Like all of us Americans, I am here thanks to an immigrant who came to our country by choice or by force. That reality informs my conduct and my outlook on the work I do and the life I lead. Daily. I always thought of myself as an average kid from an average home; as such, my childhood dreams weren’t big. From an early age, I thought I could probably make a decent living as a psychologist or school counselor; but even those goals seemed like far-fetched pipe-dreams. Over the years, however, my ambitions grew as my experiences deepened.
My father’s profession as an electrical engineer allowed him to travel and work around the world. I could write an entire book about my dad’s experiences as a 20-something Iraqi who chose to pursue a higher level degree in the United States in the early 1960s, then later escaped Iraq in 1980 to re-join my mom, brothers, and me after we more easily left Iraq, thanks to our American passports, before the start of the Iran-Iraq war. With determination, wit, and (knowing my father) probably a fair bit of charm, he, and we, persevered. And his re-link with American life solidified our ties to the United States and to all the opportunities that uniquely (and I don’t use that word often) come with being American.
Flash forward a couple decades later, I found myself in the paradoxical position of both self-doubt and self-confidence. I had just graduated college in 2001 and was staring at a TV detailing images of terrorist attacks against the United States. My wife (yes, I married young) and I sat dumbfounded, as we all did at that time, full of questions that in many ways remain unanswered to this day. Why? Why would someone do this? How could such breaches of security even take place? And why do they hate us so much? We’ve spent countless hours and funds to this day, trying to answer those very same questions. And the search for those explanations continues to this day.
Flash forward another half decade, and I find myself a newly-minted Foreign Service Officer (FSO), in a career that people had consistently told me I’d be a “natural” fit for, but one that I had not actively pursued until I interacted with Foreign Service (FS) professionals of all cones, specialties, and levels during my nearly three-year stint as a contractor in the Foreign Service Institute’s (FSI’s) Political Training Division. And there I was, like all FS newbies, trying to figure out my place in the system and in the world. Where should I concentrate my ambitions? What major and minor bureaus should I focus on? How and when should I game-plan my trajectory to the highest of our senior ranks? I still ask some of these questions, but perhaps without the same sense of angst I felt in those early days. Soon after those initial thoughts about where the FS would lead me, I began to think about where I could lead the FS.
It was 2012 and I was serving in Bratislava, Slovakia. Barack Obama was our President, and Hillary Clinton our Secretary of State. I remember those times fondly. We moved the needle in a positive direction on a full range of important initiatives, and the world seemed to be moving in an upward, linear direction. But not all was quiet and content, of course; neither at home nor abroad. Domestically, certain Beltway Bandits hurled accusations at Secretary Clinton for bringing in staff who harbored favor for and ties to now-designated, mainly Arab world-based terrorist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Like many at the time, I found the accusations baseless, demeaning, and downright racist. But what I didn’t find at the time was anyone coming to the aid of the accused, save for Mrs. Clinton and a small handful of Members on both sides of the aisle. That got me thinking and questioning again. Why didn’t others speak out against such accusations? What can we do collectively to thwart such unhelpful rhetoric? And what are the underlying reasons behind such accusations?
In my attempt to answer some of these questions, I initially reached out to some colleagues who I thought could help me make sense of all of this. What I heard consistently was words of frustration, familiarity, and fear among those who had experienced such dilemmas in the past but knew of no outlet to broadcast their concerns and through which they could effect positive change. That’s when I saw an opening, an opportunity to change our then-unfortunate trajectory.
It all started with a simple, probably one-liner e-mail to the Office of Civil Rights, with a rather basic question: out of all the official employee affinity groups out there, are there any that address and encapsulate the interests of Arab Americans and others who have some sort of connection to the Arab World? The answer was no. Then I asked the second question, this time in a two-liner e-mail, seeking information on how to start such a group. The e-mails from then on were countless. The reach-outs seemingly endless. And the written and oral justifications almost limitless. In fact, from start to finish, the process took nearly two years to complete. I came close to giving up. More than once. I felt like the bureaucracy was too burdensome. I also felt like I was letting the group’s initial supporters down. But I continued to push and persevere. I knew there was a purpose and a reason to make this grouping a reality, even if I didn’t realize its full purpose and potential then.
In May 2014, then Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy approved the establishment of the Arab Americans in Foreign Affairs Agencies (AAIFAA) official Employee Affinity Group (EAG). Ambassador Masha Yovanovitch was our esteemed Leadership Liaison (one of the group’s initial champions and true believers), and we boasted about 20 members, to include the group’s ten signatories – ten people I will remain indebted to admire forever. As AAIFAA quickly grew in membership (it now boasts nearly 500 members from throughout the interagency community) and potential, I began charting a course to find ways the group could serve not only to house those with an affinity toward the Arab culture, life, history, language, etc., but also serve the interests of the Foreign Service. How could the group’s members better inform our leaders on the benefits of diversity and inclusion, and help those leaders find ways to attract and maintain diverse groups of people? In what ways can the group serve as an outlet to policy makers wanting a better understanding of the Arab World? I felt AAIFAA, like all EAGs, could do more to change the conversation and enact change from within. I still do.
Seven years later and AAIFAA’s subsequent leaders and growing membership have done more than I ever could’ve imagined. From promoting the advantages of public service to people throughout the country and world, to helping members network and find their next, great opportunity, to engaging senior leaders throughout the interagency community on matters of policy, AAIFAA has turned and continues to turn into the all-around service-provider I dreamed of as a third tour FSO in Bratislava. My pride knows no bounds, nor does my faith in the future. Our EAGs have proven their worth and their need in all that we do as public servants. And it gives me great satisfaction knowing senior leaders, like AAIFAA’s current Leadership Liaison, Ambassador Dan Smith, also understand the crucial work EAGs conduct on a full range of issues important to all of us.
About the Author: Jamal Al-Mussawi is currently the External Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Berlin. Previously, he served as the Chief of Staff/Special Assistant in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) Front Office, the Political/Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Muscat and as a Political/Economic officer at U.S. Embassies Bratislava, Bridgetown, and Bishkek. He helped found the AAIFAA employee affinity group.