Syrian presenter: Swedish media should make more shows in Arabic

She fled for her life after getting death threats in Syria. Now journalist Rowa Alkhatib has landed a plum job as a talk-show host with Sweden’s national radio broadcaster. She tells The Local Voices how she’s now helping quench Arabic speakers’ thirst for knowledge about their new home.

Back in Syria, Rowa Alkhatib worked as a presenter for a range of television and radio networks, but threats from radicals and the Assad regime forced her to pack her bags, she says. Like so many others in Syria, she made her way to Turkey, where she found radio work and lived for almost a year and a half. She didn’t feel safe there, however. […]

Far from having an alienating effect, Arabic language programming can help newcomers quickly get up to speed with their surroundings while they are learning Swedish, she says. “Most international media publish in Arabic nowadays, and in Sweden it has become almost the second spoken language nationwide, so why not?” …

****“We really wish to be part of this society, a positive, sparkling force that adds more than it takes – we don’t want to be a negative group that the Swedes regret welcoming.”****

Really? Learn their language then.

This hits close to home. everywhere I look I see signs and labels in spanish. Texas being one of the states with a high concentration of illegal immigrants, I’ve seen neighborhoods in Houston and San Antonio where you don’t see anything else for 20 blocks. Even the businesses have signs in spanish.

So a friend invited me on a weekend trip to Mexico just before I left Houston. Did I see signs in English? No. Ads for Coke and McDonald’s, that’s about it. Did anyone try to speak English since I didn’t speak their language, but tried the few words I did know to communicate? No.

This country has been doing the same thing for years, putting signs and labels everywhere in spanish to make it easier for people who don’t belong here to get along. they don’t try to fit in, they don’t try to be part of the economy or society, usually half their paychecks or more goes back to Mexico on Friday. I’ve seen the long lines at the Western Union window of a local grocery store on Friday about 5:30. I had to pay my electric bill at a grocery store in Louisiana, I never did it on Friday because I would have to wait in line for 15 minutes.

Same as in this situation they are not trying to integrate into the culture of their new “home”. I spent 3½ months in San Antonio looking for a machinist job. Had 6 years experience, more facets of machinist work than most people ever even see, and an excellent resume, and it still took that long to even get an interview. (thanks Clinton...can you say NAFTA?) Finally the 1st two shops that interviewed me both called me to go to work a couple of days later. I Chose the wrong one...

Anyway, the whole time I’m out searching every machine shop I can find, everywhere I went I saw hispanics at work. Road construction crews, framing crews in new home construction, every lawn maintenance business in existence, even the machine shops I had been working, while Americans were complaining about no jobs. I saw it first hand, no jobs. Here in this area I looked for 6 months, nothing.

And what did I see when I was on the job with them? No comprende. I’ve worked in several places with known illegal immigrants. Call immigration, useless. They run out the hole in the fence while the people in the office stall. Try to communicate, useless, all you get is no comprende. (that means I don’t understand, in spanish).

Here’s my very first interaction with illegal immigrants. About 1977 I got a job driving a forklift at an apartment complex under construction. Huge thing, Lull Highlander, I loved it. First time across the lot to bring a pallet of lumber to a building, about 6 mexicans (the south American surge was 30 years in the future) were standing in the driveway talking. Not working, just standing there talking.

So I honked the horn and yelled “get out of the way”.

No comprende. One yelled.

I did it again and pointed. Same result. Third time, same thing.

OK...Quick decision. Do I tolerate this or stop it here and now?

I yelled “No comprende my ass” and floored the gas pedal.

They scattered. I Had no more trouble. First time I had ever had to deal with them at all. I saw at least 3 of them laugh when the ring leader yelled no comprende. I knew they were intentionally giving me a hard time, just because they could.

On the same job I left my shirt, hammer and tape measure (both borrowed) a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses and a pack of smokes all int he building where I was working and went to lunch. Came back and only the shirt was still there. I know the 4 Americans never came close to the building, I watched them go to and from the lunch area. SO I had to replace tools I had borrowed from someone else, he was not happy, he had had them for years, and found out the sunglasses were $55. I settled for some el cheapo ones...

This is why I know Europe is in trouble. What is going on there is what I’ve seen happening here since the 70’s. This situation is not much different. You want Arabic TV shows? Go back home.

I went to a grocery store not long ago, saw something I wanted to look at, every single box had been turned so the spanish side was facing me, not an English label in sight. Went to Houston 2 weeks ago to take my mother to the airport, it’s a couple of miles from the neighborhood I lived when I was a machinist. In 1990 it was a pretty decent place, a couple of apartments had illegals, mostly white and black though. Now it’s 100% mexican. I didn’t see a white or black face from the 2000 block to the 40,000 block. Not one. Businesses with spanish only signs, billboards in spanish, the only apartnemt complex that still had an English name was, strangely enough, the one I lived in then. Ugly, dirty place, buildings painted every color you can think of, whatever was on sale...loud, rude...same as they are in Mexico. I stood in line at the bus stops in Monterrey. When the bus arrives, you don’t just get on it, you get shoved on it. Seriously, we got shoved onto the bus every time. Most incredibly rude place I’ve ever seen.

Completely different than Germany in the 70’s, some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. My high school band toured Germany, Holland, Switzerland and Austria for the 1st International band festival. If you tried to use a few words of their language and even try to communicate, they would do their best to do the same. No trash all over the streets, very polite people, just some of the nicest folks I’ve ever seen.

That’s why I hate to see this happening over there. I know what those people are like. I’ve met them. I’ve tried to talk to them, in what limited fashion I could. I only knew a few words of German, but if I tried, they would do their best to communicate. Not one person said they didn’t understand me. Sign language, a few words here and there, whatever it took, they would TRY to get along.

These people invading their country do not try at all. It’s really sad that Europe allowed their open borders policy years ago, they’re paying for their hospitality now. It was once a fabulous place.

If they don’t all do the same as England, and soon, they will have a very serious problem.

Sorry about the long rant...this is a topic that has bothered me for years.

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