Bab al-Markaz

Newsletter of the Arab American Action Network

Arab American Action Network
3148 W. 63rd St. Chicago, IL 60629
773-436-6060
773-436-6460
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
AAAN Updates
2010 Census
Quick Links
 
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
Staff 
 Hatem Abudayyeh
Executive Director 
 
Rasmea Yusef
Associate Director

Samira Ahmad
Lead Case Manager

 Gihad Ali 
 Youth Organizing Program Coordinator

Halima Bahri

Youth Services
 Program Coordinator


Muna Hammad

New Americans Initiative/ Citizenship Project

Rania Shkairat
 Family Empowerment Program Coordinator

Zaineb Abdulla
Southwest Community Coalition Representative
  
 Fatmah Tabally
 Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)/Census Fellow

AmeriCorps Members
Nazly Damasio
Aaisha Durr
Tahany Elian
Besan Quran
Arasele Robles
Muhammed Sankari
Shira Tevah
Laila Younes
Board 
  Widad AlBassam 
President 
 
Ali Hussain
Vice President 
 
Louise Cainkar-Mashrah
Treasurer
 
Members
Omar Bishtawi
Laila Farah
Ahlam Jbara
Mona Khalidi
Souzan Naser
Ora Schub
Lamees Talhami
Issue 10 Jan/Feb 2010

Donate Now to AAAN

Upcoming Events

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Event Planning 101

A workshop for youth led by Southwest Communities Coalition Project Coordinator Adrian Kedar Coleman

Friday, February 26
4:30 pm
Arab American Action Network
3148 W. 63rd Street, Chicago, IL

Contact Gihad Ali for more information.

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Night of 1,000 Conversations

The Rights Working Group's "Face the Truth" campaign aims to end racial profiling through building alliances between different communities that are often targeted.

face the truth

To kick off the campaign, thousands of people and groups are hosting conversations around the country from February 22-28 to talk about how government  policies are undermining the civil liberties and human rights of people living in America, and to figure out how to work together to ensure these rights are restored.

Join AAAN's conversation on racial profiling!

Friday, February 26
6:30 pm-7:30 pm
Arab American Action Network
3148 W. 63rd Street, Chicago, IL


Contact Gihad Ali for more information.
AAANUpdates
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Arab American Action Network would like to welcome new staff members Nazly Damasio, Family Literacy Project; Tahany Elian, Arab Women's Committee; Muhammad Sankari, Cultural Outreach; Shira Tevah, Cultural Outreach/ Communications, and Laila Younes, Youth Services Program. We also welcome back former Women's Committee coordinator Fatmah Tabally as the 2010 New Americans Count Census Fellow.

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Shoe Drive Students in the after school program at Stevenson Elementary collected more than 80 pairs of shoes for Haiti through Soles 4 Souls. They are also starting a new literacy program on Wednesdays with books provided by Bread for the Head.



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Orientation

On February 5th a new semester of After School Matters's Silent Echoes and the Research & Organizing youth program began. The 28 participants--some new and some returning--will spend ten weeks conducting research and learning community organizing.  
 
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Fatmah

ICIRR/Census Fellow Fatmah Tabally addressed the media and fellows and volunteers from around the city at ICIRR's Census Kickoff February 6. "Many families in the areas where we work are hesitant about filling out the forms, because of fear," she said. "We are working really hard informing our communities about the positive outcomes that will come after they send the census forms back and assuring them that there is no need to fear because of the high level of  confidentiality involved in the process."

 
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 Census Briefing
 
 
AAAN staff Rasmea Yousef, Fatmah Tabally, and Shira Tevah attended ICIRR's Census briefing for members of the ethnic news media February 8. 
 
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Community counselor Faida Sahouri spoke to 30 women from the Women's Committee about depression on February 23. She told the women how to differentiate between regular depression and clinical depression, and when and how to seek help. "It's good to know that other people are going through the same thing," said one participant. "It makes you feel normal, like you're not sick or going crazy."

Depression Workshop

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Count our Community

AAAN Reaches out to Community to Encourage Participation in 2010 Census


 "Are you coming to count us for the beled, ["home country" in Arabic] or for this country?" Census Outreachjoked an elderly woman dressed in an embroidered black thob. She was the second person to answer AAAN Census Fellow Fatmah Tabally's knock on the morning of February 11th.  Fatmah has been going door-to-door in Bridgeview since January, telling residents about the Census and gathering pledges that they will fill out the ten-question form when it arrives in March and mail it back by the first of April.
 
On top of Tabally's many-layered defense against Chicago's winter she wears a neon yellow vest with buttons that read "ICIRR" (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights), the organization which, partnering with local community organizations, national partners, and private foundations, is leading the 2010 Census campaign.  Tabally began with streets full of multi-unit apartment buildings to reach more families in less time. Her strategy is simple: she chooses Arab names from the mailboxes and rings the accompanying doorbell. When they hear her native Arabic, they tend to buzz her through. Once inside, she knocks on every single door.
 
Many of the people answering the door, especially the Arabs, are wary--not of Tabally--but of the Census itself.  Arabs in America have been especially mistreated since 2001 and many have come to expect violations of their civil liberties. That's where Tabally's job comes in. She explains the confidentiality of the Census and why it's so important: it determines how over $400 billion in federal funds gets allocated to different communities. "The penalty for unlawful disclosure," states the Census Bureau web site, "is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both." And the Census form doesn't ask anything sensitive like immigration status. "If the government wanted to go after you," Tabally commented to one particularly reluctant resident, "they would use something more informative than the Census information."

AAAN Offers Help with Public Aid Benefits

Have you or someone you lost their job?
Are you struggling in this economic crisis?
 Do you want to apply for public aid benefits? 
 
The Arab American Action Network offers several services including interpretation and translation, case management, referrals and completing public aid benefits applications for Medical Card, Food Stamps, Cash and TANF.
 
3148 West 63rd Street, Chicago, IL 60629
Mondays-Fridays
9:00am-5:00pm
Phone: 773-436-6060     Fax: 773-436-6460

Contact Rania Shkairat for more information.


Apply for U.S. Citizenship

WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP YOU BECOME A US CITIZEN!

NAI Photo2  You are eligible for citizenship if you have:
  • Green Card for 4 years 9 months & Basic English, OR
  • Green Card for 2 years 9 months, Basic English, AND married to a U.S. citizen 
   English is NOT needed for U.S. Citizenship if:
  • You have a medical disability, OR
  • 50 years old with green card for 20 years, OR
  • 55 years old with green card for 15 years
For more information and help with applications for FREE:
Muna Hammad
(773) 436-6060, ext. 109

Arab American Action Network (AAAN)
3148 W. 63rd St., 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60629

Logos

                                 

AAAN LogoThe Arab American Action Network (AAAN) strives to strengthen the Arab community in the Chicago area by building its capacity to be an active agent for positive social change. As a grassroots nonprofit, our strategies include community organizing, advocacy, education, providing social services, leadership development, cultural outreach and forging productive relationships with other communities.