Yes, Syrians Abroad is a better name for the Ministry

Sami Moubayed visited Buthaina Shaaban, the Minister of Expatriates, to talk about Syrians living abroad, and their upcoming conference in Damascus in May 2007. They talked about life, dreams, ambitions and the human side of Buthaina Shaaban. A woman of letters, a professor at Damascus University, and an author of numerous books in English and Arabic, she has been a house-hold name in Syria since the inauguration of President Bashar al-Assad in July 2000. Before that people knew her as the private interpreter for the late President Hafez al-Assad. She studied English literature at Damascus University and obtained her MA and PhD from the University of Warwick in Great Britain. She was voted into the Central Committee of the Baath Party in July 2000 and in 2002, became head of press and public relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In her new capacity she wrote articles for a variety of international newspapers, including the elite media in the US, defending Syria and the Palestinians from all charges brought against them after the start of America’s ‘War on Terror’ and the 9-11 attacks in New York. She has been Minister of Expatriates since September 2003. In an office deco-rated with photographs of presidents Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad, a large Syrian Flag, and a picture of her with the renowned Palestinian thinker Edward Said, she spoke at length to Forward Magazine. The Ministry of Expatriates is a new creation in Syria. It was launched after President Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000. What has been achieved since this new portfolio was created? And don’t you think that Minister of Syrians Abroad is a better name for your job? The portfolio was first created in 2002. Be-fore that, a department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs looked after expatriates that and it was covered by the Minister of State Nasser Qaddur. He became the first Minister of Expatriates in 2002. I was named minister in September 2003. I was not really aware that this portfolio is so important for Syria— and so rich. I visited the United States only two months after I was named minister. We went to seven states and met groups of Syrian expatriates. I was absolutely amazed at the quality and caliber of so many doctors and engineers who are originally from Syria and who have done so well in their professions abroad. They had a great desire to participate in whatever is taking place inside the country. I remember one of them saying: “I made great achievements in medicine. But it does not mean a lot to me. If I go to Hama and perform the same, now that would be an achievement.” There were many social, professional, and humanitarian issues involved in the relationship between expatriates and Syria. And of course this is a very delicate portfolio because you are dealing with people, from all social strata and all professional domains and political backgrounds. It is a very complicated and sensitive issue, and that is why I found it so interesting. Immediately after I came back I realized the potential that we have with expatriates and we put a work strategy composed of three parts. First, to train, upgrade, and qualify people working at the Ministry. If the ministry is going to do a great job, it has to be qualified first. Second was to establish a link with expatriates, whether through field visits or the Internet. Third was to raise awareness inside the country of the importance of expatriates. Not many people know what is the potential of the Syrian expatriate community. So we started by training our employees. We first had a joint-program with the Syrian Higher Commission and the UNDP. This gave us a little bit of room to attract experts to train our people on communication, teamwork, raising that this portal is now ready. Anybody wanting to come to the country can do so, without sending a request to the respective Syrian embassy where he or she is living. From home the expatriate can now ill out his or her application and follow-up on its status. This is a practical achievement that we are proud of. When you have 15 million people all over the world you cannot reach out to them physically, but you can make them feel that you are accessible in this hightech age. So in the country I think we were able to raise awareness to the importance of expatriates, particularly through the first conference, which was held under the auspices of President Bashar al-Assad. Expatriates felt that the political leadership, and the President himself, are interested in establishing bridges, not necessarily for them to return to live in Syria but to have a good relation with Syria. That is why I tend to agree with your suggestion that Syrians Abroad is a better name for our Ministry than Expatriates.

The first conference for expatriates was held in Damascus in 2003. The second will be in May 2007. What were the things laid out in 2003 and that have been achieved by now? What is yet to be done? Have any of the benchmarks been met? And if not, why haven’t they?

Immediately after the conference we put down the recommendations given by par-

awareness, and marketing our ideas. And we also started training people with language courses at the Ministry. We now have people learning Spanish, German, French, and English. They are being encouraged and paid by the Ministry. And we immediately started on a huge project, to create a portal at the Ministry so that we can communicate with expatriates through the Internet. I am happy ticipants and assigned a team to translate these recommendations into projects. There were two types of recommendations made. One was to facilitate the relationship between expatriates and Syria. This involved more than one ministry, (defense, interior, and foreign affairs) because it dealt with a variety of issues, from paying extra fees for a passport, to marriage registration at Syrian embassies abroad. There was a generous presidential decree doing away with these conditions. From my position as minister I can say that nearly every single law passed in the government since 2004 has taken expatriates into consideration. When a law was issued for housing cooperatives, for ex-ample, the Housing Minister added, without even telling me, that the condition of having to be a resident of Syria does not apply to expatriates wishing to register. I was delighted that people working in different domains were thinking of the expatriates. This also applies to the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Health. We at the Minis-try work for the sake of all other sectors. The product of our work will be measured by others. There are products that I will probably never see, or even notice. Yesterday I was at a diner with the Canadian Ambassador and somebody from SyriaTel said to me, “You encouraged us to return (to Syria). Ten people returned and they are very happy.” I am not claiming that all of this is because of the Ministry. There is a dialogue that goes on however and we try to be an important part of that dialogue. For the expatriates, they now have a point of reference in Syria. It is our Ministry. Even if they have a problem with investment, or somebody’s relative has died, they will call us and we will help. They know that there is this Ministry, whose sole role is to look after expatriates. They will call us. I always tell people who work with me that our work is 24-hours a day. We don’t know when somebody has an emergency or needs to come to Syria. After I became a minister we did rotation rounds to working at the Ministry. If you call my office at 9 pm on Friday or Saturday, there is always somebody to answer the phone. We are very conscious. When we receive an email from an expatriate, we acknowledge its arrival and reply. We want people know that we are here for them.

In your visits to the United States, you visited the Syrian community. What were the impressions that you got? What is the one thing that is keeping them from coming back? Is it financial revenue? Is it the compulsory military service? Or have they simply gotten used to living there.

The military service is not really a problem. It was a problem in the past. I think there are probably many other reasons that prevent them from coming back. There are people who studied there, lived there, and raised their family there. They don’t have any incentive to come to Syria. I think it mostly depends on whether you have family in Syria and whether the parents are still alive. To come and be part of the family once again is very important for Syrians. However, before taking any decision on whether to come back or not, I think most people wanted to reestablish a relationship with the country. They wanted to come and see what are the opportunities. In the past few years, particularly after 9-11, the climate for Arabs in the US has not been as welcome and friendly as it used to be. Therefore, some of them started to think: it is wise to come establish a business in Syria. This coincided with our efforts to attract people. Some are coming back for work. Others to give lectures. But this is way behind my ambition. It is estimated that we have over 50,000 professional doctors from around the world, who are Syrian. In the Arab world, if people are ill they go to Germany or France or the United States for medication. If these Syrian doctors work here, Syria can become a medical hub for the region. I remember that in Britain and Ger-many, those who are not from an Arab origin would ask for a Syrian doctor. This is so precious. One workshop in the upcoming conference focuses on this issue: how to benefit from this huge medical potential abroad?

Would it be possible to ask expatriates to come back or would it be more wise to keep them abroad and make use of their connections, positions, and know-how from afar?

I am happy with them being where they are because they are exposed to the latest in knowledge and technology. By being Syrian and being excellent in their fields they are giving Syria a very good reputation. We had a difficult (political) period in 2005 and in response, so many Syrians began to engage in activities abroad; writing papers, speaking on radio and TV about Syria, its civilization and culture. They promoted Syria as a

country that loves peace. Countries would pay anything to have this huge community all over the world because they can be good for our politics, our economy, and for marketing Syria. And I want to add that every Syrian I met is a Syrian who loves his or her country and who is ready to serve it. I think that this is a great privilege for Syria. Those who would like to come back, however, are of course welcome. What I found in preparation for this conference is that everyone is so prepared, in the private sector, public sector, and NGOs, to work with us and interact with the expatriates. We are only the link, however, between expatriates and the country. We are the bridge; the expatriates are on one side, and the entire country is on the other and not only the Ministry. We are trying to link them to the government, the private sector, NGOs, etc. In the conference we are going to have a stand for the private sector and NGOs, in order to promote themselves and get in touch with the expatriates. We hope that it will be a turning point in our relationship with the expatriates. Until now, 500 expatriates have registered. If we opened the doors, we could have had 1,000.

Did you ever think of becoming an expatriate (before becoming minister)? And if so, what made you stay?

Yes. When I studied for my MA and PhD in Great Britain I got an offer to teach at a university in England. I also got another offer, along with my husband, to teach at Toronto University. We both finished our PhDs and thought about it: to go to Toronto to teach or to stay in England? I lived a happy life in England. I had great friends there and still do. But the one thing that upset me was the question: where are you from? It was quiet obvious, I don’t have blue eyes, bur rather, dark hair and dark eyes. It is not that I am not proud of my origins, but because I was being judged by my skin color. I spoke English like them. I got a PhD in English literature. I was always different because of my skin color. Deep down in my heart I wanted to return to Syria. At the time, however, Algeria was a very young nation coming out of occupation. So I went to Algeria instead. Instead of going to Toronto and England, we joined the Algerian revolution—in its aftermath—to help Algeria. We worked there from 1982 to 1984 after I which I returned to Syria. I went to the United States as a Fulbright scholar in 1990. I was an assistant professor at the time and the Gulf War was taking place. I taught and lectured at 14 universities. And as a result I g many offers to work there. People would tell me that others work so hard for job offers in America, “why don’t you bring your family and come here?” The answer was: I cannot live away from Syria. My heart is there. I followed the heart. There was no logical explanation why I wouldn’t accept the job of a professor in the United States. I am reaching a stage now where I do not like even to travel. If I am away for a week, I feel it is too much. I always followed the heart, by the way. Sometimes I can’t explain why, but I did.

People always talk of the “American dream.” It is the destination of millions who go to America as the “land of opportunity” hoping it can revolutionize their lives. Buthaina Shaaban might be manifestation of the “Syrian dream.” From very humble beginnings to stateswoman of international caliber. Do you think that what you have achieved is achievable by any ordinary Syrian citizen?

I think the most important point in my life is that I was brought up by parents who work every hard. My grandparents worked very hard. My grandfather went to Argentina for 27-years to work there. He came back to make the family better off financially. If you see my mother now, at 85, she sits there and her hands are still at work; she can’t stop working. Its in her system. Since I was very young I wanted to do a PhD. I wanted to be a university professor. That was my dream. And also sometimes one can get lucky. I had a few lucky opportunities in my life. The most important one of them was meeting the late President Hafez al-Assad. When I got my baccalaureate, I ranked first on Homs, and fourth on all of Syria. The late President gave the first student from every province a grant so that they can complete their university studies. I came to do my English degree in Damascus and graduated with the second highest score at the Department. Anyways, I got an assistantship at the university and did my MA and PhD successfully in Britain. The most important thing is to be hard-working, honest, and wise in weighing the possibilities and potentials that come up in life. I never really thought that anything I was doing was for myself. I really thought I was doing it for someone else. I wanted to rank first in school for my father who was a teacher at the school. I wanted him to be proud of me. The PhD was very difficult because it was in English literature but I couldn’t disappoint the President and come back without my PhD. When I was working I wanted my daughters and husband to be proud of me. Now I am working for the country; for the expatriates and the people here. I think the reason I work so hard is because I work for a very worthy cause. I was never working for Buthaina Shaaban, to promote her or make her look better in the eyes of people; it never crossed my mind. Probably if I tell some-body abroad that I am getting the equivalent of $600 USD they would laugh, given all the work I am doing. But I am a very happy and fulfilled person. It is not money that counts. We need money of course; every body does but there are other things that are so valuable in life. If you want to explain things only in materialistic terms, nobody would be able to explain why someone sacrifices his soul for the sake of his nation. These are spiritual and emotional values that we must embrace and be proud of. If we all think of each other as part of the Syrian dream, we become stronger and more fulfilled.

Is there anything you have not been able to achieve that you wanted so much?

I don’t want to sound presumptuous. But I am really a very happy person and if I had my life again I would repeat it in the same manner.

I raised my children in a manner where they will never chose to become expatriates. They adore the country and I don’t think they will ever live abroad. I would like to say to those who say: “Thankfully, my son got a job in the United States.” To me its like saying: “I lost my son.” I feel that it is very important to have my children around me. My daughters are away now because they are studying abroad. But they are coming back. At the end it is their choice but I don’t believe they will be able to live outside of Syria. When I tell them I will come and visit them they reply: “no, no, we want to come and ‘smell’ Damascus.” I think they have the same disease that I have.

Who are the most inspirational figures in your life?

The first inspiration is my mother. She was a very strong, loving, and capable woman who was the first to take a court case against her brother for the sake of family inheritance—and win it, in 1938. My father was a great inspiration because he was a teacher of Arabic literature at school and he still is a master of the language. The most important influence on earth, however, was the late President Hafez al-Assad. I was amazed at his humility, intelligence, and love for the country. I was amazed at the way he dealt with people and how he respected them. For 10-years I worked as an interpreter with him and listened to everything he said. I learned a lot. It was a golden opportunity for me to learn politics, humanities, sociology, love of mother, and love of country. I remember once when Bassel (the oldest son of President Hafez al-Assad) died (in 1994). President Clinton called him. I was called from the women’s chambers in order to take the call and do the interpretation. The room in which he was sitting was a very small and very modest one. I said to him, “Mr. President you are sitting in this small room?” He simply said, “Yes.” I replied that it is unbelievable. “You should be a little bit more comfortable.” He looked back at me and said: “Buthaina, a person can focus only on one thing in life. Either one focuses on material things, or on what he is doing and excels in it.” I will never forget those words because I too was concentrating on what I was doing, living in a small 100-square meters apartment.

If you were no longer minister and had to pick one city in the world where you feel you would best serve Syria, where would it be?

You mean other than Damascus? I would like to be in Damascus. I don’t think I am going to pick any city other than Damascus. I want to be in Damascus.