YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

As we head into July, with changes at the AAI’s Midwest office and community events happening each week, things are heating up! Sunday night Amir joined Hassan and Midwest Director Valerie Smith for the closing gala dinner event of the second symposium of the National Association of Yemeni-Americans at the Dearborn Hyatt, at which Valerie spoke about the Yalla Vote campaign. The conference brought together members of various Arab American community organizations as well as visiting Yemeni citizens, including the Yemeni Ambassador to the U.N., to discuss the importance of education in addressing the concerns and realizing the goals of our community.

Without a doubt, Monday was one of the busiest and most exciting days we’ve had at the office. We had the honor of hosting five mayors of various towns in the West Bank currently on a tour of the United States, organized by the Department of State’s International Visitor Program. The Palestinian leaders met with City of Dearborn Mayor, Jack O’Reilly, and Dearborn City Councilman George Darany who discussed how local elected officials work to improve the economic and social situation of the Arab American community. Through an interpreter, the visiting Palestinian leaders shared concerns of citizens in their communities and asked how the United States, state-run, and local governing bodies function in comparison to their local government bodies. Later, we introduced ourselves and had the chance to explain the Yalla Vote campaign as well as the concern and support expressed by the Arab American community over the many issues that the Palestinian people continue to face. The visiting leaders expressed appreciation for the Yalla Vote campaign and even said that their meeting here in Dearborn was the most fruitful and informative meeting they’ve had yet on their tour—their first visit to the States.

-Jana Musleh and Amir Eustice