Mazin
Gabriel Kanafani, my nephew's first child, was
born on August 21 at 11:30 PM. A slight 6 pounds
and 13 ounces, the baby is nevertheless an evolutionary
wonder, combining Arab, Korean, and German-American
traits into a single DNA power pack. Upon his birth,
everyone could see that he was the most beautiful
child in the world, but we struggled to decipher
his family resemblance. His father claimed that
his softly curved nose, oval ears and determined
mouth were from the Kanafani cum Palestinian blood
line. Rising to the challenge, I pressed his grandmother,
my sister, to make sure that the Korean side of
the family also staked its claim. However, except
for his warm skin tone, my sister could not find
a single feature that resembled her own. His dark
brown eyes seemed like possible candidates, but
they turned bluer every day.
Arguing
that looks aren't everything, I scrambled for an anthropological
angle. I was sure that many excellent features from
our Korean ancestors were embedded in his genetic code.
For example, he must have inherited the "cold
adaptation" that North Asians have developed through
natural selection. The fatty layer under the skin and
slightly recessed eyes will be a great survival advantage,
particularly if he has to migrate on foot with animal
herds across the Bering Straits. This line of reasoning
barely gained ground when counter-bids from Mazin's
mother's family, the Orshelns, poured in. They declared
that the baby's light brown curly locks came from their
hearty Northern European-Germanic line. On that point,
we all agreed.
Growing
up in America with multiple cultural identities
will prove challenging. His father
always respected his own Islamic heritage,
but his son, like many Arab-Americans, will
be raised as a Christian. His parents hope
that their boy will live up to his name,
Gabriel, or "strength of God." The
first signs were promising. In his first
photo shoot, he resembled a Buddha with his
eyes closed and long fingers folded into
a prayer.
His
family outings will include typical American
holidays
like Christmas, Thanksgiving,
and Halloween, although he may encounter
an unusual linguistic morass. My brotherís
grandchildren only understand Korean. And
Mazin's paternal uncle's children who once
lived in Denmark speak Danish better than
English. While communications across language
barriers will prove trying, Mazin will enjoy
the culinary variety of his multi-cultural
family. He will be treated to Thanksgiving
turkey dinners that include exotic dishes
like Lebanese kibbe, Korean kimchee and Scandinavian
dessert.
If
he becomes curious about the dynamics between
the "foreigners" in his
family, I will tell him that some of his
relatives were independent pioneers. They
placed love above racial and religious differences
and courageously trespassed across cultural
borders. Psychologists could easily predict
an adolescent crisis in the years to come,
but this mixed bag of identities should not
be seen as a liability. Quite the contrary--it
is a precious gift of global citizenship,
a birthright that puts Mazin in the social
avant-garde of the 21st century. Some day,
he may travel in far away lands, looking
for his roots. He will smile when the family
contest of claims begins again. His relatives
in the Middle East, Europe and Asia will
all greet him with open arms and say, "Welcome
home."
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