How Does It Feel to Be a Problem. Blog 4

The next chapter I read in the book was the life of Akran.  Akran is a Plaestinian American and is also a full time collegfe student.  But when not at schhol, he stays at home with his family in two family house in Sunset Park.
He may have pride in his culture and heriatge but turning to the media, the culture is a target and a problem that Islam should be feared.  Lastly, Arabs were a problem to be dealt with in America.
Moustafa Bayoumi himself has known Akram for several years and eventually met and talked about his life story.
Akram's family owns the Mike's Food Center, a suopermarket where customers can shop for their needs.  The store means everything to his family because it puts food on the table and structure their lives.  Immigrant groceries are not uncommon and its purpose is to put immigarnt entrepreneurs on the economic ladder of America.  The term that Sociologists used to describe ethnbic entrepreneurs is called "middlemen minorities."  It means that ethnic entrepreneurs work as intermediaries between inner- city clients and the people who sell them things but don't want to deal with them directly.  Arab Americans are among New York's most middlemen minorities.
Abdel Salam, Akram's father bought Mike's Food Center in 1982 but he lived in the country since 1971.  He left his native country so he can have a better life.  The typical American Dream.  When he came to America, he looked for his own kind.  Abdel gripped on anything he could find like buying clothes and costume jewelry and sold them to get money.  Once when he had nothing, he found a stray cat and brought to a pizzeria place.  He convinced the man behind the coun ter about the features of the cat. Maybe the Italian tok pity on Abdel but it didn't matter because he was offered something to eat.  Abdel claimed it was the best pizza he has ever had.
He left peddling and decided to work in stores owned by Arabs and saved every penny he earned.  Abdel sent money home and did not go on a shoping spree until his brother, Khalil, would make themselves from workers to owners.  They eventually bought Mike's Food Center after that.  Abdel came with nothing and many years later, he is sharing his success wityh his family.  The store is now paying for Akram's college education and he would be the first in the family with a college degree.  Now that Abdel was successful, he wanted to find a way out.  MOustafa asked him why he did not wnat to stay here anymore and Abdel's answer was, "What's America to me?"( 125).  Implyiong that America has gone against him and every other Arab American because of 9/11.
During 9/11, customers came to the store to find out if everything is fine and that if they need anything, they canjust say the word.  This really struck me because even though most Americans would think that Arabs are enemies, these people believe in the opposite because they always go to the store to buy their things and that they knew the Akram's family for a long time.  I was happy that there were peopl who had a heart during that time of crisis.
Later on, Akram visited Israel and its war with Palestine so he can get a taste of his own culture. He realized that it had conflicts as well as America. 
Later on, when he was with Moustafa, he said, "America's not America to me."(145).  Meaning that Dubai is the new American Dream and every Arab wants to be there.  They want to be there because they want to escape the conflict in America, have a better life, and not being treated as enemies.