Attendees holding their nations’ flags gather on stage during the Flag Walk at the Arab Student Union’s Arab Night Friday. Credit: Mariam Abaza | Lantern Reporter
Hundreds of students and community members gathered in the Ohio Union’s Performance Hall 6 p.m. Friday evening with one shared goal: to celebrate Arab culture.
Arab Night has been a staple for Ohio State’s Arab Student Union since 2016. This year, however, had a different focus due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and North African regions.
The theme of the event, “Kulna Wahad” — which is Arabic for “together we are one” — highlights the power of unity, said Maya Hamed, a fourth-year in landscape architecture and president of the Arab Student Union.
“Every other year, Arab Night is just a year of culture,” Hamed said. “We don’t really have a specific mission or message we are trying to deliver to our audience. For this year in particular, the message we are trying to deliver is if we are all united, we can accomplish and achieve so many things.”
Though the event celebrates the world’s diverse Arab culture, it also doubles as an opportunity to raise awareness for conflicts taking place in many attendees’ homelands, Hamed said.
“ASU is a cultural organization, but it is important to talk about the political aspects of our culture,” Hamed said. “In the past couple of months, Syrians were able to go back to their homes; there has been a ceasefire in Lebanon, and there’s a temporary ceasefire happening in Palestine.”
Leena Eltilib, a fourth-year in health sciences and the vice president of ASU, emphasized the value of recognizing these historical events.
“It is important to celebrate small wins, especially since in three countries, wars have stopped,” Eltilib said.
To highlight these global developments, ASU decided to supplement the celebration with a fundraiser for the Middle East Children’s Alliance and the Sudanese American Physicians Association, Hamed said.
The Middle East Children’s Alliance is a nonprofit humanitarian aid organization that works to protect and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid and education, according to its website.
The Sudanese American Physicians Association is a non-partisan nonprofit that provides networking and education for Sudanese physicians in the United States along with emergency aid to organizations abroad, according to its website.
All proceeds from VIP tickets were donated to these organizations, according to ASU’s Instagram page. In total, ASU raised over $2,000 to be split between the two charities, Hamed said.
The night began with a Zaffa performance, a traditional wedding procession that is popular in Jordan.
Afterward, students and Columbus community members adorned in traditional dress carried their nations’ flags to the stage as the crowd cheered.
“The Flag Walk kind of gets everyone in the audience hyped,” Eltilib said. “People shout for their country, everyone is supportive and just seeing people smile and stand up sets the bar for Arab Night. Seeing everyone on the stage waving their flags — proud — is one of my favorite things.”
Nineteen total flags from Middle Eastern and North African countries were featured. By the end of the procession, the stage and surrounding area were full of people waving their respective flags.
“This year, there are so many more Arabs raising their flags higher than ever, specifically because of everything that has been going on this past year,” Hamed said. “We’re all on one stage. It’s beautiful. It just sums up ‘Kulna Wahad.’”
After the Flag Walk, 14-year-old Lebanese singer Karen Mamlouk performed two songs about her love for home and yearning for childhood. As she sang, childhood photos of Columbus community members in their home countries were projected on the screen behind her.
“We want to showcase our childhood, especially because lots of Arabs, at least in our community, live in diaspora,” Hamed said. “So, when they think about their childhood, it’s kind of, I don’t want to say sad, but we can all relate when it comes to our childhood.”
Several members of the crowd teared up as Mamlouk sang in Arabic and English, describing how it feels to be separated from one’s home amid conflict.
Eltilib said the performance’s purpose was for attendees “to remember how important it is to continue to fight for [their] home countries.”
“It is hard for us to say goodbye to our family members because we never know the next time we’ll see them, so cherishing the memories we have in our country comes with that segment,” Eltilib said.
Once Mamlouk finished her second song, Hana El Nemr, a third-year in journalism and political science, took the stage.
“This year, I decided to write a poem called ‘Ya Blady,’” El Nemr said before her recitation. “When I wrote this poem, I was thinking about Egypt and the personal experience of what it means to be someone from the Middle East.”
Alternating between Arabic and English, El Nemr’s poem reflected on her homeland and memories cut short by conflict.
Hamed then introduced the “Coosa” Challenge, a friendly competition that involves celebrating a beloved Arab dish. Volunteers from the crowd raced to core zucchinis — a crucial step in preparing coosa — without breaking the skin.
After the winner was announced, traditional Palestinian music filled the room as “Dabke” performers ran down the aisle toward the stage. The university dance troupe Art of Freedom then performed the traditional folk dance, featuring styles from multiple Arab countries.
Subsequently, the performance transitioned into a fashion show featuring a variety of cultural attire.
Mohammed Abu Sumayah — a singer from Dearborn, Michigan — performed traditional Arab ballads and pop songs. A few attendees started to dance, and the aisle soon overflowed with multiple dance circles.
Multiple iterations of Dabke were also performed, with some attendees climbing onto the stage to dance. Cheers erupted from onlookers, who whistled and clapped for the impromptu dancers.
People of all ages, including toddlers and older attendees, went on to join the dance circle.
“It’s good we have Arab Night because it keeps the culture going within the generations,” Eltilib said. “It is hard for some of us to go back to our home countries, so this is kind of making our culture still relevant within the upcoming generations.”
Once the crowd settled down, a final performance from the Art of Freedom Dabke troupe concluded the Arab Night festivities.
“This past year has been so significant to so many Arabs,” Hamed said. “This is a celebration and also us acknowledging our efforts can go to change.”
Note: Hana El Nemr has previously reported for The Lantern.
