Arab American Cultural Center of the Silicon Valley

Serving the Arab American community for over 14 years

Part 1

Part 2

Call for interns: Do you want to learn how to do video production, sound, editing and controls? AACC has been providing a weekly TV program on topics of interest to the community for twelve or so years on the Community Channel through Comcast.  Now, however, CreaTV, a non-profit run by the City of San Jose, will be producing the community channel programs at new and state-of -the art  production facilities in San Jose.  This will allow us to train interested members of our community who would like to learn video production and to provide hands on experience, once  they are trained, in actually producing our programs!  We are in initial stages of setting up an internship program to do just that!  If you might be interested, please contact us at: Vik Zikoor:

Vic Zikoor
Vice President, ArabTV
vzikoor@comcast.net
408 239 9681

Need interns who have experience or would like to learn more about the following:

• State of the art HD studio cameras
• Video and audio Editing
• Interviewing influential Arab Americans and local citizens
• Graphic design and motion graphics

On July 24, 2008 two programs were recorded at CreaTV in San Jose.  Program 739 to be aired July 31, 2008 was with AACCSV media guru Adam Helweh Board member who talked about AACCSV activities and the meed of community support, donations and volunteers.  Program 740 Guest was Joe Salama a Mediation Attorney who educate us about how does mediation work.  It will be aired August 7.As always ATV is aired every Thursday at Cable   Channel 15 at 8:30 p.m.   

Before the Iraq invasion, Ruth friend Co-Founder of the Ruth Group started a movement to understand Iraq and why does the US need to go to War with Iraq.  With time that movement developed a network of people concerned about Iraq and led to there involvement with No More Victims.   Ruth and Amy will talk about No More Victims and how did AACCSV help.  

Ruth said: “When we began we knew we wanted to bring an Iraqi child to the Bay Area for medical care. We connected with “ No More Victims”, an organization dedicated to bringing children to the US who have been victims of US bombings. With our help No More Victims is now bringing Mustafa Ghazwan, a 2 year old who’s hearing was completely lost when a US percussive bomb went off near his home. He is due to arrive in July and we have work to do to make his complete care possible.”

No More Victims works to obtain medical sponsorships for war-injured Iraqi children and to forge ties between the children, their families and communities in the United States. We believe one of the most effective means of combating militarism is to focus on direct relief to its victims.

Rusul

You will wach a video about Salee Allawe’s little sister Rusul who was injured in the a US air strike of November of 2006 that took both of Salee’s legs. The girls’ brother Akram and several other children were playing outside their homes when the missiles struck. Akram was killed, as was Salee’s best friend. Salee lost both of her legs and one of Rusul’s legs was horribly mangled.

Do not miss this program.

Victor Zikoor’s Interview

with

Catherine Evans Latta, author of Beirut Summer

            Arab TV, Comcast Chanel 15, San Jose, recently interviewed Catherine Evans Latta about her book of poems Beirut Summer  published by Kings Mountain Press.  Ms. Latta lived in Cairo and Beirut from 1963 through 1976, taught at the American University of Beirut, wrote for The Daily Star and is a resident of the Peninsula.  The poems are a series of powerfully disturbing and vivid images detailing the pains of people living under fire in Beirut.  She has included poems that cover several wars from 1967 to the present.  Written from a woman’s point of view, the poems provide insights into the torn lives of ordinary people.

            During the interview, she said that while the events in the poems are told in the first person, they were not all her personal experience “…there is poetic license after all,” but all the people in the poems were friends and it is their experiences and stories, as well as her own, that she drew upon for the collection. One poem tells of the extreme penury of two maids who came from the camps to work for her.  She remarked how many had broken lives: — the gardener who moved his family to live in a tent in the garden because it was safer than in his neighborhood; — the friend whose farm was burnt to the ground, but felt obliged to remain to show her commitment to her country; — or the mother whose child could only sleep to a cassette playing the call to prayer. 

            Latta let her imagination take flight to describe the psychological pain of war.  In fact, she sat under fire in 1967, sat out the 1972 War and in 1974 while teaching at AUB had bombs going off in nearby class rooms.  She was in Beirut during the beginning of the 1975-1990 Civil War and again in 1983.

            Other Writers praise Beirut Summer:

            Marilyn Yalom: A powerful and highly successful presentation.

            Nancy Packer: “a lovely collection—so vivid and so moving [it]

                        will stick with me along time.”

Beirut Summer is available at Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park, Tel. 650 324-4321

                        and   Books Inc, Town & Country, Palo Alto,    Tel. 650 321-0600

by

Catherine Evans Latta

This volume of poems presents a powerful series of dramatic images of the violence in Lebanon as seen through the eyes of a woman.  The most recent round of hostilities was in the summer of 2006. In fact, most fighting in Beirut has been in the summer—hence the title:  Beirut Summer.

The poems were first published in the prestigious “Beloit Poetry Journal.”  Because of their timeliness and relevance to the turbulent conditions throughout the Middle East, Kings Mountain Press has published them in a limited, hand sewn, signed and numbered edition of collector quality.

About the Author:  Catherine Evans Latta graduated from Cornell University and the American University of Beirut.  She studied at Stanford with poet Denise Levertov and author Nancy Packer.  Catherine’s poetry has been published in numerous journals: The Beloit Poetry Journal, the Stanford Literary Quarterly, Fresh Hot Bread and elsewhere.  A feature columnist for Beirut’s The Daily Star, the largest English language paper in the Middle East, she taught in the English Dept. of the American University of Beirut and resided in Cairo for three years and in Beirut for ten.  She currently lives in Portola Valley, Ca. and Boothbay, Maine, the setting of a forthcoming series of short stories

ATV will feature Cathreine Latta who will talk about her new book “Beirut Summer”.   The book is a collection of short poems reflecting her feelings as an American who lived in Beirut during the Civil War ….. 

 ATV May 22nd will be about the California Primary Elections. The programs will be divided into two segments:

 

One: Segment one will feature Richard Hobbs, Candidate for District Tow Santa Clara County Supervisor.  Mr Hobbs will share with us his past achievements , why is it important to vote and be involved in politics.  He will talk about the number of  Arab Americans who live in the Silicon Valley.

Two: The League of Woman Voters. They will talk about the current Proposition 98 and 99, how to evaluate them and what is the Smart Voting Card.