ALKHOBAR, 22 September — We’ve all heard about the violent hate crimes being perpetrated against Arab-Americans in the United States but as local authorities fight back against such actions anti-Arab sentiment is being expressed in more subtle ways.
“The aftermath of the terrorist attacks has been very tough on our community. You can see less activity, and traffic within Arab businesses is significantly less,” said Habib Zaatar, CEO, Zorona.com.
Zaatar was speaking to Arab News from Dearborn, Michigan. Dearborn is west of Detroit in the Great Lakes area of the United States. The metropolitan Dearborn is home to 350,000 Arabs, the largest concentration in the US.
Zorona is an English/Arabic web portal that bills itself as the gateway to the Arab World. Located in Lathrup Village, Michigan, Zorona has been a link between Arab-Americans and the Middle East.
“At Zorona, we rely heavily on advertising revenues from American businesses that want to showcase their products and services to Arab consumers,” said Zaatar. “Already some companies have backed away from promises to work with us and we have had cancellations for advertising.”
Zaatar said the drop in business is particularly visible at Arab restaurants where the tables are empty. “Arab businesses are seeing a decrease in patronage of up to 40 percent,” explained Zaatar. “Americans of all ethnic backgrounds are boycotting our businesses, not one specific group or another.”
The Arab community is working to overcome the bias but it is difficult. Community leaders have been very active with the media, attempting to enlighten journalists about Islam and Arab-Americans in general. Arabs and Muslims have been reiterating at every opportunity that the terrorist attacks were the actions of individuals not one religion or one nation.
“However, the Jewish PR machine is very effective and strong,” said Zaatar. “For every one piece of coverage we get in the media they get 1000. All Muslims must work harder and longer to get the word out that Islam is a religion of peace.”
Zaatar was not surprised at the hit the American stock markets took this week. He actually thought the New York Stock Exchange would drop 1000 points the very first day.
“The US economy was slowing before the attacks and economically everything will be much worse now,” he said.
“The US economy relies on efficient shipping and transport and those sectors were badly damaged by the attacks.
Thirty percent layoffs have been announced at some companies. The misery in the economy will spread as American consumers cut back. They won’t go on trips to Disney World. Those who are laid-off can’t buy new homes, cars or clothes. Soon most US companies will be forced to downsize. The question is, will people remember that a recession was already coming or will they blame all their economic woes on the terrorist attacks?”
Zaatar has no confidence that the economic situation in the US will rapidly improve and he believes this will be a disaster for the Arab and Muslim world. “As the economy deteriorates, the US government will get more and more desperate,” he said emphatically. “The previous administration had a stronger grip on foreign policy. This government did not even start to put any reasonable policy in place in regards to problems in Palestine or Afghanistan before the attacks. Now that they are on a ‘crusade against terrorism,’ I fear that their policy will be a reaction rather than a calculated campaign.”
When asked if he was proud to be an Arab-American, Zaatar hesitated for a moment and replied, “There should not be a distinction between American and Arab-American. The acts of terror in New York didn’t distinguish between ethnic backgrounds. Arabs and Muslims died on Sept. 11 in the terrorist attacks. All Americans are grieving.”
