![]() ![]() They must process and understand the moments of revolution, protests, leaders positioned then overthrown, and heartfelt social movements that have characterized the recent histories of Arab nations. The social and political traditions for Arabs “back home” have been vibrantly subversive for what has now been decades upon decades, and so the growing Arab-Western must express a heritage that is not only different from that which is around them but is also in a continuous state of change and debate. And even then, this experience differs from other first-generation children, who must maintain their own balance between the Western world and their Asian heritage, African heritage, and so on. ![]() This negotiation can be seen in the Arab-Western’s dress, speech, diet, and any other aspect in which they express their identity. The Arab growing up in the Western world is often tasked by their parents to be loyal to their heritage to maintain the social and political traditions of a nation they do not occupy, all the while engaging just as sincerely with the traditions of the land they live on. ![]() By: Jordan AbuAljazer / Arab America Contributing Writer Sattouf’s illustration of him, his father, and his mother gazing towards the Syrian sky. ![]()
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