please use this link to pay for the Cello Private Lessons with Mr. Naseem
Thank you very much!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Zakaria Mifdal
Zakaria is a senior at Boston University, studying Economics and Deaf Studies. Zakaria Is a first generation Arab American committed to making sure that all in the community have the same educational opportunities he did. Born in Easton, Massachusetts, he spent many summers in Morocco with his family. In his free time Zakaria enjoys hosting his radio show, jet skiing, and cycling. He is excited to join the CAC team and looks forward to making an impact as a Grant Research Intern.
To Umi With Love: Our Mother’s Dedication Board
Mothers give us endless love, laughter, and dreams. They help us grow, prosper, and reach our fullest potential. In honor of all our mothers, the Center for Arabic Culture (CAC) is pleased to invite you to a Mother’s Day Concert with internationally acclaimed musician and professor, Simon Shaheen on Saturday, May 12, 2012, 7 pm at the Wong Auditorium, Tang Center at MIT, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA.
Open to the public. Donations appreciated.
Dedications (Click on picture for dedication)
CAC 2017 Summer Camp
Register Today and Save Your Child Place in the Camp!
Join us for fun 8 days of Arabic language learning and cultural education through games, singing, music, dancing, arts, cooking, and much more! Fun atmosphere with highly educated and motivated teachers and excellent methods to give students the best skills and information!
When: July 31- August 10, 2017. Monday- Thursday 10 am- 3 pm/ Extended Day: 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
Where: Mt. Ida College- Ricker Hall 777 Dedham St. Newon, MA
Tuition:
Regular Day: 10 am-3:00 pm $400/ student for both weeks
Extended day: 8:30 am-5:30 pm: $600/ student for both weeks
Minimum Age: 4 years old (we encourage a parent presence with little kids)
To register: email us at: aricheh@cacboston.org or call 617-893-1176
you can register online Here
Or mail a check with the registration form to:
Center for Arabic Culture 191 Highland Av. Suite 6B Somerville, MA 02143
ARABIC SPEAKERS NEEDED – BOSTON LOGAN AIRPORT
UPDATE 2/4/17:
We received an outpouring of support from both Arabic and Farsi speaking individuals and communities and are no longer in need of volunteers at this time. The response has been both humbling and staggering, and it is a tremendous statement of the strength and generosity of our communities.By way of update, the passengers on Friday’s two flights disembarked without incident (that I am aware of), without any issues with the Boston customs team disobeying the court order. We are optimistic that we will have similar experiences with today’s flight, and we have a team of 8 volunteer interpreters (two per flight speaking Arabic and two speaking Farsi) lined up in case their help is needed.Although we have more than enough volunteers (thank you!), anyone who would like to participate or show support is welcome to go to Logan and you can be assured that you’ll find good company there if you attend around the time of any of the expected flights today (arriving 1:10 and 6:30). The place to go is Terminal E (Arrivals), and there is a table set up that is very hard to miss where volunteers are coordinating the legal response. If you have legal training (not necessary!), please also let the volunteers know and they can fill you in on some of the legal work we’re doing in terms of collecting statements, affidavits, etc. Good idea to bring phone/laptop chargers and food (unless Dunkin Donuts is a sufficient source of calories). Again, please do not feel compelled to go – based on turn-out so far, the volunteers have outnumbered the affected travelers by a ratio of at least 3:1!Again, thank you for being willing to help.Best wishes,Mike
The following information has been provided to us from a Boston law firm:
Teams of lawyers have been sent to Boston Logan Airport every day since last weekend to try to intervene pro bono on behalf of visa holders who are affected by Trump’s immigration order. Teams on the ground have been hindered in some cases by not having anyone with them who could speak either Arabic or Farsi.
Logan is one of the most critical locations for arriving visa holders because of all of the court orders issued restraining the enforcement of the President’s executive order, the court order in Massachusetts was the most protective. Consequently, many firms and lawyers around the world have been advising affected travelers to try to reroute their incoming flights through Boston. The court order also potentially expires Saturday evening, so we anticipate a lot of travelers to try to get back this weekend.
We don’t have a lot of insight into who comes in, so our main tactic has been to identify arriving international flights that are likely to have affected persons on board. Then we send teams to Logan in advance of those flights landing. One of the most effective strategies has been to canvass the arrivals area and look for people or families who are awaiting friends or relatives. We ask whether or not their friends/family are coming from an affected country. Ideally we find someone who can identify a traveler who might get held up, and who might have a way to communicate with them (cell phone) after they land but before they go through customs and are detained. If we can speak with the traveler before they are detained, we’re able to give them critical legal advice to help ensure they get the benefits of the Boston court order. There’s also a possibility that we’ll be able to advocate for them (habeus petitions) in the event that the federal officials do not properly obey the court order and to not give the affected person access to lawyers. When things have gone perfectly, we’ve been literally taking on clients pro bono (including running conflicts checks live), entering into verbal engagement agreements, and giving them advice before they have even finished deplaning. We have also been interviewing people who come through to ask (i) what their experiences were, so that we can substantiate whether the government is complying with the court order and (ii) asking people from all countries whether or not they witnessed individuals either being denied boarding or being removed from the plane after landing.
The legal aid groups have some Arabic and Farsi speakers, but very very few, and they appear to be too overwhelmed with the legal side of the work to organize volunteer translators. Everyone here would be very grateful if we had at least one Farsi and one Arabic speaker volunteering. It’s helpful not only in terms of overcoming language barriers and in terms of building trust with very anxious families who are unsure as to whether their relatives will be admitted or placed into custody.
Any chance you guys know folks in Boston with ties to local Arabic or Farsi-speaking communities and who are in a position to get the word out to potential volunteers? We don’t need dozens of folks, just one or two Arabic and one or two Farsi speakers per incoming flight. Right now we’re looking to support legal teams that are going to be intercepting the following flights:
- Saturday, flight incoming from Frankfurt, scheduled to arrive 1:10 pm
- Saturday, flight incoming from Munich, scheduled to arrive 6:35 pm
- Sunday, flight incoming from Frankfurt, scheduled to arrive 1:10 pm [STAND BY – ONLY IF COURT ORDER IS EXTENDED]
- Sunday, flight incoming from Munich, scheduled to arrive 6:35 pm [STAND BY – ONLY IF COURT ORDER IS EXTENDED]
Really appreciate any leads! Feel free to share this e-mail if helpful.
Mike
Mike
Greater Boston Writers Resist!
Boston, MA | Sunday, January 15th is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr, and on that day—five days before Donald Trump takes his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution—hundreds of Greater Boston residents will come together to re-inaugurate their shared commitment to the rights and values that are essential to American democracy.
Greater Boston Writers Resist will feature readings and performances by authors, artists, young writers, and special guests. In resistance to the divisive and increasingly hostile political climate, this event will re-affirm the unifying democratic pillars now under threat, such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of worship, equality, and diversity. This event is free to all.
January 15, 2017 / 1:30–4:30 pm
Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library
Entrance at 700 Boylston St.
Participants in the program include Rob Arnold, Jabari Asim, Liana Asim, James Carroll, Martha Collins, Chris Cooper, Laura van den Berg, Danielle Legros Georges, Jennifer Haigh, Rachel Kadish, Helen Elaine Lee, Giles Li, Jennifer De Leon, Marianne Leone, Pablo Medina, Alma Richeh, Paul Yoon, young writers from the Greater Boston area, and special guests.
Greater Boston Writers Resist is independently organized and co-sponsored by The Critical Flame, PEN New England, Beacon Press, Aforementioned Productions, AGNI, Arrowsmith Press, Black Ocean, Blacksmith House Poetry Series, Boston Review, the Center for Arabic Culture, the City of Boston’s Office of New Bostonians and the Office of the Poet Laureate, CONSEQUENCE Magazine, the Dominican Development Center, the Greater Boston Latino Network, Grub Street, Harvard Bookstore, Harvard Review, Louder than a Bomb, Mass LEAP, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, Memorious, Ploughshares, The Poets’ Theater, PoemWorks, Post Road, Salamander, and the UMASS-Boston Creative Writing MFA.
Writers Resist demonstrations will take place on January 15 in more than fifty cities across three continents, an international counter-inaugural demonstration.
For Immediate Release:January 4, 2016
Contact: Daniel Evans Pritchard Editor, The Critical Flame daniel@danielevanspritchard.com
CAC 2017 Art Calendar
Twelve distinguished American and Arab- American artists across the country entrusted us with their artwork and allowed us to create the first CAC calendar for 2017!
We will sell this calendar as a fundraising project to support the CAC programs and events!
If you would like to have this calendar, please mail a check of $20 (shipping Included) with your address and we will mail the calendar back to you!
Mail your check to Center for Arabic Culture 191 Highland Av. 6B Somerville, MA 02143
With your support we can always be pioneers in spreading Arabic arts and culture as a bridge of love, tolerance, and understanding.
Your donation is tax exempt!
Support CAC Mission! Working Together, We Make A Difference.
Support CAC Mission! Working Together, We Make A Difference.
Dear CAC Family,
Every day your support makes it possible for CAC to continue to grow and thrive and for its staff and volunteers to focus on improving existing programs and developing new ones that enrich our community’s needs and aspirations. Today we are launching our Year-End Campaign. Money from the campaign will go to helping us reach new goals, like:
- Invest in newer programs that will represent, entertain, and bridge our culture and our community with others.
- Grow from 16 events per year in 2016 to 20 events in 2017.
- Establish the CAC Cultural Club this spring targeting our community members, especially seniors, that offer both social and cultural outings.
- Enrich the CAC 4th Annual Arab Cultural Month and Festival this April with attractive activities.
- Establish a CAC summer camp that provides children with skills necessary to develop and connect with the culture.
- Increase our student count at the Arabic school from 101 in 2016, to 120 in 2017.
- Offer our teachers professional development training and strengthen our curriculum.
- Allow our choir to grow and perform 5 concerts per year.
We’ve also been working hard to grow and diversify our board with new members, and are very excited to be injecting new ideas and energy in the group. With that, we are very happy to share some of our accomplishments this year 2016:
- CAC collaborated for a third semester with the Agha Khan Documentation Center at MIT to showcase 3 unique movies followed by speaker-led discussions.
- The CAC 3rd Annual Arab Cultural Month and Festival was the most successful to date with over 240 attendees.
- Twelve distinguished Arab American artists across the country entrusted us with their artwork and allowed us to create the first CAC calendar for 2017.
- Enrollment in our Arabic cooking classes is at its highest with 50 attendees in 2016.
- CAC co-sponsored the “All Strangers are Kin” book event with Harvard Bookstore and the “Boston-Basra” art project with the Fort Point Theater during summer and fall 2016.
- Emerging Arab American artists’ work like Kinan Idnawi, Aliya Cycon Project and many others is promoted by CAC’s active electronic weekly newsletter.
- Our Arabic children’s choir performed at local schools and organizations like the city of Somerville MLK celebration and the International School of Boston spring festival.
However, without your continuous support, our accomplishments would not have been possible. We believe in our mission and we invite you to continue supporting it by giving generously. You can donate online by clicking the button below, or by mailing back the envelop enclosed with your letter to help ensure that we continue the work and do even more in 2017.
We welcome your ideas, comments and suggestions on what you’d like to see CAC do in 2017, and we’d love also to have you participate in any way you can. Help us grow our beloved center and spread the arts and culture of our community as a bridge of love, tolerance and understanding.
Thank you for your trust, continued support, and friendship.
Randa Shedid, J.D.
President
CAC is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Donations are tax exempt.
Trans-Arab Research Institute: Scholarship Donations
Trans-Arab Research Institute
www.tari.org
The Naseer Aruri/Mujid Kazimi Palestinian Students Scholarship
Dear CAC Community:
As you well know, the future of Palestine depends on developing its human resources. Educating the young is the top priority for sustaining and leading the Palestinian people to a better future. There are no shortcuts to that future. Patience and steadfastness (“Sumuud”) are required to ensure that a constant supply of informed, skilled, and determined Palestinians graduate from Palestinian universities and go on to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, scientific, and political fabric of their community.
Palestinian families do not always have the financial means to send their children to institutions of higher learning. We all know about the economic conditions imposed on Palestinians by the Occupying Power. Yet we also know of the success and contributions of those who have managed to enroll in a university, graduate, and go on to enrich their community. More, many more, are needed. Together, we can help. No effort is too little.
We are asking you today to contribute to the Naseer Aruri/Mujid Kazimi Palestinian Students Scholarship, which was established by the Trans-Arab Research Institute (TARI) to honor the memory of these two outstanding Palestinian scholars and educators. Scholarships under this program are given to qualified Palestinian students enrolled in Palestinian universities in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. TARI is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. As such, your contribution is tax-exempt. The Scholarship Selection Committee is made up of: Joyce Aruri, Nazik Kazimi, and Leila Farsakh.
Your contribution to the Scholarship fund will help finance tuition fees for as many qualified and financially needy Palestinian students as total annual donations allow. Scholarship awards will be made yearly.
Please fill out the enclosed pledge form and mail it with your contribution. We thank you in advance for your consideration of supporting Palestinian students in Palestine.
For further information, you can contact either Joyce Aruri at naruri@aol.com or Nazik Kazimi at nazikdk@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
The Scholarship Selection Committee:
Joyce Aruri, Nazik Kazimi, and Leila Farsakh
If you would like to donate, download and complete the following form:
Please contact info@cacboston.org, or tariorg@yahoo.com with any questions!