IN TEXAS

10/12/2003

الدكتور عماد مصطفى: السلام عليكم و مساء الخير. نزولاً عند رغبة المضيفين الكرام سنتحدث بالإنكليزية.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Good evening

   Dr. Christoph, Dr. Medani,  Dr. Barazi, I am glad to meet you. Actually, I am not going to give speech at all, I just want to introduce our speaker for tonight, our speaker tonight is from Syria, who traveled almost to meet you, Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban. I am not going to introduce Dr. Shaaban in convention, reading her C.V. like when she was born, decrees she took. I just want to tell you few stories about her, because I want to shed some light on her character,  and this is allow you understand in a better way the person who is going to speak here fro few minutes, and then you are going to discuss certain issues.

     As I told you, I am going to tell you few stories, I’ve known this lady for a long time. I can consider myself a friend of her. The first story happened this morning she was meeting a man who is Syrian in born, Lebanese in nationality, American in nationalization. He was talking with Bouthaina Shaaban this morning, he said to he: “you are the first Arab Minister I’ve ever  met   in my life who has nothing become a stiff while he has become or she has become a Minister. I’ve many students of myself who became Ministers, and they became stiff, they just became like a hockey people, but you kept your warm, your sincere and your humanity”. I think this simple short story happened this morning can shed light on Bouthaina Shaaban.

    I want to tell you another story, the story that happened here in Huston / Texas. Two years ago we had a meeting at the James Beiker  Institute. We were discussing things with American counterpart. It was a political meeting, and of course not as friends but yet like accusations and counter accusations. At few points Bouthaina Shaaban said to her, American inter looker, American counterpart “your media is absolutely closed in office, I do not think that they will ever accept to published an opinion or an article written by a Syrian journalist, or a Syrian writer or a Syrian politician”. And they refused this. They challenged her, they said “you write, try to publish and let see if it is published or not”.  The about Bouthaina Shaaban, although she was convinced that this is a closed gate that nothing can penetrated. She wrote an article. And she sent it and it is published, then she sent another one and she sent it and it is published. You know what she told me?? “You know Imad I was mistaken, I learnt a lesson. I thought we can never penetrate the American media, but I have tried and I have succeeded. This is  a very good”.

    This story is not about what she has done, it is about her. She has the ability to enrich her experiences, to move from one position field to grade them. By learning, by acquiring a new experience and then she has become advocate of this. And because of her example I tried to do the same. I tried to appear on the American media. I tried to write letters. I tried to get presentations and  lectures at political places, in Washington D.C. Humbly I can say I had a lot of successes. 

     So these two stories are just stories about human beings,  not about a Minister although she is a Minister in Syria, an important Minister, a Minister of an important Ministry. A newly created, the Ministry of Expatriates with a mission. Really with a mission; how to build bridges and channels, how to activate huge Syrian Community outside Syria. This is not an easy task. And actually you know, at least I was honored by five years with a mission to meet the Syrian Community outside. And here we are in Texas talking in front of a lot of friends, and people who would love to be friends because we do not have the chance to meet before, and this is really good.

   I want just to remind you that Bouthaina Shaaban is a Professor University of Damascus. She hold Ph.D. in English Literature. She still teaching there. She has also been lovely working very closely  with the late president  Hafez al-Assad, for years and years. So she has accumulated a lot of political experience. And today she is also a close advisor to president Bashar al-Assad. And she is working closely with the president, and this is her mandate her impersonally working with Syrian Expatriates Community.

     Before I end and give the micro to her I also want to say that in the last years she has to create foreign media department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Damascus that was access. For the first time ever in the history of Syria, suddenly Syria has all experts towards the international media, and we were everywhere the BBC World Service, the French channels, the German channels, the Japanese channels. The number of introduces and articles it appears on T.V. Broadcast that have given to international media was phenomenal, nothing prepared what ever I spoke about before for years and years. That is all, Mr. Minister(he does not say Mrs.) you are welcome.

Dr. Bouthaina:                      مساء الخير، دكتور كريستوف، دكتور ميداني، دكتور برازي    القنصل الفخري في قطر               

أيها السيدات و السادة  مساء الخير.   ليست مصادفةً أنني بينكم اليوم

    At last I have the chance that Huston is a grand important to me. I remember than two years ago I was so  impressed with the community here, I was so happy to be with you. That I want talking about you all the time. You are probably the one who brought me as a Minister of Expatriates. Because I was saying that we have such valuable people abroad. We have such wonderful credits to our country. And I cannot see why nobody thought of these people, why nobody thought of making the bridge with these people, why nobody thought of making these people the prime eminence of good relations between Syria and the United States. So, I am very happy to be with you tonight. I really, today I was thinking that tomorrow I was leaving Huston, you will be missing Syria and I will be missing you. So, I have also partly torn between the expats and Syria.

      If you would allow me as Dr. Imad said, I was really entrusted by the president to this job because he would love his voice to reach and to tell you that the country is ours, the country is yours, and the country love you. And if there is any difficult experience, if there is any thing that is happened in your life, it is not Syria who meant to do that, it is that particular person who was wrong.

     If we can move to what I see, I will talk a little bit about my mandate and then to talk a little bit about what we intend to do for the future. I really believe no matter how safe and secure you feel here, and no matter how far form your country you are geographically, I am sure that all of you deep in your heart you shared concern about your nation, especially as it is passing through a very difficult period in which is our identity is targeted. This is not really an exaggeration. If we read what is happening in the last few years we can see that the Arab identity is truly targeted. What is happening to the Palestinians is beyond belief. In the last two years two hundreds and fifty Palestinians children under the age of ten have been brutally killed. Over two thousands houses have been demolished. Just think of the people where did they go after their houses been demolished. I moved from one apartment to another, and I couldn’t carry on my books with me and I still think this oriented, because every time I want a book I have to think where is that book?? Where can I go?? Just imagine family whose houses, memories, life, history have been destroyed. And I know that the Palestinian are only the first row, the Iraqis are the second. Probably the Syrian is the third. Probably the Saudi is the fourth. It is the Arab identity which is targeted, and I have collected profs for that. When Sharon went to Beirut the first thing he shell is the Palestinian Culture Centre. When they went to Iraq the first thing which they looted was the Iraqi museum. And now the looting that is happening to Babel and Nenawa is beyond imagination. British papers are writing about this, and French papers are writing about this. Unfortunately, probably we do not see anything in American papers. In fact when I first came to this country I feel as if I were not living in the world. I know nothing about what is happening in the other world. To everything that is important to me. Nothing that is valuable about what is happening in that region.

       What is happening in our region is extremely dangerous to all of us. I think all of you would like your children to inherit your identity, and the dignity of that identity. We come to a very proud nation, and we have a great civilization. Syrian are very proud. Syria has been around for thousands of years. Damascus is the eldest continuously inhabited town on Earth. In the year 636 the Muslims and the Christians sat down in Damascus negotiating where they can worship, and how can they agree on the place of worship. And they went into the Umayyad mosque and they worshiped there together. The Christian could go to the right and the Muslims could go to the left. And they continue to worship in the same place until they agreed to have a church near the mosque. This beautiful tradition in our country continuous where you hear mosques and churches. You have Armenians and Qukazians, Kurds, Muslims, Christians, Jews. We are people who know how to live together. And yesterday the president of university who visited Syria said to me that Syria does not have only tolerance, it has concord which is beautiful world for living together.

      So, it is for civilization like ours, for an identity like ours we are accused of being terrorists. We are looked at our looking eastern features had become an accusation in a cell. it is humiliating to each and every one of us to be treated in such a way. And I will tell you why we are treated in such a way: because we are not active. Because we are not make a sound in our voices loud and clear about who we are, what we are, and what our future should be. We have to do that for ourselves, nobody is going to do it for us.

    Between you and me I do not blame the Americans, I do not blame any body, I only blame the Arabs. We have only to blame ourselves. The United States would put a strategy for the United States, it is not its job to put a strategy for Arab people. It is our job to put a strategy for ourselves.

    What we were doing so far is reacting to what sent to us; we were reacting to whether we do a thing or not to do it. They design the terminology we use it. They say two sides the Palestinians and the Israeli the Arab Ministers said that the two sides have to do this. They speak in any language and our media repeat their language. We do not have even our own language, we do not have even our own terminology. We are not contributing for knowledge, culture and strategy. That what we have to do.

     The reason why I am saying this to you is that because I feel that the Syrian expatriates are the one who are capable to start this mission for the Arab nation in general. I think you are probably the most entitled, the most aware, the most capable to do this. It is huge undertaking, but really we have to start to do it. As you know the Arab world is really in a very bad shape. But this is not an excuse to leave it alone or to go away.

     What is the alternative for us?? What can we do?? If some one will tell me that they are bad in Syria. O.K. they are bad what can we do?? We leave Syria and go away or we do things that will make Syria better. I decided what we can do. We can make it better, and we can make it difference. And it is not a very difficult. I talked to Canceller of Foreign Affairs in Los Angles about two hundred people saying up, they were belong to what they held to me. I actually  said it is our policy and it is. It is one question that seems to be a little bit annoying he said “when is democracy going to come to Syria or the Arab world??” . I said to him “ search discriminated against the Armenians they came to Syria. When the revolution happened the Qukazians came to Syria.  The Kurds are in Syria, the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews. This is the best democracy we can offer to the world”.

     People are wanting to listen. People are serious to know. And I really believe that the policy of the United States is designed by few who have an agenda. The majority in the middle are either doesn’t know, or doesn’t care. They were not made aware. It is that the majority that you will have to target, it is the majority that you will have to talk to.

     I want to say few words about our ministry. The Ministry of Expatriates, as I said, is created for people like yourselves, because we believe that we have a great aspect with you. And because we believe that you should be welcomed home in a way that you deserve. You should be welcomed home with a style. And that is why our ministry is there. You do not have to go anywhere or to address anybody, or to talk to anyone except to us, and we will be at your services; whether you want to go to the Ministry of the Interior or to the Army or wherever you want to go we will be at your service. We will be the link between you and your country. And we would love you to encourage, particularly, your children the second and the third generation to come to Syria, and to learn their mother tongue. Arabic is a very beautiful language. And we have great literature in Arabic that deserved to be read by your children. You remember few years ago in Syria quite few people would send their children to the American school, or in the French school or in the Pakistani school, and actually I find it is a problem because Syrian do not will their children to learn Arabic  very well. It is our language. And language is an identity. And it is a good identity despite the fact that we are passing through a difficulty, it is our identity that would be carried with proud. We will help in building schools, in sending teachers, in sending books, in doing everything we can in order to help you preserve identity for your children.

     We don’t see any contradiction between learning Arabic and being proud Arab and between being a proud American as well. The two, I think,  complement each other rather than contradict each other. I would love in the future to connect between descent sectors in the country and those of you who are experts in your fields whether it is in law or economy or medicine or whatever. We would love you to feel part of your country. Before coming here I already sent a letter to all unions; engineering, doctors,.. asking them that any Syrian who is abroad should be allowed to be a member of these unions. The doctors should be allowed to be members in the doctors unions. The pharmacists should be members in the pharmacist union. The lawyer should be a member in the loyal union whether you want it or you do not want it, it is just to make you feel that you are at home and you are welcomed any time you would like to go and practice anything in your country.

     I am planning a conference next summer for all expatriates all over the world to bring them together and to try and establish a chancellor for expatriates in which expatriates from all around the world exchange experiences and try to work together.

     Hassanah and I are planning a web side that I’m hopping to be started very soon to do interactive web side, so that we would be available to e-mail, and we would be put a press page for any one who cares to read about the news of our country, about where do we stand, about what is needed, about what can be done.

      I personally believe that we do have a common interest there. The more proud Syrian you are, I think, the more respected you will be as Americans. I feel in this country once you will be able to make your voice be heard you will be considered with more importance as Americans. You know, there was one inferior where people believe that they shouldn’t interfere in politics, and they shouldn’t be active because it is safer not to do so. I really believe that time has passed and nowadays especially after 11/12 it is time to stress one’s identity, and to be proud of our identity, and of course to be a loyal citizen as well to your country.

        I would be more than happy to hear about what interest you, and what concerned you, and about what questions you have in mind, or what common you have, or what suggestions you have. I just told you what I have in mind. We have millions expatriates all over the world and these are important resources for us and we would love to work with the expatriates all over the world. I will be visiting our expatriates in Latin America, and even in Africa preparing for a general conference in August. And really I do hope that this is in your beginning will make a difference for you and for us and that we will feel happier, and prouder and better because of the senior relationships between us and you.

Question: can I have a suggestion??

Dr. Bouthaina: a suggestion, a question, what ever you like to.

Question: a question about literal activities that the expats do in Latin America, and the role of the organizations there…

Dr. Bouthaina:  that is a good question really. I just studied the literature of what went before me with the poets of expatriates, and FIA Arabs still exists. But I think it hasn’t been doing the work as well as should it be. It gives some work in South America, you know, brought some people Lebanese and Syrians together. And I do not really fulfill the night day that is supposed to full still for  certain difficulties or for certain reasons. I just been with people from Brazil and Argentina and I think the problem is that the same people remained in the exactly positions for many years. And there are some constitutional difficulties that did not enable the organization to be as active or as embracing of the Arab expatriates to be as it should be. We are addressing the situation by reaching out to all Arab in Latin America, and so that FIA Arab will be one of the activity, not all the activity there. I hope in March I will be visiting there, but I have already started making contact with other expats in Latin American to see what we can do in order to reach out for everyone and to establish a new mechanism for that our world would be truly better in the future. Thank you.

Question: what you have said is really interested. But I have a question. I am from Damascus. Do you know what happen from the military in Damascus??

Dr. Bouthaina: Sorry??

Question: You tell me. I do not know. They told me that I cannot have the permitive transperity  to go to Syrian.

Dr. Bouthaina:  I said to you that I have already address the letter; I do not know if you can understand Arabic or not, because you have to be       عضو نقابي

the same man: لم يرضوا

Dr. Bouthaina:  I sent them a letter and asked them how to be a member in the union that is the law, you in the United States of America say this is the law. You have to be a member in the union. This is the law in Syria.

Question: I need to make a discussion. This discussion is for media and entertainment. We have two hundreds and fifty millions Arab people in the Arab countries. No one cable network. How could you change the ideology in the process in the ministry. Or how can we make a live chat. Here we are establishing one cable network in the United States by Arab – American. We can make it, we can find out. We can find a way to make it between all the Arabs, we can have one cable network that can have all news rather than get fast news or channels.

Dr. Bouthaina:  I really I want to say that I think everyone wants to make his start, we have to start by saying what can I have do, and not to say you can do. You certainly can write an e-mail to a congress man or you can write a letter to an editor, we can certainly to write an article. Or you can certainly make a presentation in the department, or in the university. And if you want to say, you know, for the Arab to bring a cable you might never do. The Arab Ministers of Information decided three years ago to start an English T.V. and ten people in the department of the Foreign Ministry we were able to do something. You know, we were able to establish a huge amount of contact, the CNN, the BBC, the journalist,… every where. We did not wait for Arab Ministers of Information.

     I think if we want to make a difference each one of us should ask what can I do?? Without listening or saying what the others can do.

Dr. Imad: I think really each one of us can make it different if he can be part of the problem. Blaming is so easy. It is so easy to criticize because gravity, you know gravity when you throw a stone it gets down without effort because of the gravity. So, we have to be part of the revolution. So, we have to make difference ourselves. We want to do that, you know why?? It is to change the bad values. If we look around we have a great, great, great opportunity in this country. Because this is a frequency we can involve, we can subscribe in a party, we can go and clean the streets. You know, if one day the Arab – Americans want to clean a street, you know what will happen??? The whole media will talk about it. The Arab – Americans are cleaning Huston, you know this is a great thing. So, a lot of things that we can do, and I do not have to say that I am busy, because when I call you I get busy and you are busy too, I have an office too, I have a house, I have a family. We have to take time. And we have a multi of time. We all certainly watching T.V, a match of a whole football game, of a whole basket game, so we have hours. Two hours a week, gets involve and you will make a difference.

Question: I’ve a comment and a question. The comment is almost form naturally knowledge of few points. It seems to me that Syria would band it more especially from people who are getting further away from the army, because when I go back to Syria that in one summer I could spend more than three thousands dollars there. And I could do that repeatedly if I do not have this prescription face of army, and if I can have this I almost, forgive my expression, have to pay my way out of the army. So, it seems that if Syria worked out  to consider allowing people to have this specture of no army service, and this will help to come back and spend my money, and this will help from an economic stand our country Syria.

My question is: as an Arab – American of Syrian descent have been not essentially having a Syrian passport. How the Syrian, naturally I have an American citizen, but at one point I want to have a Syrian passport, which I will renewed regularly every two years or every four years,  however I have to renew it. American passport you have to renew it every fifteen or twenty years.

Dr. Bouthaina:  for the military service I would like to give an example of two persons; one of them who came to the United States and graduates medicines and went back home. And the other one came to the United States and studied medicine and stayed in the United States. The one who went back home went to the military service for two and half years military service. How could the country allow the other one who stayed in the United States and became a citizen without a military service and other one who went home and did the military service. In fact, we have to make a real knowledge about each fact at home. Many people came to me and said: oh, I wish I served in Europe, we will have been under the citizens and we will have been welcomed, and we will have been gratified as expats. It will be different from coming here and having the low salary. I think you have to try to put yourselves in the shoe of the people who went home and working in the low salary and did the military service in the country. For, you know, it is a very harsh time.

    The other question is that, it seems the paying the money is not for the money, it is not for the economy. It is just to make people at home feel that you are doing two and half years of military service. Somebody else cannot pay money for it. It is just to make people equal rather than for the money. It is not the money that is objective.

    We do not have a passport, I do not know what is the reason, and thank you for your entitled for Syrian passport. And I am sure every effort will be made. You do not have a Syrian passport, you know, it depends on the reasons. And by the way you do not have a passport every two years. We have passports every six years. And we intend to make it every ten years during your Syrian passport. I think you coming and looking at your country, and then you stay thinking of the country as you left it. But I would be more than happy to discuss any particular case. And we will be more than happy if you want to contact us about passport, or about any problem you have.

Question: what do you really want from the Arab and the Syrian community here in the United States to do?? And how can we be useful to our country??

Dr. Bouthaina:  thank you. What I want personally, I mean, what I would like that the Arab and the Syrian community is really to be vocal. You know, as I said, to be engaged in the media, in the political, in whatever you want. I think you are the best who can do in this country. You know, Syria has now quite critical counter with the United States, and if this will arrive that we have hundreds of thousands of Syrian in the United States I think this shouldn’t be the case, because, we haven’t been mobilizing them, and they haven’t been putting mechanism, and we haven’t been putting a work.

     Defend on your field I would like also to connect you to what we can do at home. I would love, as I said, to connect people with counterpart at home. You might give an idea that would be worth millions. You might give us a thought that is very important to us. You might contribute in point of view that is very valuable to us. In the future we will be providing you with ideas, and with things that we would love to be done. Dr. Imad Mustapha has been thinking quite well about establishing a staff for Syria. And I think once, if we do that it would be, or it would enable all of us to organize our work in a much better way. But we definitely in a process of thinking hard and what can be done. And I can only invite all of you to think with us and exchange ideas about what best to be done.

Question: thank you very much Dr. Bouthaina. May be you will stay here for ten minutes.

Dr. Bouthaina:  I really want to say one thing. Hassanah brought with her, what do you say, forms that people, some people said to her that they think they are going to al-mukhabarat. What we are trying to do, we are really trying to establish a data base about our expatriates all around the world. We want to know who they are? or where they are? What fields they are in? if you feel like your leaving your address or your name , you probably can leave your cards, names,.. we would love to have your addresses, your names and your contact details if you feel it is good we would love to have it. Thank you.

Question: does this information be available to every body?

Dr. Bouthaina:  I think, somebody from California came to us and asked us: are willing to share information among all Syrian expatriates all around the world?? And I said it depends on you, because you will have the decision. We will put the data base, and what we would do is to ask the Syrian expatriates what do they like us to do. If they would decide that information should be available to all of you we shall make it available. If you decide that they shouldn’t be available to, whatever you decide we will be happy to go with.

Question: how can we make use of the internet to make contact with Syria. There aren’t many web sides on the internet about Syria.

Dr. Imad: I think this is an important question. As the Minister has said the Ministry of Expatriates would put a web side and internet web side as soon as possible. I think they will start working on this very fast in Damascus. We do have now a variety of web side about Syria. Actually what the Syrian newspapers now on the web. I read Tishreen on line everyday. And there are the most important thing because a lot of young people asking this question: we want to make presentation about Syria but we do not have information in Syria. We want to look for some pictures, some focus things. I think there is a lot of  variety of web sides about Syria.

   By the way, the Syrian embassy in D.C., we already have a web side. We may use this for the application forms, you print them and you send them to us. And we are thank you for using it and making it more useful and more interactive. The same applies to the Ministry of Expatriates, but what we want from you is what do you want to find on our side, please tell us. So, it really reflects your desire and what do you expect to find on those web sides. So, what we have is one way web side. We want you to tell us what you want to see on our web side. Did that address your question?? Thank you.

Miss Hassanah Mardam Bey: A couple of house order things, just if you take a look into them, your names, your addresses, how many children you have, whether they speak English, whether they do not speak English. Whether if they had educated. Whether if they visited Syria. If they haven’t yet what are the reasons. We are trying everything in our thought. It is the moment which hopefully we develop what we want to do, and what ever we can. And to get a better relationships between you and your country.

    And also what we bring with us is a number of projects. We were doing fund reasons for the civil society in Syria. For issues that help  to develop the community. We also make copies of them, you can get copies of them. And some of them is to help, you know, the young  who come up for some reasons, they have rotation, and some of them are education, some of them are more scientific project that help to develop the community.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH