 |
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2008, pages 52-53 Arab-American Activism ATFL Honors Entrepreneurs, Heroes
LEBANESE-AMERICAN opera singer Cristina Nassif launched the American Task Force for Lebanon’s (ATFL) Annual Gala Awards Night at the Fairmont Washington, DC Hotel on March 26 by singing both the American and Lebanese national anthems. Master of ceremonies Jamie Farr, a Lebanese-American celebrity who portrayed Max Klinger on the popular TV series “M*A*S*H,” kept the ballroom audience entertained. Farr introduced ATFL president Peter Tanous, who listed the tasks his organization has worked on in the past year, including trying to pass the $1 billion aid package the administration pledged to Lebanon, which is on the proverbial back burner. “At least 2007 was better than 2006,” Tanous quipped, referring to Israel’s 34-day bombardment of Lebanon in 2006. [This event occurred before Lebanon’s latest sectarian violence commenced.] ATFL has continued working on a petition to ban cluster bombs—Israel dropped hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions which are still killing or maiming Lebanese. Ambassador of Lebanon Antoine Chehid also spoke about those cluster bombs and the assistance Lebanon needs to rebuild its war-damaged infrastructure. “Lebanon has more than our share of bad news,” Ambassador Chehid said. “We have suffered at the hands of others and we’ve got troubles of our own doing...but we’re determined to preserve order and be a free and independent nation.” Returning to the topic of cluster bombs, ATFL chairman Ambassador Thomas Nassif discussed the battle to restrict federal funds for the use, sale or transfer of cluster bombs, and the resolutions which finally passed in 2008. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) “got it,” Nassif said, and he praised the legislation they introduced into the Senate (S. 594), as well as HR 1755, introduced in the House by Lebanese-American Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Betty McCollum (D-MN). To ban cluster bombs completely would have been “unrealistic,” Ambassador Nassif acknowledged, but Israel still needs to turn over to the U.N. maps or evidence of where they left lethal munitions in Lebanon. The ambassador also described the ambulances and scholarships ATFL is providing in Lebanon. The Joseph J. Jacobs Distinguished Achievement award was presented to Sam Moore, the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, who came to the United States with $600 and a 500-word English vocabulary, sold Bibles door to door, and became the biggest inspirational book publisher in the world. Moore said he tells friends, “I’m an American by choice. You’re an American by accident.”
Legendary music executive Al Coury was extremely moved as he accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award. During his marketing and promotions career with Capitol Records, RSO Records and Geffen Records, he helped promote the Beatles, Nat King Cole, the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith and others. “I’m a Lebanese kid from Worcester [MA],” he explained. “It’s very important to me to receive this honor from my community. My father couldn’t speak English when he came. He’s looking down and he’s very happy for me,” Coury said. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad introduced Gen. John Abizaid (USA, Ret.), former commander of the U.S. Central Command, and recipient of the Philip C. Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service. General Abizaid, who retired last year, was the youngest four-star-general in the United States, and the most senior officer of Arab descent. The general served with tenacity, moral courage, humor and love of country, Ambassador Khalilzad said, and never forgot his heritage.
Abizaid said that growing up the youngest in a Lebanese-American family helped prepare him to testify in front of the U.S. Senate. “You think you’re in a madhouse. They pass your report card around the dinner table and all the relatives grill you,” he recalled humorously. “Everything is too expensive. There’s no final answer to any problem. If you’re wrong you never admit it. It also made me an excellent soldier.” On a more serious note, he added: “I’ve fought in the Middle East. My children are fighting there now. I don’t want my grandchildren to fight there...I went back to Beirut last summer. People want better things for their children. They want to live in a nation free of foreign influence, same as here in America. If Lebanon fails the region will fail. Lebanon must succeed,” the general said. “We’re a great family. We can fix our dysfunctional family and solve our problems. “I have faith in Lebanon and faith in the United States. Let’s keep all our grandchildren out of battle. Let’s work together to help people help themselves in the Middle East.” —Delinda C. Hanley |
|||||||||||||||
