Cultivating Arab Culture
by Lee Bailey
published August, 3, 2008 in The National, a leading English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi
Al-Bustan Campers making Palestinian embroidery, photographed by Jessica Kourkounis
‘. . .During the past three weeks, 55 children aged six to 16 have come every weekday to Springside to participate in Al Bustan (“the garden” in Arabic). A tour of the building can be an assault on the ears, but a pleasant one: a chorus of children counting aloud in Arabic gives way to the giggling of teenagers shooting a video dispelling ethnic stereotypes, their chatter then drowned out by the impressive thunder of traditional Arab drumming. Embroidery stitched by tiny hands adorns the hallways, and everyday objects ranging from blackboards to toilets are colourfully labelled in both English and Arabic.
“My favourites are art class and dabke,” says Keira Norford, age 12. “Dabke is a dance they do in some Middle Eastern countries,” she adds helpfully, as an afterthought. If the children of Al Bustan are consciously informative in conversation, then the camp’s organisers have achieved their primary objective. “We want kids to leave here loving Arabic language and culture, and to be able to share that with others,” says Hazami Sayed, Al Bustan’s founder and director. She estimates that the camp is split evenly between children with two Arab parents, children with partial Arab heritage, and children with no Arab background whatsoever. Campers’ families practice a variety of religions, including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.’
