Arabs in Portugal

Before i begin with our topic today,  i would like to start with the story that inspired it.

Story:
I was sitting at lunch time in one of the little Portuguese restaurants by the Embassy (I described them in my last post) with some of my colleagues at work. I cannot mention their names, but that's not important. The more important thing is that our group consisted of a Moroccan, a Tunisian, an Egyptian, and an Emirati (me. haha). We were generally talking about the relatively small percentage of Arabs living in Portugal comparing other parts of Europe. This lead us to exchanging stories about how Arabs act when they find other Arabs in foreign countries.

So, the Egyptian decides to tell his story:

"When my wife arrived here [Portugal] about three months after i arrived, this stranger put her hand on my wife's shoulder and shouted AL SALAM ALAIKUM [May peace be upon you -- the Muslim way of saying: Hello!]. We did not even know this woman, yet she joyfully started calling her husband and the rest of the family to introduce to us. It's like they haven't seen any other Arabs for years and they felt they could immediately communicate with us as 'their own'..."


As we all laughed about the story, the Moroccan also decided to share an interesting one:

" When i started living in Portugal many years ago, i was living in a very small University City. There were literally no Arabs to be found. After a couple of years, i literally started to get depressed [in Arabic: Jaany Ehbaat! -- mostly said in a comedic manner rather than a serious one]. Then one day, i saw this young man wearing a Palestinian 'Ghutra' [scarf] around his neck, and that made me curious. Although he had a very 'European' complexion [he was white...haha] and everybody wears the Ghutra around their necks nowadays as some sort of a fashion statement, I just couldn't help my curiosity and  i slowly walked next to him to listen what he was saying. The moment i overheard him speaking Arabic, i was ecstatic! I immediately went to him and said INTA ARABI [You're Arab!] Al SALAM ALAIKUM Brother!! And until today, after many years, we are very close friends."


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If you guys have read my past posts, you would know that i am not very fond of concepts such as patriotism or community...or anything of the sort. And to be very honest, i never felt a 'connection' to Arabs in general because i always focused on individuality. At some point, i believed in working on the self rather than the community, in contrast to most Arab mentalities where community /family is crucial. Keep in mind that i am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, i'm just saying that i never felt like that while living in the UAE. I don't like the idea or 'instant brotherhood'.

However, while i sat with my Arab colleagues, eating Portuguese food in a Portuguese restaurant, amongst Portuguese people (you can also substitute the word Portuguese with 'foreign' in the last sentence if u want to further understand this post), i couldn't help but feel at home.

It is very interesting to me how Arabs ....function.
For instance, even if we look at aspects that are literally ruining the MENA Region's economy, such as wasta (translated into English as Favoritism, Nepotism, or Cronyism), we still do it because of this invisible 'bond' we have. An example of this is employing someone "he is my cousin". For us, the bigger the wasta, the more connections you have...and the better opportunities u get. To us, the more wasta, the 'cooler' you are. To us, wasta, is not cronyism, as it is in most of the 'West', it's just helping a brotha out. Of course, i am not saying that this does not happen in western countries, but at least to Westerners, it's a negative thing...and its not something they show off. It's what you call...ehm...illegal.

This also reminds me of a story my economics professor once told in class -- but i can't really remember where he was in the story:


" i went into a cab once in 'country X' and the cab driver was an Arab. So, when he dropped me to the spot, i wanted to pay him but he did not allow me. He told me that 'his brother' does not have to pay for anything".

Anyways, going back to my subject, the one thing i learned today is that this 'invisible bond' between Arabs does not have anything to do with culture or religion... or wait...maybe its A BIT cultural, but not at all religion because some of the Arabs here are Christian...but i think it's mostly because of the language. It's only that one language, in all of its accents, that brings us together into this mysterious brotherhood bubble.

To tell you the truth, i think this phenomenon is pretty unique, as i haven't really seen it anywhere. I have never seen Europeans in Arab countries shouting out "OLA! Esta Portuguese!!" or "Bonjour! Vous estes Francais!!" to a stranger they barely know. Also, the thing here is, EVEN if we assume that Westerners do that, they would only 'connect' with people from their own nationalities -- i.e. Spaniards with Spaniards, French with French, Americans with Americans...and so on.
On the other hand, Arabs connect with Arabs; it doesn't really matter if you come from the Middle East, the Levant, or North Africa. It something like an exclusive club. As long as you speak some sort of Arabic, you're in. Oh by the way, this does not count if you're not born Arab. So, if you just learned how to speak Arabic, sorry...you can't get into our club. haha.

Of course, many people can argue this as the post has been written completely from personal observations, experiences and opinions...i didn't do any research and i'm completely open to arguments, disagreement and discussion. But i just had to write about this because it seemed really interesting from an 'observer's' perspective.
I never actually sat to think about this because i guess it always came naturally, and also because i haven't really 'lived' in a foreign country for a reason other than vacations.

Additionally, I think to some point, if one goes deeper into it, it can also be looked at as an Eastern think in general. South Asians with South Asians, Far Easterners with Far Easterners....etc.
I guess one only notices one's 'own' when one is far away from one's hometown.
So what do you guys think?

Describing A Day in Portugal

I open my eyes to a bright sun at 7:30 am. Very tired. Yet, as i stretch and deeply breathe in the scent of fresh bread in the morning...all of my 'tired-ness' just fades.

I get up, wash my face, dress for work, and kiss my mother's forehead while she sleeps soundly...and leave the apartment. I go down to the lobby to find a beautiful breakfast that includes those fresh breads i previously smelt in the morning, scrambled eggs, different types of fresh cheese, fruit salad, jams, honey and my personal favorite...their rich, buttery, moist date muffins. The food slowly melts in my mouth as i gracefully wash it down with a warm berry and caramel tea.

Later on, the car comes to pick me up and i leave for a new day at work. Of course,
work is full of surprises. I get to meet powerful people negotiating sensitive subjects between two great countries (UAE and Portugal). For a few moments, i get to watch small parts of history being made.
At my lunch break, im invited by my colleagues to this very small, very down to earth, traditional Portuguese restaurant, where there is no place to sit....literally. If you would give it a modern rating, then it would literally get ZERO stars...but that's just an elitist way of looking at it. Bastards.
I order something of the 4 or 3 homemade dishes (menu changes every day with not more than 4 choices), and stand while I wait for the food.
The old woman, who made me feel like i was home with her caring motherly expression, presents me with a plate of beautiful fish soaked in tomatoes and onions with a side of lightly salted boiled potatoes, excellently pealed and cooked perfectly...not too much...not too little. The burst of flavor was unbelievable. It was better than any 'classy' restaurant i've been to...one could tell that it was made with a lotta love.

After lunch we go out to a small kiosk in the garden right outside work, where me and my colleagues sip a quick coffee before we go back in (this is only ONE of the many cups they have in a day).
The weather was mild (about 24 Degrees). It was a perfect mixture of a cold breeze and a hot sun. Doves literally come right next to my feet looking for food. People all around me, having a drink, a laugh, a conversation...just chillin. Monuments and art galleries all surround me at a close distance.
The people of Portugal are art admirers. They are very liberal and they don't care about other people whatsoever. They are a people that respect others for who they are and they also respect different opinions in all aspects. I got all of this so far in less than a week.

After coffee, i had to leave the embassy again to attend a negotiation at the Ministry of Foreign affairs. I cannot say anything about that, but i can say that it lasted for 10 hours.

After that hectic process, i dined with these powerful people and i had the opportunity of watching them debate extremely sensitive issue while a vast array of fresh seafood was being served on our table right across the beach.

My day ends at 1 am. Hectic. I'm exhausted.

It is only beautiful days like this that make me think about how much time i have wasted, and how many opportunities have passed.

Anyways, ill try to post pictures of the restaurants and foods later on. I hope you enjoyed my description of Lisbon, Portugal. Its truly a very REAL country. I love it.