District 219 Presents the First Middle Eastern North African Summit

Niles West’s Middle Eastern North African (MENA) club hosted the first annual MENA Summit for students on Wednesday, March 16, 2023. The summit was postponed from its original date, Jan. 26, 2023 and was transferred from the black box theater to the auditorium to accommodate increased capacity. Three-hundred students attended the summit, which finally became a reality after its planning process that began in Nov. 2022.

Sophomore and MENA club member Alexander Yohanna led ten student volunteers in a Middle Eastern edition Family Feud game.

“[The game] was about Middle Eastern stereotypes only Middle Eastern people would understand. One of the questions was ‘what would you find in a cookie jar that isn’t cookies?’ and the answer was sewing stuff because all Middle Eastern people have this big cookie jar that just has sewing stuff in it. So it was a fun way to see what Middle Eastern people would relate to,” Yohanna said.

After the icebreaker, senior Michael Massih presented the importance of an Arabic language course offering and a MENA race category at District 219 schools.

The large number of Arabic-speaking students in District 219 have had an interest in an Arabic language course. He also addressed how MENA students are categorized as “White,” which causes difficulty in getting specific support from the school.

In the next part of the agenda, senior Gabriel Daoud narrated a fashion show made up of West’s MENA student models wearing traditional garments from approximately eleven different cultures.

“The fashion show was most impactful to the models because it allowed them to show off their cultures and show something they were proud of. I believe they played a song in Arabic for most of the fashion show and then did a song in Assyrian for the Assyrian portion because it had the most people,” Daoud said.

The fashion show emphasized the diversity and beauty within the MENA region through clothing.

“The point of the fashion show was to highlight a more artistic point of MENA culture that everyone can appreciate because it is just visual. There are drastic differences between the clothing even if it is from neighboring countries. We tried to represent as many countries as possible from MENA. The fashion show was supposed to give a break from the serious topics that we were eventually going to cover. Also, fashion shows are just overall fun for the viewers and participants,” senior and co-president of MENA club Mustafa al-Diraji said.

Student volunteers were called to the front of the auditorium to participate in an ululation competition. According to the International Journal of Health and Life Sciences, a ululation, also referred to as Zaghrouta in Arabic, is a “high-pitched shriek with a trilling movement of the tongue from side to side in the mouth.” The practice is commonly performed by women in Middle Eastern and North African cultures as an expression of joy and strong emotions at happy events like weddings.

“As a non-MENA viewer of this summit, the ululation contest was really cool to see. So many people were excited to participate and the energy in the room was really positive. I learned something new about MENA culture and it was a cool experience to watch,” senior Megan Gartner said.

A highlight of the summit was the student panel where eleven students shared their experiences regarding their MENA heritage.

“It was definitely frightening [to speak at the panel] because what I talked about wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg of what I experienced back home. But even then it was still horrifying to share something so personal,” junior Farah Al Bayati said. “But the amount of support and love that I received afterwards was overwhelming, and it felt really nice to have people understand [my story], acknowledge it, and be there for me because back then, nobody was there.”

The final message at the summit, “spread hummus not hate,” was presented by one of MENA’s club sponsors, Reine Hanna and addressed the issue of anti-blackness and hate speech within the MENA community.

The summit impacted many individuals, some of whom appreciated having an opportunity to make their voices heard.

“The MENA summit was probably one of the most memorable moments of my high school experience. As an Iranian girl here at West, I never really had the chance to tell my story and spread my culture. That’s the same reality for so many other MENA students here,” senior and panel speaker Kimiya Nafisi said. “Oftentimes, we are silenced, overlooked and forgotten, so having the MENA summit felt like we were finally taken seriously and acknowledged. It was a time to celebrate one another and to heal. I hope D219 has many more MENA summits in the future because we truly need them.”

A student favorite was the banquet and dance party that took place at the end of the summit. Many attendees participated in Debke, a form of Middle Eastern dance, and Khigga, a form of Assyrian dance. The singer, Ramsen Sheeno, who is a West alum, sang in Arabic with a pianist and drummer. Middle Eastern food and chai were provided with Halal options.

“The mosh pit and the fun and dancing felt so good because I’ve experienced things like that with family friends and family. I was standing in the back and was like, ‘I am at a wedding right now man!’ It felt really nice because I didn’t really understand how many people were actually a part of this community and who had experiences similar to mine. I hadn’t really felt safe for a long time, so just being around people who understood what I went through made me feel secure. I could be around these people, be myself, and they would just accept me and understand me,” Al Bayati said.

Multiple teachers and administrators in the District 219 community were recognized for their efforts in uplifting the MENA community. Sponsor Reine Hanna shared these acknowledgements.

“It’s worth noting that a lot of teachers and administrators at West and North came to hear from the students, which meant a lot to the students. That speaks volumes about the teachers that we have; they care and they want to hear from the students. The administrators and teachers that were honored from Niles North were Ms. Caroline Benjamin and Ms. Ramina Samuel. They were really the heart of the effort to bring to fruition the Assyrian language course that is going to be offered starting next year,” Hanna said. “Here at West, they honored Assistant Principal Mr. [Steve] Parthner and Mr. [Daniel] Kosiba. These are two individuals who in different ways have really supported the MENA community by creating spaces and uplifting their voices.”

The summit provided a unique cultural experience for students of many different cultures. This year’s event reached the capacity, inspired other clubs, and sought approval for summits in upcoming school years. Niles North will host the summit next year.

“For people who identify as MENA, they were able to celebrate and express their culture. Those who don’t identify as MENA [saw] a new side of the students and staff at the school. I saw lots of non-MENA students and MENA students together, celebrating, dancing, eating and just embracing the culture regardless of their background,” al-Diraji said. “I’ve heard talks about other student body groups wanting to start a summit just because of how influential this one was. [W]e surpassed the numbers that we were expecting, [and] our main goal to have a summit guaranteed every year was approved, so we will see you guys next year at Niles North!”