Arab Student Union off to rocky start at Crestwood High School
June 2nd, 20160 The ASU at Crestwood High School.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Tensions are growing between a group of students affiliated with the Arab Student Union (ASU) at Crestwood High School and its administration, as the school year draws to a close. ASU was officially introduced at Crestwood just a few weeks ago, following months of delays from the...
Life span for Detroit’s poor among shortest in nation
June 2nd, 20160 DETROIT — New research finds that Metro Detroit’s poor not only live shorter lives than other low-income people in the nation’s big cities, but Detroiters die up to 16 years sooner than their suburban neighbors. Wayne County had the lowest life span for a poor 40-year-old — 77 years — among the nation’s largest 100...
Splash pads, pools aim to attract families in Dearborn
June 2nd, 20160 DEARBORN –Two of the city’s neighborhood parks will be having quite the splash this summer.Hemlock Park and Crowley Park are now operating splash pads for the entire summer.Both splash pads provide outdoor aquatic fun daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting. Use of the splash pads is free and no...
Arab Americans turn out to Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade
June 2nd, 20160 Photo credit: WWJDEARBORN – The city’s annual Memorial Day parade is the oldest continuous parade in Michigan, with the 92nd annual march having commenced this year. For the majority of that time, the route ended at what is now the former City Hall at Michigan and Schaefer, but this year, that was...
AAPAC begins endorsement process for upcoming elections
May 27th, 20160 AAPAC members interview a state rep. candidate, May 25.DEARBORN — The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) has begun its process of interviewing candidates to determine who will receive the organization's endorsement before the August 2 primary. Formed in 1998, AAPAC consists of a diverse group of Arab American...
Community supports Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon at fundraiser
May 27th, 20160 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Community members and local officials from across Southeast Michigan reaffirmed their support for Wayne County Sherriff Benny Napoleon at a fundraiser, Wednesday, May 25, at a hookah lounge. The venue was at full capacity as a sizable crowd stepped foot for the first time in the third iteration of The Lava...
Graduation Day: Ahmad Yaser Alnajjar
May 27th, 20160 Ahmad Yaser Alnajjar with family in Kansas.Ahmad Yaser Alnajjar, 22, a California resident, decided he wanted to move out of state for his undergraduate degree in political science, so he moved to Kansas, where he attended Kansas State University. "I did it because I wanted to experience life outside of home," Alnajjar said....
Lebanese Americans celebrate Liberation Day
May 27th, 20160 Community activists at the Liberation Day celebrationDEARBORN — Amal Movement in the United States, Message of Hope USA, celebrated the 16th anniversary of liberating south Lebanon from the Israeli occupation on Wednesday. Israeli forces occupied swathes of south Lebanon from 1982 until 2000. The Israeli army was driven out of...
ESL program helps immigrant youth become tomorrow’s leaders
May 27th, 20160 ESL students speak up at Crestwood School District meeting, May 24 - Photo by The Arab American NewsDEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mina Aldayyeni's least favorite class in eighth grade was gym. She was bullied, always picked last in sports and had no friends. One time, she found herself crying on the locker room floor, surrounded by her...
Arab Americans claim police brutality in Dearborn Heights
May 27th, 20160 A local woman gets arrested in front of her home.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The Arab American community has reached a boiling point with the Dearborn Heights Police Department following a number of incidents where residents claim they were arrested without justification. This week, a video circulated on social media showing a local Arab...
Dearborn parents slam “explicit” sex ed curriculum
May 27th, 20160 DEARBORN — While some of city's public school teachers have recently called for a more comprehensive sex education curriculum, some parents have expressed outrage over "explicit" lessons taught in class. A local mother of a 15-year-old ninth grade student at Fordson High School, said her daughter and other classmates walked out of...
Authentic? — Arabic food evolving locally
May 26th, 20161 Chef Taher JaberDEARBORN — Do you get angry when your White friends add hummus where it doesn’t belong or use it as a dip for their chips?I do. I have often wondered if my draconian approach to Arabic food is irrational. Who is to say where hummus belongs? It is harmless if someone enjoys it with pizza or rice. But the...
Dearborn Board well represented at the National Association of Realtors
May 26th, 20160 Michigan Realtors meeting with Senator PetersWASHINGTON — From May 9 to May 14, the National Association of Realtors held its annual legislative meetings and expo, with the Dearborn Area Board of Realtors well represented. Sam Baydoun, the 2016 president of the organization, attended many of the legislative meetings along with...
Graduation Day: Hanan Yahya
May 26th, 20160 Hanan Yahya, a recent University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduate, is the second of nine siblings to earn a college degree and daughter of immigrants with no formal education. To her, education is more than sitting in a classroom for hours on end and struggling her way through homework. She said education helped her find herself and...
Dearborn to extend hookah lounge curfew during Ramadan
May 25th, 20160 Sky Lounge on Warren Ave. DEARBORN — Customers looking to spend their summer nights enjoying a hookah until the early morning may need to go elsewhere, as the city has begun to enforce a strict 2 a.m. curfew for all Dearborn hookah lounges.The hookah lounge ordinance implemented last year forbids businesses from operating between 2......
Detroit anti-crime initiative expands, Duggan wants more businesses to join
May 25th, 20160 City officials and business leaders laud Project Green Light, May 23DETROIT — Project Green Light, the crime-fighting initiative streaming live footage to the police from businesses that stay open late, is working, Mayor Mike Duggan said Monday.Duggan added that the program has succeeded in significantly decreasing violent crime at...
Dr. Ola: Syrian American graduates from medical school at 21
May 20th, 20160 Ola Hadaya with her parentsDETROIT — It is said that all Arab parents want their children to be doctors.To deflect their families’ wishes, high school graduates sometimes complain that do not want to spend their youth on a college campus. Ola Hadaya did not have this problem. She graduated from Wayne State University with a medical...
Dearborn public safety members honored by service clubs
May 20th, 20160 Cpl. Bartok, Sgt. Doulette, Commander Robinson, Explorer Post Lt. Hoballah, Chief Haddad.DEARBORN — Two organizations honored members of the Dearborn Police Department for "outstanding" service to the community during National Police Week. The Exchange Club of Dearborn hosted its annual Dearborn Police Awards Luncheon on May 10. In...
Local families face challenges in adopting Syrian refugee orphans
May 20th, 20161 Syrian orphans seeking aid and adoption from foreign families - Photos by SyrianOrphans.orgDEARBORN — As millions of Syrian families suffering the impact of war seek refuge in the West, numerous Arab American families are stepping up to adopt children whose families are nowhere to be found. Maria Kabbani, an international trade......
Detroit approves municipal ID program
May 20th, 20160 DETROIT — The City Council approved a municipal ID initiative, which will help the homeless and undocumented immigrants gain access to city services. To obtain a Michigan ID card, a resident needs a Social Security Number and three documents to prove state residency, legal presence and identity verification. That is too much for...
Gene Hunt aims to bring experience to Dearborn’s court
May 20th, 20160 DEARBORN — If there's a candidate who's familiar with the 19th District Court, it would be Gene Hunt. The longtime Dearborn attorney threw his name into the competitive race in hopes of replacing William C. Hultgren, who will be retiring at the end of the year. Hunt said he decided to run for the position because he knows the......
Graduation Day: Shahad Atiya
May 20th, 20160 Shahad Atiya with her familyShahad Atiya-Wayne State University Law School –juris doctor degree Shahad Atiya, 28, an Iraqi immigrant, has accomplished some noteworthy feats since moving to metro Detroit with her family in 2000. She's since obtained her undergraduate from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in political...
Detroit Public Schools caters to a growing Arab immigrant population
May 20th, 20160 Priest Elementary-Middle School.DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools System appears to be embracing its growing Arab immigration population with a series of upcoming programs and initiatives aimed at impacting the community's educational needs in coming years. Among the programs include an Arab Dual Language Immersion......
