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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US CENSUS MIDDLE EAST NORTH AFRICA
HEADLINE: New U.S. census category for Americans of Middle Eastern and North African Decent
TEASER: Some Arab-Americans say it makes them feel visible, others believe the new category is more divisive
PUBLISHED: Tuesday, 08/13 at 9am
BYLINE: Genia Dulot
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Anaheim, California
VIDEOGRAPHER: Genia Dulot
PRODUCER: Genia Dulot
SCRIPT EDITORS: Stearns, Mia Bush
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO)) The next time there is a census in the United States in 2030, Americans who trace their ancestral roots to the Middle East and North Africa will have their own demographic category – MENA. VOA’s Genia Dulot went to the Little Arabia neighborhood of Anaheim, California, to see what people think about the change.
((NARRATOR))
Here, in California’s Little Arabia neighborhood of Anaheim, activists were fighting for a new U.S. Census category — MENA — for Americans who trace their origin to the Middle East and North Africa — for over three decades.
Palestinian American Ayah Shiadah says having to check the box “White” on federal forms has made her feel invisible in American society.
((Ayah Shiadah, Palestinian American))
“I always didn’t feel like I fit in the “White” box, and so I would always try to check off any other box, either Asian, or something else. And now it can finally feel like that we're seen and that it’s OK to be Palestinian. It’s OK to be Arab.”
((NARRATOR))
MENA includes nearly 30 different identities, says Arab American Civic Council policy and research coordinator Amin Nash.
((Amin Nash, Arab American Civic Council))
“It includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian peninsula, all the way till Palestine, and then from Africa, it’ll go Egypt, all the way the North Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, all the way to Morocco.”
((NARRATOR))
Nash says it often depends on how people see themselves culturally. For example, Israelis, who are included in MENA, often identify as “White” because they trace their ancestry to Eastern Europe whereas Armenians, he believes, should be included in the new category because they often immigrate to the U.S. from the Middle East.
((NARRATOR))
Arab American Civic Council executive director Rashad Al-Dabbagh says the new census category will help Arab Americans better advocate for their needs.
((Rashad Al-Dabbagh, Arab American Civil Council Executive Director))
“Having our own separate community means that we can have numbers, we can have data, we know how many Middle Eastern North African folks live in our communities. For us, as Arab American civic council, it’s important when we mobilize people to vote, when we talk to our Congress member, we have data, we can tell them, “Look, congress member, we have this many people that live in your district. We are a big community, and you should listen to our needs.’”
((NARRATOR))
Al-Dabbagh says the change will make it easier for members of his community to apply for minority business loans, to track civil rights abuses, and to look at how different health care issues impact MENA members.
Most people here in Anaheim’s Little Arabia neighborhood welcome the change. Lebanese American Tony Hakim does not. Visiting this bakery for traditional Lebanese flat bread, he says the change is more divisive than inclusive.
((Tony Hakim, Lebanese American))
“What you really want, you want people to start thinking: ‘I am an American. I am here. I don’t want to go back to where I came from, because where I came from, I left behind. Now I’m looking forward, looking forward to me is being in America and being part of the American culture and identify myself as an American.'”
((NARRATOR))
The new MENA category will be in place for the next U.S. census in 2030.
((Genia Dulot, VOA News, in the Little Arabia neighborhood of Anaheim, California))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateAugust 13, 2024 09:13 EDT
BylineGenia Dulot
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
