Loading ...Syrian refugees have made U.S. great
Jimmy Naifeh
The Tennessean
The year was 1908. Deep in the heart of Louisiana oil country, Michael DeBakey made his entrance into the world.
He was the first-born of his parents, both pillars of the Lake Charles community. His father, a pharmacist by trade, ran the local drug store. His mother was a homemaker. Together, the couple raised five children.
DeBakey was extraordinarily bright. For college, he attended Tulane University and persuaded the medical school to grant him early admission to their program.
As a medical student DeBakey invented the roller pump, which years later became the key component of the heart-lung machine that made open-heart surgery possible.
DeBakey performed more than 60,000 surgeries in his lifetime.
He served in World War II, where he engineered a new way to provide medicine on the front. After the war, DeBakey designed a system of veterans’ care that today we know as the Veterans Health Administration.
DeBakey was an exceptional doctor. He was also a second-generation Arab-American, born to Shaker and Raheeja Dabaghi (later changed to DeBakey) — Syrian refugees who immigrated from what is modern-day Lebanon.
His story is not unique.
The year was 1937. A struggling actor in Detroit turned to St. Jude, patron of lost causes. He asked for direction in his own life; in return he promised to build St. Jude a shrine.
He was none other than “Make Room for Daddy” star Danny Thomas, born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz, the first son of Charles Yakhoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk — also Syrian refugees who immigrated from what is modern-day Lebanon.
In 1957, childhood cancers had just a 20 percent survival rate, and many families simply could not afford treatment. Thomas wanted to create a facility where all children had a fighting chance, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
Fifty-eight years later, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital still operates in our great state on the banks of the Mississippi River. Thanks to their research on behalf of our most vulnerable population, the survival rate for childhood cancers will hit 90 percent in the next decade.
The hospital is funded by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, more commonly known by its acronym, ALSAC.
The long list of Arab-Americans who have helped make this country great includes Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall, South Carolina Speaker of the House Robert Sheheen and Reagan Chief of Staff John Sununu.
My dad, Oney J. Naifeh, is also among their ranks. He was a World War II veteran and a longtime grocer in Covington, Tennessee. Along with my mother, he raised three sons, putting each of us through college, always stressing the importance of education and community.
Dad raised money for various community causes, served on the vestry at St. Matthews Episcopal Church and was elected to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for Covington.
In 1945, he began a dinner called the “Coon Supper” to help working people interact with their elected officials at all levels of government. My brothers and I continued this tradition throughout my time in the House of Representatives. Attendance grew into the thousands, including people of all occupations and statuses in life.
My dad instilled in me the importance of community and public service because, as he often told me, this country had given so much to him.
You see, in 1910, Oney Naifeh was just a young boy staring at the Statue of Liberty as he and his brother arrived at Ellis Island. They were Syrian refugees, born in what is modern-day Lebanon, and their story is my story.
Thank God for refugees.
James O. “Jimmy” Naifeh is the speaker emeritus of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He served in that body from 1974-2012. He is the longest tenured speaker of the house, having served from 1991-2009. He also served two years active duty in the United States Army Infantry. He served on the St. Jude/ALSAC Board of Directors and Governors for more than 30 years.
Source: www.tennessean.com