AND VOICES / sheet 1 of 304 ARAB-AMERICAN FACES AND VOICES 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 AND VOICES / sheet 2 of 304 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 AND VOICES / sheet 3 of 304 ARAB-AMERICAN FACES AND VOICES The Origins of an Immigrant Community
Elizabeth Boosahda 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS, AUSTIN Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 Copyright © 2003 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved
AND VOICES / sheet 4 of 304 Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2003 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to Permissions, University of Texas Press, Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819. The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Boosahda, Elizabeth, 1926– Arab-American faces and voices : the origins of an immigrant community / Elizabeth Boosahda.—
6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-292-70919-6 (alk. paper) — isbn 0-292-70920-x (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Arab Americans—Massachusetts—Worcester— History. 2. Arab Americans—Massachusetts— Worcester—History—Sources. 3. Arab Americans—Massachusetts—Worcester—Interviews. 4. Immigrants—Massachusetts—Worcester— History. 5. Immigrants—Massachusetts— Worcester—History—Sources. 6. Worcester (Mass.)—Ethnic relations. 7. Arabs—Migrations— History. 8. Arab countries—Emigration and immigration—History. 9. United States— Emigration and immigration—History. 10. Latin America—Emigration and immigration—History. I. Title. f74.w9 b67 2003 974.4'3—dc21 2002015039 Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 To my father,Kalil, a kind and gentle person who preferred silence to mind- lessconversationandcharacterization;mymother,Nazira,aloving,strong-
AND VOICES / sheet 5 of 304 willed, and in-charge person; and my immigrant aunts and uncles who also favorably influenced my life. And to my brothers, Michael K. Boosahda and Leo S. Boosahda, who are always there for me.
Kalil A. Boosahda, 1985. (Deceased 1987, aged 97.) 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES
Marriage, Kalil A. Boosahda to Nazira Mishalanie, 1916. Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself.
AND VOICES / sheet 6 of 304 It’s what you do for others. Blessed is he who knows why he was born. DANNY THOMAS, 1989. Founder of American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities/Aid to Leukemia Stricken American Chil- dren (alsac) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee.
Our early immigrant history in America could be lost forever if my gen- eration [the first American-born] fails to pass on its treasury of memories. We must write our own history and have the history accurate, in all its complexity. LILLIAN GEORGE SHOUCAIR, 1988. Humanist, active in the pres-
6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES ervation of ethnic heritage and immigrant history, and daughter of Simon George and daughter-in-law of Said Shoucair. Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 AND VOICES / sheet 7 of 304 CONTENTS
Preface • xii Acknowledgments • xv Methodology: Data Collection • xviii
1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND • 1 2.MIGRATION•17 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES 3. MULTICULTURAL AND MULTIRELIGIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS • 49 4.WORK•65 5. TRADITION, EDUCATION, AND CULTURE • 91 6. AMERICANIZATION • 131 7. LEGACY AND LINKAGE • 171
Addendum i. Private-Sector Organizations • 197 a. Syrian Brotherhood Orthodox Society, 1905 • 197 b. Young Mahiethett Society, 1916 • 200 Addendum ii. The Middle East and the Arab World after World War ii •204 Genealogy: Expanded Kinship in One Family • 207 Timeline: Eastern Orthodox Syrian Church • 211 Notes • 222 Bibliography • 244 Illustration Credits • 248 Annotated Suggested Reading • 249 Organizations, Collections, and Exhibits • 260 Author Biography • 267 Index of Arabic Terms • 268 General Index • 270 Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 AND VOICES / sheet 8 of 304 ILLUSTRATIONS
Kalil A. Boosahda, 1985 v Marriage, Kalil A. Boosahda to Nazira Mishalanie, 1916 v . Abdelnour family of Kfarchima (now Lebanon), 1900 41 . Inspection card, 1908 41 . Second migration, 1900 42 . Hand embosser and seal of Rev. Michael M. Husson, Syrian 6784 Boosahda / ARAB-AMERICAN FACES Orthodox Church of Worcester, 1899 42 . Consecration of first Syrian Antiochian Bishop of New York and all North America, Worcester, Mass., 1924 43 . Hand embosser and seal of Syrian Brotherhood Orthodox Society, 1905 43 . Lapel badges of the Orthodox Brotherhood Society, 1905, and Young Mahiethett Society, 1916; lapel medal ‘‘1905–19, s.b.o.s.’’ (Syrian Brotherhood Orthodox Society) 44 . Reversible sides of lapel badges, 1905, 1916 44 . Members of Syrian Brotherhood Orthodox Society, 1919 45 . Moslem [Muslim] Brotherhood Association of Worcester, Mass., obelisk-shaped monument, front, 1918 46 . Moslem [Muslim] Brotherhood monument, back 46 . Realia montage of organizations, about 1905–54 47 . Realia montage of institution and organizations, about 1917–36 48 . Seal of the Myrra-Bearing Women Society of St. George Orthodox Church of Worcester, 1919 48 . Union Passenger Railroad Station, Worcester, Mass., about 1893 60 . Residential eight-family double house built about 1896 61 . Rectory and church, built 1891–92 61 . Flashback to a used-to-be neighborhood, the west side of el-saha, about 1880–1905 62 Tseng 2003.3.11 06:50 Illustrations ix