How has the camp affected Arab-American children? And have children come back for a second time?
Children have come back for a second and third time. I think the camp has positively affected all those involved in multiple ways, including organizers, campers, counselors, teachers, parents, and Arboretum staff. For most, an underlying impact is related to the affirmation of their sense of cultural identity and the opportunity to be immersed in another cultural environment both experiences rare or unavailable to them within American society. Several Arabic-speaking parents commented that their children, after the first week of camp, began to respond to them in Arabic, eager to practice what they had learned at Camp and learn more. For those children raised within a bi-cultural family, one parent told me her 6 year old son has gained a clearer and more positive sense of his Arab identity; he is in now interested in the alphabet, the language and especially the music. For the counselors, it was also a richly fulfilling experience. One 11th grader of Iraqi heritage spoke of how he has g
