North American to release book about Arabs in Brazil

John Tofik Karam, a grandson of Lebanese born in the United States, should release up to the end of the year, in Brazil, book ‘Another Arabesque’. The work is on the valuation of the Arab tradesman in the country in the late 20th century. To write the book, initially a master’s degree thesis, he was in Brazil for over a year.

Isaura Daniel, ANBA, Brazil-Arab News Agency, 3/26/2008

São Paulo – The North American John Tofik Karam, of Lebanese origin, is going to release in Brazil his book “Another Arabesque” through Martins Editora publishing house. The work is the result of a doctoral thesis that Karam worked on about the Arab community in Brazil and shows the valuation of the Arabs in the late 20th century.

“It shows the greater visibility that the Arabs got during the neoliberal phase,” explained Karam in a telephone interview to ANBA. According to the Lebanese descendant, up to the middle of the 20th century, Arabs were marginalized due to the stereotype of good businessman, always wanting the greatest possible gain in trade. “This idea suddenly became an advantage in the neoliberal phase,” he said.

Karam’s thesis was published as a book in the United States last year. It was defended at the end of the author’s doctoral degree, in Cultural Anthropology at Syracuse University, in 2004. In Brazil, the North American believes that the book will be released up to the end of the year. The work has just been translated into Portuguese by Denise Bottman and is about to enter its revision phase.

Karam spent three years studying at the university itself, between 1997 and 2000, and then went out on field research. He was in Brazil from September 2000 until the end of 2001, under a scholarship by the Department of Education of the United States. In the country, he interviewed around 100 people in the Arab community.

“I spoke to tradesmen, housewives, self-employed professionals like doctors, lawyers and even belly dancers,” said Karam. He also participated, at the time, in a trip of Lebanese descendants in Brazil to Lebanon, sponsored by the Ministry of Immigration of the Arab country.

Karam explains that at the time he also went to events like seminars about trade between Brazil and the Arab nations, promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. There he made contact with Brazilian businessmen who wanted to trade with the Arabs and became aware of their opinions. “Dr. Michel taught people how to trade with the Arabs,” explained Karam, referring to the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby.

Karam’s Brazil

Although Karam is from the interior of New York State, from a city called Utica, his grandmother on his mother’s side is Brazilian. She was born in an area where the state of Rondônia is currently located and lived there until the age of ten. “She was then sent back to Lebanon (at the time Greater Syria). She arrived at the port, in Beirut, without speaking Arabic,” explains the North America. At the age of 15, she met Karam’s grandfather, got married and they both moved to the United States.

Karam’s history with Brazil continued when, at the age of 17, he decided to go on an exchange program through the Rotary. His intention was to go to Europe, but he was sent to Brazil. Since then Karam has returned to Brazil several times. Since the age of 17, adding all the times he has been to Brazil, the anthropologist believes that he has spent around six years in the country.

These very close connections caused him to want to dedicate himself to the study of the Arab community in Brazil in his doctoral thesis. “I am very happy for the publication of the book in Brazil. It is at least going to add one more voice to the dialogue that is already taking place in the global economy,” stated Karam. The grandson of Lebanese stated that Brazilian nationalism opened space for Arabs to identify themselves as such, something that never happened in the United States.

Karam is currently assistant professor in the Latin American Latino Studies department at DePaul University, in Chicago. He has also already operated in other institutions in the United States. His graduate and post-graduate courses were also in the area of Anthropology.

Following are some excerpts of the book:

“I proceed toward Club Homs on the main avenue. Hailed as “the house of Arabs,” it is one of a half-dozen Middle Eastern country clubs in the area. On this night, the club is hosting a chic commemoration of the National Day of Syria. Passing through the security gate, I join a cadre of mostly Arab and some non-Arab Brazilians. Among the eminent businessmen in attendance is a third-generation Syrian–Lebanese who has been praised by President Cardoso [Paulo Atallah] for training Brazilian executives in how to export to the Arab world. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce over which he presides is located just across the avenue. Also present are dozens of foreign dignitaries and national politicians, such as a second-generation Lebanese city councilor who leads the annual Lebanese independence day event in the São Paulo city government.”

“My book shows that Arab ethnicity was primarily devalued in earlier times but gained greater recognition during the contemporary moment. In the first half of the twentieth century, for instance, Luso-Brazilian elites disparaged Middle Easterners as innately cunning traders who accumulated vast sums of wealth yet produced nothing for the nation (Campos 1987; Karam 2003; Lesser 1999). Today, however, the commonly held notion of an inborn Arab commercial shrewdness has been praised by Brazilian exporters in the “free” market.”

“Learning what it means to be Arab in Brazil began when I departed for pre-dissertation research in São Paulo in June 1999. I remember the second day after my arrival when I called contacts from a friend’s high-rise building near the city center. One person agreed to meet with me: the editor-in-chief of an Arab community magazine, Chams. In that first week, he offered his thoughts on the colônia, mentioned upcoming club events, and arranged for me to speak with business executives. These reflections, rendezvous, and referrals became my formal introduction to the Arab experience in Brazil. In those days, and in subsequent months, I was occasionally mistaken and came to feel like a journalist, interviewing or making small talk with professionals and covering their meetings and soirées. With a notepad tucked in my pockets, I more than once found myself beside other journalists—both the ethnic and national variety—jotting down excerpts from long speeches and partaking in intriguing conversations.”