Real Salaam Impact

Weekend Before Last ( March 27 ) :

I spent in Tunis, hanging out and doing some of the same old stuff with a few new twists. Above all the things that I had encountered was the culmination of a long day at Carthage spent with Ms. Jen ( one of the Salaam Program Coordinators from AIESEC United States), and Brian and Lotfi.

Being that me and Brian are 2 / 3rd's of the Salaam trainees currently in Tunis, he thought it fitting that we all hang out with Jen and share our experience...while walking and touring around Carthage, to which we said " Bien Sur ! "

We started with the Antonine Baths, which are simply massive in sive and history,beautifully set right off the gulf and with the Bourganine mountain as a backdrop. After that we headed onto the Museum of Carthage, which houses an amazing collection of Mosaics, pottery, and 20 ft statues that once stood on Byrsa Hill, the capital of Carthage. Also pretty awesome.

Yet, the most surreal moment came, once we had all finished and were resting our feet.

As we're all sitting on a bench chatting about the day, and where we could catch the best view of the sun setting 2 wee lil' children approached us. There was an older girl and an younger boy. The girl took the lead, and asked me in her best english..."Are you Americans? " She was looking at me, so I responded and said..."Not all of us, only me and Brian. Jen's Australian and Lotfi is native Tunisian."

She then spoke with Lotfi in Arabic and he started laughing and said " you can ask him if you'd like." And then I begin to get suspicious. As children peddlers here are nothing of an uncommon scene, but its funny when kids do it , mostly, so I try not to give them the adult " looks."

She them spoke to me in french and asked me if she could ask me a few questions...naturally I chuckled a bit and said ... " Sure, " with a smile as not to frighten the already noticiably nervous kids.

Her first question..." Since you are American...Why are here and how do you find Tunisia? "
At this point I knew where the conversation was going and was trying quickly and carefully think of the right words in French and English to get my points across and explain why I'm in Tunisia.

This would actually be the last day and only day I would get to spend with my friend and ex-Aiesec US Teammate Jen so for something like to happen was simply ironic.
I responded " I'm here to work. I was brought here with an organization called AIESEC which has a program called the 'Salaam' Program. " Lotfi explained to her what exactly the Salaam program and what all of roles were in it, and how Jen had actually just flown in from New York City. I actually found the situation pretty comical on account of the fact the kids held looks of shock on their faces as they really REALLY hadn't expected to hear what they were hearing. It was pretty nice and I was thrust into this feeling of "Wow, we are actually impacting the lives of these very young children RIGHT NOW, and this 'Salaam Project' as it's called had definitely proved it's worth in a very short time."

Well, the young lady, who actually spoke VERY good english for someone who looked so young, then proceeded with the questioning. And she didn't waste anytime in getting to the "million $$ questions." The very next question was ..." As an American I know a lot about your country, and I know what people think of Arabian people over there...so what was YOUR opinion of Tunisia before arriving here and what do you think of the people here? "

Now, if she had been a bit older I would probably been a bit more stern with her at this point for the " I know Americans" comment, but I simply smiled and responded..." Well, for starters I have a pretty good idea of the image you see here of America and I can tell you very frankly that you do not, and can not, know American people, truly, without actually knowing some or going there...as I cannot know Tunisians without meeting some or coming here."

She nodded in agreement.

"As far as me...I had very little thoughts of Tunisian people before coming here. I have friends who are Tunisians, and I know from my research that Tunisia is an Arabic country what speaks Arabic and French.....As far as the people I don't believe Tunisians and Americans are very different, fundamentally. I believe that the prevailing religious backgrounds and geographical and economical locations and sizes affect peoples actions, but I would say that people are people and very very similar. There are basic necessities, pitfalls, needs and wants that ALL people have, and Americans are no different. I enjoy Tunisia very much, the land is beautiful and the country history is amazing. Where I am from I can never see , or have the opportunity to see such beautiful sights and different lands every day or every week for that matter. The people are overall very nice and definitely made my experience here a good one. "

At this point Lotfi had to intervene a bit and make sure she understood actually what I meant, and she still seemed to try to make me say something like " I hate all Muslims" or something or that " All Americans could care less about a country like Tunisia" or anything that would confirm her preconcieved notion of what meeting and American and speaking with them about these things would be like. And I obviously thwarted each of her attempts.

The final question was....of course..."What do you feel about the war in Iraq, and how can you explain your governments actions? "

I'm sorry, but I had to laugh on this one. I mean you know it has to come up and you know that the person is just waiting for you to incriminate yourself...but coming from a child, it takes on a whole new meaning.

So I drink some water, clear my throat and say ask her a question..."Do you believe in or agree with , absolutely EVERYTHING your president and your government says or does ? "

She quickly replied...." NO ! Of course not, I dont agree with alot of things. "

JD - " Ok, and how many people are there in Tunisia ? ...about 9, almost 10 million ?"

Girl - "Oui. About that. "

JD - "Ok, and can you agree with me that alot of people feel similar to the way you do ? "

Girl - " Oui. "

JD - " Ok, well....there are about 30x more people, 300 million in the United States. ( pause for reflection ) Now, Tunisia is about the size of Georgia, ONE out of 50 of our states, and there is not absolute agreement in Tunisia all the time. So imagine 50 more Tunisia's spread across 4 - 5 regions and 300 million people....do you believe that everyone always agrees ? "

Girl - ( with a thoughtful look and a pause ) " No, not really...at all. "

JD - " Are you in the government ? Or plan to be ? "

Girl - " No of course I am not, and I have no intention of doing so. "

JD - " Great, neither am I, or any of my friends. I am here because I do not like the world as it is today, and I am not in government, but I do have a voice and choice. I have friends that are currently in Iraq, and I want them to come home safely and quickly. I do not believe in war, but I can be a soldier and I can fight. I can fight the way people think and what they think about me. I cannot help , anymore than you, where I was born...but I am proud of it. I am proud to me an American and I will be one for all of my life. But first and FOREMOST I am a person, and would like people to see me and treat me as such. There is no reason I shouldn't do the same for anyone else I meet in this world. I believe to change this world and make some sense out of things in life, you cannot just " accept " was people , media especially, tell you...you have to search for truth. Anyway you can find it, just find it as best you can. Everyone is different, and that is what makes this world beautiful. "

At this point, I could tell she had let down her guard and was really listening to what I was saying. So I concluded by saying....

" People are people. And I'm here to see how they live in Tunisia, and learn their culture, while sharing mine. People are just people. "

She and the boy looked at me as if I had come from another planet, and she nodded and simply said ... "Merci. Thank you for your time. "

Lotfi was actually taking notes ( upon her request ) of the conversation, and now that it was done.

Before they had a chance to run away I asked her a couple more questions..."How old are you two ? "

G - "I'm 16 and my little brother is 14. "

J - " What exactly is all this for again ? "

G - " Well we had to do projects in school and interview people. But I really wanted to interview a foreigner and particulary an American. We are doing cultural studies in class."

J - " Wow ! That's a great project ! I hope I helped out. I just have one more question...How EXACTLY did you know I was American anyway? "

[ I'm thinking it was something I was wearing or the way I was walking or something , but she says...]

G - " Well, we were standing by you in the museum and we heard you say ' WHOA...THAT'S COOL MAN! ' "

We ALL laughed hysterically at this comment. I couldn't hide my smile from ear to ear.
Before they left, I signed the sheet to "authorize" the document and we said our goodbyes.

Her name was Myriam.

...

I'm not sure that she really understood me, and I never really finished my thoughts that afternoon, but I just wanted to thank her properly. So...here goes.

To Myriam:

You are a very brave and very bright young lady. You challenged yourself this day to meet someone new and to learn about them. I truly hope I was able to fulfill your goal on this afternoon. At a very young age you have taken the first steps to changing the world around you and becoming a true leader in the world at large. You truly touched my heart on this day and I will never forget our conversation. You may never truly know how deeply you have impacted me, but I assure you, you have, and for that I cannot thank you enough. I humbled me and gave me an opportunity to prove my worth and gave meaning to my presence in this country. I truly hope this moment fuels your continued passion for knowledge and for meeting new people. Thank you very much.

And I hope you recieved the "A" you deserve on a project well done.

Your New American Friend,

Jeff