Press Room

Must Read News

Dearborn Arab festival touts voter registration

By Shantee' Woodards
The Detroit News
Posted on Sunday June 20, 2004

Thousands celebrate cultures amid theme of election, activism

Dearborn — The city’s east end was the place to be Saturday as thousands of people gathered for the ninth annual Dearborn Arab International Festival.

While the festival offered plenty of food and fun, it also offered this message: Get out and vote.

The focus of this year’s festival was voter registration, and there were many people on hand helping event-goers do just that. This fall will be the first election since the September 11 attacks, and many Arab-Americans say it will be an important one, particularly because of the proposed CLEAR Act, which would give police the authority to detain illegal aliens.

The American Arab-Anti Discrimination Committee started its voter registration drive in January and plans to continue until election day on Nov. 2.

“This festival is not about falafel, hummus and tabbouleh,” said Imad Hamad, director of the ADC. “It’s unfortunate that so many people are unable to register. (This election) will pave the way for all of our futures.”

But the festival wasn’t all politics, either. There were about 30 international food booths, an international stage, a children’s carnival, bread-making and arts and crafts.

Dearborn resident Gail Kimball attended the event with a neighbor. She noticed the voter registration tents but was more interested in the rides and food.

“This is just a day out for the kids to have a good time,” Kimball said. “I’m already a registered voter, so the festival is just fun for me.”

Detroit resident Mohammed Hussein said he tries to go to the festival each year because it showcases the diversity in Arab cultures. His heritage is Yemen, but he also likes to learn new things about cultures throughout the Middle East.

“We are of the Arabic community, but we all still have different cultures,” Hussein said.

About one-third of Dearborn’s 90,000-person population is of Arab descent. Along with the festival, which typically draws about 200,000 people each year, the city also will be home to the Arab National Museum, which will open this fall. The museum will be the first of its kind and is expected to attract visitors from around the world.

Saturday’s event wasn’t just about getting people registered to vote, it also was about getting them excited about voting, said Pat Harris of the Michigan Volunteers for John Kerry.

Bilingual staffers from the presidential candidate’s camp were on hand to help register voters.

“There are some very real issues for the community,” Harris said. “We’re here to get people energized as much as possible. The more the merrier. It only takes one vote.”

Jacqui Rivait, a student service specialist for Dearborn Public Schools, was distributing leaflets in Arabic and English about the district’s “Hold Harmless” millage renewal in August. The tax restores funding to the district at the levels it was receiving before Proposal A was passed.

“We’re not telling people how to vote, just to get out; that’s the key message,” Rivait said. “Sometimes in this community, with the language barrier, people don’t always get correct information. We want to make sure they do.”

Dearborn resident Sam Hamde said he is looking forward to both the school district and presidential elections.

“The election’s very important, especially now with the (economy),” Hamde said. “It’s very bad now. People are crying everywhere. And the taxes are killing us.”

This year’s festival was a first for Detroiter Allen Lomax.

“We were riding down the street when we saw the Ferris wheel and the kids wanted to see what was going on,” said Lomax, who brought his niece and nephew. “We love it so far.”

Organizers are working to attract a larger crowd for next year’s festival, which will be the 10th anniversary. One of the goals is to attach the festival to the other attractions in Dearborn and Metro Detroit, such as Ford’s Rouge complex, The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village.

“Year after year, one of the things people say they like best (about the festival) is that it’s somewhere they can bring their entire family to,” said Zana Macki, an organizer with the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a merging of the community, businesses and the city.”