Department of Counseling Psychology

Things communities can do to ease the pain and stop continued violence

This list is a compilation of events, activities, and information that are related to the recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as the backlash against Arabs and other Muslims. This information was sent to the Association for the Study and Development of Community from different sources across the country .We have organized it according to the major settings in which you can organize a response and any assistance, stories and articles we that we received and are circulating via internet, and other facts and information. For more information, you can contact the resources listed directly. It is particularly important to target young people as part of the strategies. They are often the perpetrators and victims of backlash and retaliatory actions. Communication with young adult and teenage males is very important. If you would like to tell us about what your community or organization is doing, please contact Kien Lee, Senior Research Associate, ASDC, 301-519-0722, ext. 108 (phone); 301-519-0724 (fax); or kien@capablecommunity.com .  We will regularly update this list.

SCHOOLS

Educating young people about Arab Americans and the Islam religion to prevent them from making unfair judgments.

Examples and Resources:

An educator introduced her class predominantly Jewish and Christian students to Islam during a visit to a mosque in Atlanta. See http://www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/mag/

Educators for Social Responsibility has developed a free guide called "Talking to Children about Violence and other Sensitive and Complex Issues in the World" (http://www.esrnational.org ). At that site in the second paragraph is the phrase "free lessons". When you click on that go to "Suggested Lessons for Teachers Following the Attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."

The Public Broadcasting System has the following lesson plans on line at (http://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/educators.html) : "A World at Peace" (for grades 2-6); "Tolerance in Times of Trial" (for middle and high school students); "Taming Terrorism" (a lesson plan for high school students).

The New York Times has a lesson plan for grades 6-8, 9-12: (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20010912wednesday.html )

Establish a school team that can be responsible for contacting school superintendents and principals to find out what they are doing to help the children and to offer a facilitated discussion for the children to talk about the incident. The team should include, at a minimum, an expert facilitator (with conflict transformation skills), mental health professionals, law enforcement,  and be composed of diverse individuals of different faiths. Make sure your school systems have such a system in place or help them form one. Presentation and materials addressing hate issues as well as dispelling myths are particularly import resources.

Examples and Resources: 

"Understanding Stereotypes" on www.discovery.com —classroom activities to help students understand how assumptions about different cultures create stereotypes and how these biases affect our lives

"Small Steps: A Tolerance Program" on www.tolerance.org  helps students examine how name calling  and stereotypes advance bigotry and led to violence.

The National Association of School Psychologists has a manual entitled "Cultural Perspectives on Trauma and Critical Response" that explains how manifestations of trauma and distress differ among cultures and how commonalities can be found on which to build a foundation of communication and trust. http://www.naspoline.org/NEAT/neat_cultural.html

"Reactions and Guidelines for Children Following Trauma/Disaster" see www.apa.org/practice

Local Arab and other Muslim leaders are convening the police department and school districts to develop a strategy for preventing violence in the schools.

FACTS ABOUT ARABS AND MUSLIMS

Distribute information about Arabs and Muslims in your classroom, your workplace, etc. to dispel myths about Arabs and Muslims.

Resources:

www.tolerance.org   has a package that includes fact sheets about Arab Americans and Islam.

Arab-American Institute at www.aausa.org  or 202-429-9210

The Council on American-Islamic Relations at www.cair-net.org  or 202-488-8787

American Muslim Council at www.amconline.org  or 202-789-2262

A live chat hosted by ABCNews.com with Al-Haaj Ghazi Kahkan, the Director of Interfaith Affairs at the Islamic Center of Long Island and Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. For the transcript, go to www.ABCNEWS.com and click on the icon in "community," look for "Featured Chat Muslim Leader on Backlash."

http://www.freep.com/jobspage/arabs/index.htm  provides a journalist guide with information about Arabs and Muslims.

MEDIA AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

The media plays a powerful role in giving hope and delivering the message that we should not encourage more violent incidents among ourselves. Media campaigns will reach the largest audience in the least amount of time.  The local media should have coverage on the Arab and Muslim community in the local region and the positive outreach that Americans are demonstrating to each other and to their Arab and Muslim friends. It is critical to have a multi-faceted media campaign that includes radio, TV, and print media. Promote positive images of Arabs and Muslims, address misconceptions (e.g., that violence and dying are considered "holy" acts). Discuss what liberty and justice for all really means. Here are some suggestions for addressing this:

1. Organize a media response team for the metropolitan area to coordinate the effort (e.g., contact a reporter to cover a story, reach out to media sources that are not addressing these issues) and to contact public figures and immigrant ethnic leaders to speak out.

2. Contact a media campaign strategist to assist you in the planning. People with experience with political campaigns know how to get the messages out quick.

3. Have contacts in the newspapers, radio, etc. that reach the metropolitan and suburban areas and that can be reached immediately to cover a positive event or story (e.g., a vigil, a contribution to a local mosque, etc)

4. Have contacts in the radio stations targeted at youth (especially the male 16-21 age group) and put out messages by leaders, public figures, local celebrities, etc. Find a local role model or public figure to help deliver the messages.

5. Compile the positive stories and "buy" spots in these papers to publish stories under the theme "Liberty and Justice For All" to show that the Arabs, Muslims, and other Middle Easterners are a part of all of us.

6. Ask the papers to publish a series of articles about the Middle Eastern community in the metropolitan area and in the U.S. (e.g., the meaning of jihad; the traditions of the Middle Eastern community). Encourage them to profile individual members of the Muslim community and the impact the World Trade Center has had on them (i.e., loss of relatives, primary or secondary loss of business, etc.) This will sustain the momentum and messages and not let it be a one-time event in the media.

Examples and Resources:

American Friends Service Committee is launching a "No More Victims" campaign. Call AFSC at 215-241-7000 for further information. To contribute to the campaign, call 1-888-588-2372, ext. 1.

WBCN’s Boston Sunday Review will interview Merrie Nejamy of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee on September 16.

http://members.aol.com/hrtrainer/guide-for-media.html – resources for addressing violence in the workplace

http://www.infosubway.org/infosubway/platforms.html – contact information for radio stations and other media outlets

www.kidsnet.org  -- describes upcoming programs on public, commercial and cable television networks for children, families and educators referenced by air date, curriculum areas, grade levels, supplemental materials, related multimedia, off-air taping rights, and sources for more information. Selected programming is targeted to children ages preschool through high school.

COMMUNITY

Discussion Groups

The Study Circles Resource Center will post resources on their website that you can use to conduct study circles on the event, terrorism, and other related topics. See www.studycircles.org

Coalitions/Response Teams

Form a coalition or team made up of diverse organizations and faith groups to help organize rallies, vigils, and to denounce attacks against Arabs and other Muslims.  Show visible signs of support for Muslim and Arab residents and noticeable statements that attacks are "Un-American." Encourage public officials and celebrities to make statements condemning violence, verbal or physical, against more innocent people.

Examples:

A peace coalition has been formed in Atlanta that includes the Georgia Green Party, the American Friends Service Committee, and Amnesty International.

The Boston Coalition for Palestine Rights organized a talk "Jerusalem Women Speak" on September 27 (7-9 pm). Rawan Damen, a Muslim Palestinian and writer, Michal Shohat, a Jewish Israeli and General Secretary of the Meretz Party, and Jean Zaru, a Quaker Palestinian and Presiding Clerk of the Ramallah Friends Meeting—all daughters, mothers, and grandmothers working for peace and justice for all the people of Palestine and Israel—will participate.

Vigils and Other Community Gatherings

Organize vigils, prayers, and reflections to bring together people together, especially to demonstrate support from the Arab and Muslim community and their denouncement of what has happened (i.e. help Muslim and Arab communities visibly demonstrate their outrage and positive feelings toward the US).  Make sure the media covers these events.

Examples:

In Boston, vigils are being organized by the American Friends Service Committee to occur in public places on different days. The committee that organized the vigils will meet with staff from Senator Kerry and Kennedy’s offices.

The Arab and Muslim community in New York is hosting a vigil, prayer, and reflection on September 16. For further information, contact the Arab-American Family Support Center, Inc. at 718-643-8000 or aafsc@aol.com

The Latino community in the Washington metropolitan area organized a vigil on September 18 at the stadium of a high school. The leader of a major Latino church will be attending and local radio stations will be promoting it.

The Muslim community in San Diego organized a blood drive at a local mosque.

Videos

African Friends Service Committee’s Video and Film Library has videos and films about nonviolence and background related to the current crisis. See www.afsc.org/nero/nevlib.htm . 

Public statements

Create Hate-Free Zones. Distribute and put up posters that declare areas hate free. For example, San Diego’s Global Exchange is conducting this strategy. For more information, contact Global Exchange at 415-255-7296.

Distribute flyers with resource and other educational information through groups and places that reach as many people as possible. For example, The Citizens Committee of New York City is working with Cab Watch, a citywide safety association for cab drivers, to distribute thousands of flyers with a resource list for their passengers. Most of the drivers are Muslims and it is also a way to promote positive action by them and other immigrants. Contact Bill Chong at 212-989-0909 or bchong@citizensnyc.org .

FOUNDATIONS/FUNDERS

Establish an emergency fund to help volunteer groups, schools, and other organizations coordinate responses. For example, the Citizens Committee of New York City created the September 11th Unity Grants to provide funds for emergency relief projects, support projects, and unity projects. For more information, please contact Bill Chong at bchong@citizensnyc.org  or call 212-989-0909, ext. 411.

OTHER

Coordinate prayer services in hospitals, nursing facilitates, and other social service and educational institutions

Send letters and emails to Congress and the press to express the need to prevent scapegoating and to protect our civil liberties and human rights.

Host neighborhood meetings to listen, talk, and support residents

COMM-ORG is publishing a series of articles, etc. Go to http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/pipermail/announce/2001-September/subject.html .

The Center for Multicultural Human Services is sponsoring a play by Ping Cong that looks at how do we "open the doors to immigrants and refugees and leave no room for hatred."  The proceeds from the play will support programs that help those affected by this tragedy.  If you would like more information, contact the Center for Multicultural Human Services at 703-533-3302, x-180.