At mini-United Nations, teens share views with visitors
By Dan Allen
Dantallen@gmail.com
Photos by Dan Allen
Visitors to The Point from Saudi Arabia were surprised to encounter outspoken young women from the South Bronx.
A Hunts Point community center has been serving as a mini-United Nations as part of a nationwide program to engage young Americans about the country’s political future.
The Point on Garrison Avenue hosted delegations from the Middle East and an international conference of young leaders for open discussions about grassroots action, politics and international relations.
In October, teenagers from The Point’
s A.C.T.I.O.N. program met with Iraqis working for political and social change; in April they introduced Saudi Boy Scout leaders and educators to American-style activism; and on May 1, they hosted a 22-nation summit.
The exchange was wide-ranging and eye-opening for both the Bronxites and their guests.
“You might live in a place that’s such a melting pot, but you don’t really take the time to get to know other cultures,”
said Albert Sanmiguel, 18, a senior at Dewitt Clinton High School.
Sanmiguel, a youth organizer for Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, said that after meeting the foreigners he would strive to learn more about his multicultural neighbors in the South Bronx.
The 12 formally-dressed, serious-looking men who walked into The Point on April 24 looked out of place at a community center that is usually abuzz with the shouts of children at play.
Some wore tan uniforms, others business suits. They seemed surprised to be greeted by casually-dressed teenagers, most of them young women.
After a brief introduction, a translator who accompanied the men switched from Arabic to English: “Welcome to the South Bronx,”he said.
A youth development organization called Generation Engage arranged the visit, in collaboration with the State Department’s International Visitors Program, whose mission is to foster cultural understanding by “building citizen diplomacy one handshake at a time.”
“I’m proud of the fact that we got young people talking to people they would otherwise never, ever get to meet,”
said Jason Page, outreach coordinator for Generation Engage.
The Saudis followed the visit last October of five Iraqi mayors, lawyers and community organizers, a meeting kept private for fear of retaliation against the Iraqis on their return to their homeland.
Page said that Iraqis’ visit sought to draw a connection between the rebuilding of Iraq and the rebuilding of the South Bronx.
The Saudi emissaries took seats around a horseshoe-shaped table. They wore earbud headphones as their interpreter spoke softly into a tiny microphone.
The initial awkwardness of welcoming foreigners to The Point seemed to subside as the Saudi emissaries broke the ice.
A.C.T.I.O.N. members cooed when Ahmad Mahmoud Al-Fraj revealed that he teaches scuba diving; they squirmed when Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Natheer asked if they liked math.
Jamar Foster, 17, acted as a spokesman for A.C.T.I.O.N., explaining to the Saudis how Hunts Point residents cope with the problems of living in an industrialized area.
“The air pollution can make you sick,”
said Foster. He recounted how youth advocates fought to transform Barretto Point from a garbage dump into a park. He also explained the community opposition to city plans to build a jail in the neighborhood.
Although the State Department brought representatives of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education and Saudi Boy Scouts to The Point to share best practices with their American counterparts, discussion of cultural differences was inevitable.
Victor Davila, 14, an A.C.T.I.O.N. member, wanted to know more about the Saudi political system.
“It’s similar but different,” said Dr. Mohammed Al-Towayan, an advisor to the Saudi Ministry of Girls’
Education. He explained that each municipality has its own council, which has powers akin to American legislatures.
Home to Medina and Mecca, sacred cities to which millions of Muslims make pilgrimages each year, Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al-Saud family. The government is based upon a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Most government positions in Saudi Arabia are filled by political appointment. In 2005, Saudi Arabia held local elections for the first time but the formation of political parties was prohibited.
Remaining sensitive to culture shock was also a concern when hosting the Iraqi visitors. A State Department representative offered a crash course in Iraqi politics, geography, and culture before the delegates arrived.
“He told us to make sure that when you cross your legs, you don’t show them the bottom of your feet,” said Page.
After the official meeting ended, A.C.T.I.O.N. members Kimberly Quinones, 17, and Tatianna Echevarria, 16, said they discussed the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia with some of the visitors.
“We were so happy they came here,” said Jenny Mena, 15, of A.C.T.I.O.N. “But we were disappointed there were no women.”
“It was a great learning experience,” said Quinones. “They’re not bad, just different.”
She said she enjoyed learning about a new culture in a one-on-one context.
Quinones learned that Saudi women are expected to dress modestly in public and that women have no financial responsibilities. While women may own property, men are obligated to be the sole providers for the household.
“That they met women who can speak their minds will probably open doors for discussion in their communities,”
said Echevarria. She said that the Saudis were shocked that Hillary Clinton was running for president.
“It was an important discussion for those men to have, to see that women in other countries are not silent on this issue,” said Page.
“All people from the Middle East have preconceived notions about America,”
said Adel Guirguiz, the State Department translator. Originally from Egypt, he now lives in Bayside, Queens.
“But I think that the Boy Scouts are the most moderate voices in the Middle East because they follow the basic laws of scouting: duty to God, country and environment. It makes it easy to establish a rapport”
said Guirguiz, who had gone hoarse from 17 straight days of interpreting.
By the time the Saudi delegation reached Hunts Point, its members had traveled to Washington, D.C., Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Syracuse, Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
The Saudis had their own questions about how The Point influences the lives of neighborhood children.
“Why do you focus on arts and not sports?”
Asked Khalid Mohammed Al-Shnktie, a physical education teacher who has a black belt in Taekwondo kickboxing and whose Scout uniform boasted more patches and pins than any of his companions.
“This community was already rich in the arts, and we built upon that tradition,”
responded Adam Liebowitz, A.C.T.I.O.N. program director.
“We get into trouble a lot because we do a whole host of things here. Using arts and culture as a vehicle for engaging students is just a part of that,” said Kellie Terry-Sepulveda, The Point’s executive managing director. She also said that Hunts Point needs more recreational programming.
“Regardless of tactics all youth organizations have one thing in common. To help young people develop skills and interests as they grow into themselves,”
said Jason Page, outreach coordinator for GenGage.
“One of the goals of Generation Engage is to create sustainable programs,”
said Page. He said he was confident that A.C.T.I.O.N. and The Point would continue to schedule internationally focused events in Hunts Point.