look at the schedule. The only thing I care about is that I got my tickets, I'm going down there, soaking in the history.


Clic here to read the story from its source.