Living in America
Posted by tearsforlebanon on October 5, 2008
A look at the largest Arab American population
There
may be only 1.2 million Arab Americans – according to the US Census
Bureau – but most live in states that remain up for grabs for the
presidential candidates. As the American presidential race enters the
home straight, before voters head to the polls on November 4, the
American Arab Institute is working to register first time Arab
Americans so they can ensure that their voices are heard. The group is
running a campaign called Yalla Vote 2008 and stressing that in
Florida, for example, Arab Americans constitute 1.2 percent of the
voting population. As the 2000 presidential election made clear, those
votes could make a significant difference.
Zogby International, a polling firm run by Lebanese American John
Zogby, whose brother is president of the Arab American Institute and
which regularly asks Arab Americans about their political preferences,
has found that since 2002 the Arab American community has been moving
closer to the Democratic Party. In the most recent poll, conducted in
September, 46 percent of Arab Americans said they were Democrats, twice
as many as those who declared they were for the Republican Party.
Nineteen percent said they were Independent.
Zogby’s work does not look at subgroups within the community, but
according to US Census Bureau figures 450,000 have Lebanese roots, and
more Lebanese than other Arab Americans intend to vote for John McCain.
(Zogby’s polls also ask respondents which faith they follow. Lebanese
make up the majority of American Arab Catholics, with 53 percent of
this subgroup saying they will vote for McCain compared to the total
Arab American population, of which 54 percent supports Obama.)
Standing apart
This is not the only area where Lebanese differ from the rest of the
Arab American community. They arrived in America before other Arabs –
54 percent came before 1990, compared to 40 percent of the total Arab
American population, according to the Census Bureau – and own their own
homes in greater number (73 percent versus 62 percent).
Lebanese American families also earn more, with a median yearly
income of $75,341, more than both the total Arab American population
($63,899) and the total US population ($58,526). Only 7.8 percent of
Lebanese American families live in poverty while 12 percent of all Arab
American and 9.8 percent of all American families have this unfortunate
distinction.
Also, Lebanese American women tend to be more independent than their
counterparts in the wider Arab American community. Some 13 percent of
Lebanese American women live alone (compared to 9.8 percent of all Arab
American women) and 5.5 percent are single mothers (compared to 4.9
percent of all Arab American women).
Ties to home
Like many immigrant populations in America, the Lebanese regularly
celebrate their heritage. The International Maronite Foundation has its
headquarters in California, where it holds yearly conferences.
California, which has the second-highest (9 percent) population of
Lebanese Americans is also home to the American Druze Society, which
has chapters across America. “It’s a networking community tool,” said
Rabih Ghabban, a member. “It’s a meeting place where Druze can get
together.”
The society, Ghabban said, does not actively engage in or reflect
trends in Lebanese politics, but many Lebanese Americans are passionate
about what happens in their adopted country. “If you ask the older
generation, who came during the [Lebanese] civil war, they care more
about political developments in Lebanon, but the younger generation
either has no idea or doesn’t care. Among the youth, Lebanese politics
rarely – if at all – comes up. It’s more common for American politics
to come up – Obama and McCain instead of Jumblatt.”
That is not to say, however, that there is no outlet for those
Lebanese Americans who still care deeply about Lebanese affairs.
Several political parties, such as the Future Movement and the Lebanese
Forces, have US branches. On www.futuremovementusa.com,
partisans posted pictures of their official delegation taking part in a
Memorial Day parade in Michigan – the state with the largest Lebanese
American population.
John Faddoul, president of the Kataeb in the US, which lobbies and
fundraises, moved to America in 1978 but still cares very deeply about
the party and its role in Lebanon. The Kataeb has 15 chapters in
America, down from a high of around 28 just before 1988, but they are
looking to start another five chapters soon, including one in Chicago.
Lebanese Americans are also very active in lobbying the federal
government, especially when it comes to influencing American policy
toward Syria. Other groups, like the American Task Force for Lebanon
(ATFL), have lobbied, so far unsuccessfully, to get America to sign a
treaty banning the use of cluster bombs and to pressure Israel into
releasing maps of strike zones during the 2006 war.
Source:nowlebanon
