The publishers along with city officials including Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly and community leaders welcome guests to Dearborn for the opening reception of the AAJA convention.

DEARBORN — More than 500 professional journalists from major media outlets across the country descended upon the city’s Arab American National Museum and Adonis Restaurant on Wednesday, August 10 for the opening reception of the 2011 Asian American Journalists Association Convention, giving America’s storytellers the chance to finally see the true face of the city’s Arab American community. 

The Arab American News hosted the reception, which began with bus tours showcasing sights such as Warren Avenue’s line of unique Arabic shops, restaurants, and bakeries, the birthplace of Henry Ford, and the continent’s largest mosque, the Islamic Center of America, which captivated guests eager to snap photos. Student volunteers from local organizations such as the Arab Student Union from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Fordson High School Club of Political Science wrote scripts with facts about Dearborn and the Arab American community for the tours, acting as guides. 

Anger, Siblani, Witsil, and Ankur Dholakia, another event co-chair from The Detroit News, at the reception.

“I think the tour coming over here was a wonderful idea because we didn’t have a good context before coming here,” said People Magazine Assistant Editor Cynthia Wang. 

“We’ve heard statistics but what we didn’t have was a real understanding of the community and that’s what the tour did for us.” 

Frank Witsil, the co-chairman of the convention, was thanked by TAAN Publisher Osama Siblani at the reception dinner at Adonis for his hard work in bringing the convention to Detroit, which was chosen over New York because the tenth anniversary of 9/11 is approaching and Arab Americans and Amrican Muslims have suffered greatly from backlash in the ensuing years. The AAJA also represents Arab Americans as well and Witsil has said the organization is hoping to increase the participation of Arab American journalists in the coming months and years. 

Above: The Detroit News Publisher Jon Wolman, The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani and Detroit Free Press Publisher Paul Anger pose with volunteers from Arab student organizations.

“We’ve really learned a lot about another culture, another religion,” Witsil said at the dinner reception, adding that the journalists will take the experience to heart and use it to report as accurately as possible on the community in the future. 

“The symbol of journalism is the human touch, it is about what we do here and that’s reaching out, helping people, fighting for justice; and it’s about telling stories.” 

Witsil was presented with an award for “reaching out to Arab and Muslim communities” from the Congress of Arab American Organizations as well. 

Before and after the dinner reception, guests roamed between outdoor tents and the museum as vibrant Arabic music played on loudspeakers.  

The museum featured screenings and exhibits including a special AAJA project called “The Living Textbook” completed by Unis Middle School students in which they described their own thoughts living post-9/11 life as Arab Americans and/or Muslims and also undertook journalism projects. 

Mayor O’Reilly addresses the audience.

AAJA member Lilly Kim was among those who enjoyed the museum.

“We thought it was gorgeous, I’m from Chicago which is a diverse city but I’ve never seen such a concentrated area as beautiful as that,” she said.

“I would have to say The Arab American News and the community were so hospitable, it was a great opening reception and the spirit was awesome especially during Ramadan and seeing the culture.” 

Siblani presents an award on behalf of the CAAO to AAJA 2011 convention co-chair Frank Witsil along with New American Media founder Hayg Oshagan, the two publishers, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly (C), and Arab American community leaders. PHOTOS: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite Studio

The post-9/11 theme was also explored by AAJA Voices and Garden Grove TV3 reporter Liberty Zabala of California. Zabala interviewed Dearborn U.S. Army soldier Brian Ashkar of Dearborn who said he joined the military in order to serve the country following the attacks.  

Zabala said she was impressed by the Dearborn and Detroit communities despite negative media perceptions and hopes to be back to do more reporting in the future. 

“So many different stories can be told here from Dearborn to 8 Mile, it seems that everything is going on in Detroit,” she said. 

“People associate extremists with Muslims or Arab Americans even though they don’t have anything to do with it and I think it’s heartbreaking.” 

Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, a Diamond-level sponsor for the event, was excited to present the community to one of the largest journalists’ organizations in the country. 

“It’s a great opportunity for all of you to take a look at this community which has had a bad image in the media for a long time; it’s time to change it to the way it really is,” he said at the reception. 

Attendees gather, eat and listen to open remarks at Adonis Restaurant.

“Take a look at the museum and ask us to educate you about the community and I’m sure you’ll change a lot of negative images and claims that are not true.” 

Brochures highlighting important aspects of the community were also distributed. 

Other speakers included Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly, who spoke about the history of Dearborn and misconceptions about the community, and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano who spoke about the county’s diversity among other topics. 

AAJA President Doris Truong also addressed the convention. 

“We are especially excited to be here in the heart of the largest Arab American community for the next few days filled with opportunities to sharpen our journalism skills and network with people from around the world,” she said, eventually closing with the convention’s motto “It’s Time to Engage.” 

The same motto was also utilized by the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, both Elite-level sponsors for the event,  as the slogan is painted on the outside of the two daily papers’ headquarters downtown. 

Free Press Editor Paul Anger said he believed that Dearborn was the best place to hold the opening reception in the area.

“To come and learn about the culture here in the Arab community, just how welcoming and vibrant it is, and if I can say this especially with (it being) Ramadan, they can learn about that and I think it will be a great experience so there’s no greater place to have this reception.” 

Jonathan Wolman, publisher of The Detroit News, also talked about the importance of ethnic media including The Arab American News, which he said he reads often, and the continued growth of the sector. He said the importance of the convention’s visit to Dearborn could not be overstated. 

“This event and this venue here at the museum is going to be an educational event for sure and the idea that the Arab community is such a big part of the overall regional community fits,” he said. 

“We have so many people in cooperation here (and) I think this is just an enormous message.” 

The convention will continue until August 13 at the COBO Center in downtown Detroit. 

For more info, visit aaja.org.