New Arab Youth Publication Seeking Submissions

The a-Rab (pronounced ay-rab), a new Arab youth publication, is finally ready to accept submissions from the public. For the past several weeks, we have been working to thoroughly develop our philosophy and purpose. An answer to the question "What is the a-Rab?" can now be found on the about page.

We are currently preparing for our first issue and to that end we are seeking submissions of all kinds--literature, essays, articles, cartoons, poetry, stories, briefs, photographs, etc--from anybody who is interested in our project. We are currently a volunteer-driven project, and as such it is not possible to compensate contributors for their valuable submissions. However, we hope that the obvious need for an outlet like the a-Rab will encourage people to do what they can as we get started. In addition to this, we are also looking for individuals who are willing to support us on a regular basis: for example, people familiar with layout programs like Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress. If you're interested in working with us on this project, your contact point is admin@a-rab.net.

While we encourage contributors to be creative and to submit anything they like, we also have offered the following ideas (remember, you can respond to any of these ideas in any format you would like; it does not have to be an essay):

• Interacting with military recruitment personnel
• Experiences with other people your age regarding your background, your family's culture, etc
• How you feel about traveling to the country your parents came from: do you feel at home, or like a tourist?
• Your experiences speaking about politics. Is there a way people approach you? Do they tend to believe you behave a certain way?
• Religion
• The differences you and your parents have in outlooks regarding your future
• Mainstream Arab-American organizations and their failures or successes, if there are any
• Interactions with the FBI or other police organizations
• Experiences you've had interacting with persons from other immigrant or ethnic communities--is there a sense of solidarity, or animosity? Is there a desire to cooperate, or a desire to beat the other person out in some sort of "competition"?

We want to avoid the trite and the cliche. Please try not to use hackneyed phrases in a hackneyed way. Please do not write articles that are simply a rehashing of common talking points. If you are going to write about politics, read this first. You may also want to read the submission guidelines we have put together before sending in your contribution.

If you would like to collaborate with us on other levels, please feel free to contact us at admin@a-rab.net. We are seeking funding as well as constructive advice and support. Another way you can help is by spreading the link to this website so that we can gather more attention and submissions to make a stronger publication. Please consider spreading the word on Facebook, MySpace, or through e-mail lists and word of mouth. If you have Facebook, join this group and invite your friends.

Please have your submissions in by August 15, 2007 so that we have time to communicate with you as well as review them. It is preferrable to have them in earlier than that date so that we can work on them on a continuous basis, rather than get stuck cramming it all in at one time.

Lastly: who are we? That is a question we don't know the answer to yet. But the two people in charge of this project at the current time are two UC Berkeley students, Husam Zakharia and Yaman Salahi. As the project develops, we will post more information.