Essay On Amreeka 2009

Ameeka (Arabic for America) a 2009 comedy drama by Cherien Dabis set up in 2003 before the American invasion of Iraq. The film features the life of a Palestinian woman Muna (Nisreen Faour) and her 16 year old son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) who undergoes a life change from Middle East to America all in the hope of running away from racial animosity. Muna lives in Bethlehem and works in West bank and so the constant harassment by Israeli forces at the checkpoints, the constant scolding of her elderly mother, and dishonesty of her husband forces her to look for a better life for her son. She applies for a green card which is successful and so can go to America. Even though she had second thoughts about leaving, her son encourages her that it was the best option. Muna finally decides to go and this results to tearful goodbyes to her family signifying the light-hearted manner in which the family cared for each other.
They arrive in USA soon after the 2003 attack of Iraq to stay with her sister’s family in Illinois. She again experiences the same racial animosity at the American customs where she loses all her savings in a search. However, after the customs ordeal she is reunited with her sister, Raghda Salabi (Hiam Abbas), physician brother-in-law Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda), and their three children. Without any money, Muna searches for work but the situation in America is still the same as it was in the Middle East. Despite her two degrees and fifteen years in the banking industry she cannot get access the labour force. Muna finally gets to work at a fast food restaurant called White Castle and keeps it a secret from her family.
There is no difference of how Arabs are treated in America and in Israeli Middle East. They are treated with suspicion and their rights violated. This fact was proven by Muna who realises that her sister and brother-in-law have been struggling with the same difficulties she had undergone in West Bank. Her brother-in-law a doctor constantly loses patients and the family constantly receives mail threats from unknown sources. Nabeel’s family are also experiencing financial problems with their mortgage behind. This situation causes tension in the family and so Nabeel and Raghda separate from their matrimonial bed. There is also discrimination against Arabs in schools where students made offensive remarks to Fadi forcing him to fight back. This treatment forces many Muslims who are minority to lie about their religion as shown when Muna lied to the principal that they were Minority Christians in Palestinia.
The racial discrimination of the Arabs is also shown to positively impact on relationships. This is seen in the movie when Fadi is arrested for fighting with boys who insulted him. The charges added on were serious and ambiguous mainly because of his background. This forced Nabeel to take responsibility of the accusations and to oppose the merit of the charges. This event led to reconciliation of the family in the midst of racial and religious discrimination. At the end of the movie Mr Novatski a Jew and Muna meet and they agree to a date despite the laughter from family members. The incident indicates that despite the racial animosity between Jews and Muslims, they may still be some room to come to an understanding.