Back in the summer of 2005, I went to Tochni, Cyprus as part of a UW, AUB and AUC group course on American and Arab Identities in Tension. The premise was to group 30 or so young adults in one tiny village for two weeks to discuss how much Americans and Arabs hate each other. Sort of like I'm A Celebrity without the Z-list fame and fortune status and no cameras documenting our every ass scratch.
According to our professors, we were by far the most tension-filled, kamikaze samurai fighter, bitchslap till kingdom come group ever to go to Tochni. The natives still run and hide under rocks whenever they hear our names. Or so it is rumoured. I've seen my fair share of Gucci corner drama, but this course was ridiculous. Imagine Lindsey Lohan and Sam Ronson in a death match and throw in some Chuck Norris roundhousing on crack. Then add some major rich Arab attitude and country/mother-dissing. That doesn't even cover the good mornings. What should have been a learning experience about the 'Other' turned into two weeks of the Americans hating on the Egyptians for being rich and the Egyptians (15 poli sci students) really laying it hard on the Americans for Bush's shitty foreign policy. I wrote a 12-page paper on the drama and barely covered it.
Snippets of spiteful negativity include:
- An American boy to me: "are those real diamonds on your bikini?"
Me: "no, why would you think that?
Boy: "I figured since you’re wearing a Rolex and everything’s designer, your bikini would have real diamonds on it as well"
- Another American: "I don't hate you because you're you, I hate you because you're Egyptian"
- American-Mexican girl: "I work two jobs and pay taxes for my country to send you Aid. That's why you have the Gucci bags and I don't”
- The Egyptians weren’t much nicer. We called them everything from world terrorists to trailer trash. We took to flaunting our wealth because it bothered them. We spoke Arabic and laughed loudly because they thought we were making fun of them. We interrupted them, used our mobile phones and did everything we could to make them rue the day they crossed our paths.
Basically, rather than use our two weeks to learn about the ‘Other’ and maintain a constructive and wound-healing discourse, we fucked with each other’s heads. And that finally brings me to the point of this story. The other day I received a message from one of the quieter and more misunderstood American boys in our course asking me some questions about racism and what I got out of our two weeks in Tochni. Apparently, the way things played out still bothered him. One of the questions he asked was “Do you feel like you BETTER understood the problems between the American identity and the Arab identity because of our seminar? If so, how?”
I responded with what I think is at the root of so many problems in our global society: because of our preconceived notions or expectations of the ‘Other’, we did not create the space to understand the truths behind our and the ‘Other’’s identities. Essentially, our ingrained racism – be it conscious or otherwise – barred us from even trying to dialogue.
I felt that because of the personal conflicts that arose in our course, we had little time to discuss the conflicts stemming from our country-based collective identities. The majority of our time was spent bickering over personal differences, which shed a negative light on both the American and the Arab identities. I believe this is rooted in the conflicting course descriptions provided by the respective professors. The Egyptians and Lebanese came as they were told this was a political course, as was also reflected in the assigned readings. The Americans were told this was a sociological course, and so were not emotionally, mentally or academically prepared for in-depth political discourse. Because each side came expecting different things, the communication that needed to occur broke down because it could really begin.
This premature breakdown in communication is a problem not just for the Tochini course participants, but in how every forum for debate is set up. Expectations or preconceived notions or any sort of racist perception of the ‘Other’ stop us from listening. They stop us from accepting. They stop us from really trying.
I’m not saying that it is humanly possible for one to clear one’s mind from all preconceived ideas of the ‘Other’. But it is important for us to be aware of these thoughts and to try to work past them. I know I learnt that the hard way. Even though we all ended up having a blast on that trip, we didn’t achieve as much as we could have if we’d just kept a more open mind. Maybe my talking it out with the quiet American might help make amends for our indiscretions in 2005.
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11 comments:
Very interesting perspective. I would have said something similar. If you were to go back in time, would you treat the whole event differently? I know I would...
This post was quite eloquent, it made up for you not posting anything for a lightyear. I wish you would return back to posting more frequently as your blog is exceedingly witty and intellectual.
Eureka, you blocked me on Twitter. Would you prefer that I do not read your blog?
Thank you, Anonymous. I wish I would, too! Its hard finding decent material to work with now :( But thank you for having faith that I'll come around and for your awesome compliments!
RDS: No, I haven't; could be a glitch?
Maybe. So would you treat Tochni differently if you had to go back? Is there something you would do differently?
Strange how all the negative details seemed to slip away from my memory, and all that remains is the sweet mental depiction of the two lovely erotic dancers who were in the bar in Agia Napa. Why didn't I? Why? Why? Why?
hi, i just stumbled across your blog. I like your writings. But I find it ironic that AUC students who are choosing an American education and being educated according to the American system and ideals are engaging in 'them' and 'us'.
Not American ideals. I would call my studies actually as belonging to the Middle-Eastern apologetic school. I would say it had a noticeable and even annoying anti-western tone all along. Which is why my next degree will be a specialization in dating stripper. i.e. Bachelor of Art of Dating Strippers.
Hi e, thank you for joining in! The 'us' and 'them' designations were not our choosing, they were the entire premise of the course. A course prepared and taught by two American professors and one Canadian professor. I think the AUC community is considered as a 'them' in the eyes of the general Egyptian populace. We are foreigners in our own homes. The concept of 'us' and 'them' refers to any group or groups which are not part of your own - it is not a derogatory designation. Just as we shared many aspects with the Americans and the Lebanese, we were different in some respects, too. Same goes for AUCians in Egypt compared to non-AUCians. Nothing negative in these designations, just facts.
Your post reads like something Edward Said would have written, especially your discussion about notions of the "other." Have you read Said's Orientalism?
Hi Anonymous, I think developing a crush on Edward Said is standard for every poli sci student in the region. His work was required reading for several courses. I may not have agreed with everything he wrote, but he, along with Amin Maalouf, Leila Ahmed and the like have had a profound effect on the general discourse on Arab identity.
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