We came back early from the beach to make the annual Independence Day party for the American community in Cairo. We've been going to these parties in Egypt since 1998. We told Maya to get ready for a party, and that was enough to persuade her to cooperate in leaving the beach. The party was more-or-less as advertised. Hot dogs, burgers, bouncy castles for kids, music and dancing. All as expected. But we left with an unsettled feeling - and I asked Cindy if I could borrow her blog to write about it.
This party is a chance for Americans to get a little taste of home, and the organizers work pretty hard to make it a good time. They get a good turnout. Not only do we keep coming back, but you get an assortment of military, petroleum, diplomatic and other families who make Cairo their home - along with a lot of study abroad students who come for the free food. This is July 4th, after all, and it should be a big celebration of all things Americana.
This is why we left feeling unsettled. The July 4th party in Cairo is definitely 100 percent quintessentially American, but not all American. Expatriates are not necessarily representative of Americans as a whole. But at our American club we hear Spanish, Arabic and sometimes Hindi spoken by the members, and inter-racial families are probably more prominent than in the U.S. generally. But not at the July 4th party. The crowd was very very white. The music was nearly all country-western and swing. An official statement was read recognizing Americans who are in the military, but no other reason for Americans to live abroad - nor any other part of the American experience generally. The quintessential America the organizers were recreating was clearly white America - and mostly southern white culture at that.
One of the reasons we like the neighborhood in Cairo where we live now is we feel we don't stand out as much. With Americans here, usually, we feel some relief from constant staring because our family looks different. This is good for us - and I think it it will be good for Maya - to appreciate our American identity while living abroad. But we didn't feel that way at the July 4th party. We stood out. And the quintessential American culture they reproduced for a few hours wasn't really our identity - and it definitely wasn't an identity that would easily include our daughter.
A few years ago, I probably would have seen the party organizers' choice of music ("My achy-breaky-heart" and "I'm proud to be an American" were pretty representative) as quaint amusements. But this time it felt more disturbing.
We are pretty used to not fitting in among Egyptians, and we seek that out by living in our little American-influenced Cairo neighborhood. I don't really identify with any of the nationalities we've lived among in the Middle East, but it is also hard sometimes to feel that many Americans back home can appreciate our experiences and worldview. A region that is usually portrayed as dangerous and threatening is just normal and routine for us, and for Maya.
It's often with fellow expatriates here that we have felt most at home, and that especially includes the American commmunity that we've been more a part of recently. The expatriate community has really become Maya's community. Maybe this is why it felt most disturbing now to feel, at least at this American gathering, that we really didn't belong. Quite often, we enjoy not fitting in. But on July 4th, we wanted to fit in, and while Maya still enjoyed dancing and jumping, we didn't feel that we totally belonged.
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As we were celebrating July 4 with son (adopted from Guatemala) and our friends from Kenya, my husband was scrolling through iTunes looking for "American" music. First stop - Born in the U.S.A. Oh wait, three people out of seven (including our son) weren't born in the United States. Doesn't make him any less American... just makes some of the typically hokey music seem even more trite. Needless to say, we didn't make it through the first refrain. The fireworks we attended had a diverse audience but the only dedications went out to our military. It's not that they don't deserve our praise, but July 4 isn't just about recognizing the service of our men and women in uniform. I guess this is all a long way of saying that your insights aren't only applicable on your side of the ocean and that we could all stand to do more to redefine our celebration to incorporate all things (and people) "American."
Rachel's observations are right on. There's been a very strong reaction/response to the manner in which military who served in Vietnam were treated during and after that era. As opposition to the current war & administration has escalated, there has been an extraordinary effort which you've seen in the political races to distinguish betweeen opposition to the war & support for the troops. We've seen any public gathering become an excuse for lauding our troops and an American holiday becomes that much more so to the extent that the diversity of our nation in so many ways is being ignored. If we are a nation built only on our military, we are in an even sorrier state that I previously thought--a sad and scary thought./G'ma L.
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