Day 2: An Emotional Experience

The last day of the IMI Conference was an emotional one for me. Three sessions in particular touched me: American Indians and Health Care, a rivoting keynote speech by Mona Eltahawy and a session on Muslim Perspectives through Film and Dialogue.

In the session titled "American Indians are NOT Generic: National Health Reform Debate and Tribal Nations," which was facilitated by Deborah Broken Rope, a member of the Sioux nation, I learned so much about the American Indians in the U.S. I did not know that there were 564 federally recognized tribal nations overlapping state and national boundaries and representing about 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives residing on or near reservations. I was never taught this information in all of my years of higher education. I also did not know that in the 1970s, 25% of American Indian children were adopted away from their families and that state adoption records from this time period are sealed. Also, that American Indians currently have a 65-70% unemployment rate on reservations and rely upon subsistence farming and barter. I can't fathom why the U.S. would focus on development work in other parts of the world and not look in the mirror and realize that there are disadvantaged people that need help within its borders. Broken Rope also explained in great detail the structural problems that American Indians face in accessing federal subsidies to health care through their states. She also noted that the average lifespan of American Indians is about 10 years less than the rest of the U.S. I left the session feeling profoundly saddened by the poverty, injustice and the seemingly endless obstacles that American Indians have faced in this country since its founding. It made me determined to see that the health reform bill addresses the structural issues that they face in accessing healthcare.

I left Broken Rope's session shocked and humbled, and attending a fantastic and memorable keynote speech by Mona Eltahawy on the misconceptions and stereotypes that Muslim women face. It was refreshing to hear a strong, feminist female Muslim voice to counter the typical U.S. media portrayal of Muslim women as submissive, abused, silenced and even invisible. Her speech was inspirational not only for Muslim women, but also for women and even men of other cultures who share her sentiments that women of all faiths and ethnicities deserve an equal voice in politics and, importantly, in the home as well.

Finally, I attended a session on Muslim perspectives through film and dialogue. This session reinforced Eltahawy's speech by showing biased and inaccurate media clips from commonly watched U.S. movies and news programs that protrayed Muslims as uneducated, barbaric, inhumane, extremist killers. As a result of the strong influence of the media on U.S. public opinion, it's no wonder why many Americans have a negative view of Muslims and associate all Muslims with terrorists, who, in reality, are a very small percentage of all Muslims. This session inspired me to host a film and dialogue session in my living room to generate dialogue on positive Muslim contributions to society and to debunk misconceptions.

All in all, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this conference, which definitely expanded my cultural sensitivity and knowledge. Thank you very much for the opportunity and I can't wait to come back next year.