How Does It Feel to Be A Problem: Being Young and Arab in America (2008)

The next chapter follows the story of Sami, a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-raised Christian man of Egyptian and Palestinian descent. Of the seven people considered by Bayoumi, Sami is the only Arab Christian. 

The chapter opens with an examination of Sami’s conflicted feelings toward a young Arab-American college group he has joined. He explains that he feels at odds with the other students because he does not fit the typical idea of what it means to be an Arab. Sami also explains that his background serving as a Marine during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 generates friction between him and some group members. 

Sami adds that as a teenager, he often pretended he was Hispanic, in order to avoid discrimination against Arab-Americans. In the summer after he graduated high school, he felt aimless and out of place. When a military recruiter contacted him (after receiving his contact information from Sami’s friends who enlisted), he preyed upon these common emotions, and Sami enlisted in what he calls “a moment of insanity” (54). 

Sami serves as a Marine during the war in Iraq, working as an Arabic translator. In the military, he occupies an uneasy in-between space, experiencing tension with fellow soldiers because he speaks the language of the Iraqis (and is thereby identified with the “enemy”). Sami frequently witnesses soldiers mistreating Iraqi civilians out of their racist fear and anxiety. In these situations, Sami attempts to mediate between the soldiers and the Iraqis, but he is always careful to avoid seeming too sympathetic toward the “enemy” (which would direct scrutiny toward his own Arab background). 

Sami is relieved to return to New York—the place he considers his home—at the end of his tour. He is reunited with his girlfriend, Anna, and his family, including his younger brother, whom he prevents from enlisting in the military. Sami doesn’t want his brother to follow in his footsteps because, after his own experiences, he no longer supports the war in Iraq. Sami does, however, say that he will always support the men who serve as soldiers and the personal sacrifices they make for his country.