Mona Sahouri was interviewed by Fannia Young on 12-2-14, at the Arab American Heritage Council. Mona Sahouri was asked multiple questions on her heritage, background, job and opinions on cultural phenomenon. Mona left the medium sized city of Bajala in Palestine in 1993. She was 18 years old. Mona emigrated to further her education. Mona values education tremendously and is still in school at the UMFlint, today. She said the public education in Palestine was controlled by the Israelis and it was not very good. She did have a private school education run by Germans she said was very good. Asked to elaborate on Arab heroes in the Arab world overseas and Mona said the heroes were the common man who lived in Gaza and managed to flourish under a rule that was quite a struggle. Scholars are Mona's personal heroes also, her regard for education came through many times in the interview. Hospitality is an attribute highly regarded by the Palestinian people and the Arab world. Hospitality is deeply rooted in their heritage. Mona said she has a passion for her work at the Arab American Heritage Council. She made it clear she would do this job even if she wasn't paid for it. The main goal in her work is to keep Arab unity alive in the States. Racail profiling has been a major concern since 911. Mona feels it is persistent because people and law enforcement deny they are doing it. This is one arena that we need to work hard to change. Mona Sahouri loves the idea of America itself. She believes America gets the best of many of the worlds brightest people and loves meeting so many different cultures in this country. Mona spoke eloquently and with enthusiasm. I was happy to be able to interview her.
