MO: But we stayed in South Carolina prior to that for two years. SO we have been in the states for a little more than three years.

Transcription

1 Date of Interview: 2/24/2010 Interviewee: Miriam Ozer (MO) Interviewer: Allison Lester (AL) and Jay Lutz (JL) Transcriber: Allison Lester AL: Today is February 24 th. I am Allison Lester, and I m at Kennesaw State University representing the MCCA project. I m interviewing Miriam Ozer. Okay, to start off can you just tell us about your background? MO: I m Albanian of origin. I came to the state a little over three years ago. I m a stay-athome mom. I have four children. I am college graduate. My major was Turkish language and literature. I m married, and I also I m a volunteer at the Istanbul Center here. AL: I m sorry. Okay, so you re from Albania? MO: Yes. AL: When did you move here to Atlanta? MO: We moved in I guess. AL: Okay. MO: But we stayed in South Carolina prior to that for two years. SO we have been in the states for a little more than three years. AL: Did you have friends in South Carolina? MO: No, my husband we lived there because of his studies. He was doing his masters in physics at Clemson University. And, we stayed there two years until he finished. And then we moved to Atlanta, and we ve been here ever since then. AL: So did you go to college in Albania? MO: I did. Yes, I have a bachelor degree in Turkish literature and language and a minor in Russian. AL: How many kids did you said you had? MO: Four. AL: Four kids? How many girls and boys. MO: Three boys and a girl. AL: Oh. How old are they? MCCA Interview

2 MO: They are two years apart. So if I say the eldest and the youngest, you can figure out the other two. So, nine and three. So, I have one that is nine, seven, five, and three. I have to do the math. They grow up very fast. AL: Yeah, I m sure. I can imagine. So where in Albania did you live before coming? MO: My birthplace is Plainduras. It s a small city or town in seaside. And, I was born and raised in Albania. So when I married my husband when I was twenty-one year old, then we moved to the states right after the wedding. AL: So what was it like living in a small town then coming to here? MO: It was a cultural shock. People actually when they would ask me where did we land on U.S., and we tell them it s South Carolina. People say, Wow, that s a culture shock. Or, but I think yes, it was in a way. The culture is different. And even the English that was spoken there was very different from what I was taught in school. But we adjusted. We adapted. You know, we learned the ways of things. We were here. We enjoyed our time in Clemson. It s a small, you know, university town, and we had a lot of people from different countries because of students came international students. We re living in a house campus housing, we were living in. So very different, but I enjoyed it more or less. JL: What did you what did you know about the American South before you came here? MO: Actually, I knew nothing. IF you ask me what did you know about American in general is all that we d watch from Hollywood movies. And I think we had, you know, Albania people think America is a dreamland like whoever steps in becomes rich right away. You find money on the street. So, yes, yes. You know, I knew that they would not be true, but this, you know, what s circulating what s circulating around there. But still, it s seen as a land of opportunities. People who really want to make a living a decent living. They can have a descent living here in the land of freedom. So, me and my husband, we were happy to come especially he wanted to have a better education, and we we re glad that he got that opportunity and got admitted into Clemson University. That was very exciting because we were newly weds, you know, in a new country, building a new nest, you know our marriage. So it was a different experience. JL: What was he studying at Clemson? MO: Physics. JL: Oh, really? MO: Yes. JL: Wow. AL: It s hard. Everyone: (chuckling) MCCA Interview

3 MO: That s what people say to him all the time, but he he loves it, and he doesn t find it hard. So I guess it s about whether you love it or not. AL: You have to be very smart. I took it in high school. MO: Yeah, that s what I think, too. But he says there s different types of smartness. Although my physics wasn t very high or very great, but he thinks I m smart, too. But I guess he s right, you know. We have different intelligence maybe. AL: That s true. JL: Living in Clemson, did you pick up a? MO: A Southern accent? JL: Or a love for college football? MO: Oh, yes. We had the Tigers right, yes. We had the Tiger-rama, you know, and they would put this a lot of tiger statues, you know, that we being foams. It was beautiful. I mean we would always go out and have pictures taken me and husband. I mean we would have weekends people coming from different places and watch the matches, you know football matches, and they would sometimes play in our backyard or have like a picnic or something. It was very lively, you know, when they would come to the city. The time when the city was very empty in the summer because all the students went to wherever they have come from to their families or overseas. So it was very silent and quiet. JL: You said you came here in 2001? MO: Yeah. JL: Was that right after 9/11 or was it before? MO: We came I think we came in August, and it happened and September. So maybe a couple of weeks prior that happened. Yes. We were in Atlanta. JL: Really Did you notice any, well I guess did you notice any change in the people? MO: Personally, no personally, no. I, you know prior to that people would still look a me with a kind of curiosity and they continued to do that. So personally right after that and also to this day, I haven t noticed, what do you call it, like a hate crime or behavior of that type. No. But I ve heard about it, you know, and have read some incidents but personally, no. AL: So do you live in Norcross? MO: No, I live in Alpharetta. AL: Oh, okay. MO: Which is about thirty-five minutes from here. MCCA Interview

4 JL: What do you think are some of the misconceptions that Americans have about Islam? MO: What are the misconceptions It s hard to speak in general, you know. People have all types of misconceptions. But the one that is prevalent that I have noticed, maybe what is happening mostly overseas in the Middle East, they link the religion with violence. It is the major misconception. Also, they link the mistreatment of women to the religion as well. This is also another type of misconception. JL: Do you have anyone ask you about Hijab? MO: Some, but not a lot. I actually think more of them would like to, but they don t. I think it s kind of a privacy, respect, you know. People don t want to interfere with your life. I wouldn t mind them ask, because we are used to being asked all the time, you know. Our culture is like everybody ask anything, you know. So, but for those who have asked, I have answered. They mostly have question of practically like, Do you wear it all the time? Do you have to wear it? or What about a woman who doesn t wear it? So, things like that. But yes, I have had a couple of them and very respectful. JL: Sorry to cut you off. AL: No, that s okay. You are completely welcome to talk, too, and ask questions anytime, seriously. So, why did you choose to live in Atlanta specifically? MO: Mostly for work reasons. My husband found a job here, and we settled we enjoyed the quiet spaces, the greeneries, you know, the city. We liked the type of city. WE have Turkish stores, you know as you saw, Turkish restaurants. So there is a big Turkish community here. So, we felt at home. We like the city so we didn t think to move elsewhere. So far, we are enjoying living in Atlanta very much. AL: Well, good. MO: Yeah. AL: What s the best Turkish restaurant here? MO: I have, you know, visited Café Fendi and also there is there a couple more restaurants. But the best I like actually is a Middle-Eastern restaurant, and it s called Dahlia. And it s located near North Point. AL: Okay. I haven t tried the food yet. I d like to. MO: Okay, if you like if you enjoy, you know, Middle-Eastern food, that one is a good one. They have a very nice selection of menus and you pick your side dishes. AL: What do you miss most about Albania? MO: Speaking the language because my husband doesn t speak Albanian. So I speak his language, but he doesn t speak mine, which is not fair. But what is, you know? So speaking the language mostly. And lately I ve had friend move from Albanian to about an hour from MCCA Interview

5 here, Stockbridge. She married an American. She came to live here. So I m very happy and excited to talk to her. We talk for hours, and her husband is so surprised that what do you find to talk so long for? But it s more to be able to speak your own language, and also I miss my family a lot. But, we visit them once every two years. AL: Really? MO: Which is good. Yes, for us and the children as well. JL: So you speak Albanian, Russian, English? MO: English, Italian, and Turkish. Yes. JL: Wow. AL: You speak English perfectly. Everyone: (chuckling) MO: Thank you very much. It did improve though, you know, by staying here and reading books, you know, and communicating with other people. It helped a lot. AL: It s amazing. JL: Well, I think we ve hit on how how did you learn Italian? MO: In Albanian, my country is across the sea from Italy. And my brother and sister, they live there. We had an influx of Albanians to Italy for political reasons after the collapse of communism in So they stayed there. My brother and sister stayed there. And I was very interested to learn the language, you know. The land they were living already because I thought one day I may be going there for study or work reason. And I don t know to me, I found Italian very easy and beautiful language in the way it sounds. So I went took special, private courses for that. And also Albanians are very interested in foreign languages. That is what my husband has observed, and he wonders why. I tell him maybe it s the psychology that we are such a small country, and people want your language then you better learn theirs, you know. So we can we like to learn French, Italian I have had my friends in university mostly knew at least two foreign languages. It s very widespread that people know. JL: What was the hardest to learn? MO: Russian. JL: Russian. MO: It s very difficult. I mean I don t advise you to learn it unless you have to. It s very, very hard, but it s a beautiful language actually. Yeah, once you get a hang of it, you know, you start to like it. Yes. It s beautiful. I mean learning languages for me is like discovering new lands and cultures, because through language you actually learn more than the language. You learn the way of thinking of these people who speak the language, you know their dreams, what they aspire to, what they like. Even if you study the proverbs of people, you can tell what they value most. For example when you read proverbs in a language that they have other MCCA Interview

6 proverbs relating to time, then you can say, Oh, these people really value their time. Or a proverb regarding truthfulness, you know. Like in Albania, we have a lot of proverbs regarding truthfulness so we can judge that we value people who are trustworthy. JL: When you run into the average American, how much do they know about Albania? MO: Oh, it s surprising though. You know you expect people to know, and then they have no idea. But sometimes you prepare yourself to looking the country on the map, and they say, No, no. I know where Albania is. And you come up to people Oh, I went there, you know or, My sister has been there. So it depends. It s very different. But of course, I have met people who have no idea where Albania falls on the map. And I have had people who have even visited or gone through the borders. I guess Albanians got a little more publicity maybe if we can call that during the Serbian-Kosovo War, during the time the Americans were probably more informed about because NATO then was the United States interfered to end the war between Kosovo and Serbia. So then it got many people heard about Albania at that time. JL: What s the perception of Americans in Albania? MO: You know, Bush visited Albania I think a couple of years ago, on TV in the news, they showed for whatever reason people greeted him in Albania. So you could tell that they respect and the admiration that was shown to him actually was what people feel toward the U.S. It s not his person, you know. It s to and Bill Clinton has also been to Albania, and he was also received the same way. So Albanians usually see America as a model country something to aspire to, like freedom, the economical standard, and many aspects. They also see the U.S. as an ally in their, you know, conflicts or something. And, you know, after the fall of communism, U.S. and other European countries send lots of help financial help to the country, and food and clothes for it to Because at that time, the economy was really down very bad. JL: One of the things we re seeing with the interviews that we re doing is that with the new president, there s a new perception of our country. MO: Oh, yes. You re right. JL: Do you agree with that? For Albania? MO: I haven t, you know, really asked what they think about the new president. I was there this summer, but, you know, it was for a short while so you don t really have time to talk about politics, especially if you see them once in two years. You know, you have a lot of catching up to do. But personally as an Albanian and personally living in the states, I saw the new president as a new beginning, but not in terms of the essentials and principles upon which this country was built, because these are pretty much the same, you know, with the Constitution. And this is very solid foundation, and very good, you know. The Americans should strive to preserve. But more practical and, you know, the ways you deal with problems in our country and also international, I saw new the new election and the new president as a big step, you know. I don t know. It did change the image of the U.S. I don t know. It was an example of this country reaching a certain maturity in terms of equality, you know, and freedom for which they know it stands for. So I thought it was a test, and America passed it. MCCA Interview

7 So I haven t seen any negative perception of the new president among my friends and, you know, my relatives. Although, we didn t really talk about it in depth. JL: You mentioned the change from communism in Albania. Do you remember much of it? MO: Yes. Well, yes. I was about fourteen years old when it happened maybe thirteen years. I did remember actually I remember most of it the things that happened because it was such an important time for our country. And we could sense the importance by the way people whispered. The way people the fear the expressed what was going to happen. So, a lot of demonstration took. A lot of things that we have never heard before, you know. People were opposing what we have lived through in our country for about forty years. So it was a big transition. So, I do remember a lot of changes. And sometimes, the revolts instability JL: Were you ever afraid personally? MO: Yes. There was a crisis in Albania when I don t know if you have heard of pyramidal banks, you know there was people manipulating other people s money - saying that if you invest in this, we re going to, you know with high interest, we ll give it back in three months - your money tri-fold, you know, or something like that. So people, I don t know how come they believed that. Whatever money they had, which was not much, that they put in these banks, and they collapsed. So then the people were very upset. They lost their money, and also they were upset with the government for not regulating this kind of investments. So during that time, there was kind of no rule of the law, no control, many people got arms in their hands. So in the nighttime, you could hear, you know, people shooting something or in the air. But that was a time when I was personally afraid. Yes. JL: How how has I m sorry The perception in Albania of America has the military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan do you thinks it s hurt or has it changed at all? MO: I don t know exactly. But if you want to know what I think, you know, I may maybe stipulate that it has not changed a lot because Albania does not have a cultural link with Iraq. So again, if it s it what s in Iraq was happening in Kosovo, then definitely would change. But, we are far distance from Iraq so as a nationality we don t really have a lot of links with the place. So I don t think drastically we have changed much. JL: Sorry. AL: Sorry. No, you re asking really good questions. JL: When the U.S. came to Bosnia, I guess it would be what ten twelve years ago MO: Oh, yeah even more, yes. In Bosnia was prior to Kosovo JL: Yeah. So that was seen as a good? MO: Of course, yes. That was a good interference, yes. Even when communism collapsed, it was long after, maybe forty years of it s reign there were people would say that all the while, We wish had someone had interrupted us long ago. You know, someone like the U.S. or some other country would have ended the regime for us prior to the people revolting. But we definitely the interference into the Kosovo war and Bosnia war, I think all cases it was MCCA Interview

8 well received by Albanians because what was happening there was really tragic and somebody should have ended it. AL: Okay, so I m going to go into something completely different. MO: That s okay. AL: Okay, you were talking about your perceptions of the South, do you think they were accurate when you came here? Did your ideas about the South change at all? MO: I before coming here, I have read To Kill a Mockingbird in Turkish, which maybe has given me some idea about the South. And I had hard time to understand the accent first especially when I went to flea markets to buy something, I couldn t communicate I could not just have the prices or something. But, I think it changed communicating with people. I found the South and people in the South very down to earth as they say, simple and whatever this is their mind, and welcoming, you know, if you get to know them hospitable. And I started, of course, to improve of my understanding the accent and I started be more brave in communicating with other people because in the beginning I was afraid, you know, they don t understand me. I don t understand them. So or misunderstand them, which is worse, you know. So, but I think by living here, you get to know. And if you have preconception, they change with time. If you have no idea, then you get to know people first hand. Of course, you know, the first few years when you come from another country, you tend to flock with birds of your feather. So you kind of create your little country here little Turkey, little Albania. So we didn t really interact a lot with outside people, or actually the natives. But by the time that we started to communicate more and then we get to learn about their ways. But, in the beginning, you kind of judge from outside. And I have discovered that family relations are very important in the South. I ve always thought, especially Americans are more everybody is alone, you know no family whatsoever. But seeing people coming together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, you know, birthdays, and commemorating important days: the Fourth of July, so I saw that that was wrong the perception I had. AL: You ve had good experiences so far? MO: Definitely, yes. I am a part of a book club for about eight years. And I think that club actually is mostly average-aged ladies, it s not ladies only, but for some reason we ended up to be ladies-only club maybe because men do not read as much. I don t know. They prefer to watch the TV instead. But, you know, I have been a regular attendant. And this group of ladies is marvelous because they help me to know what Americans thinks or what Americans look at life. Because I m stay at home mom, so I don t work. I don t study. The only communication I have with the outside maybe on a daily basis my children s teacher, and that s very, you know, well distanced she s a teacher and I m a parent. So we kind of come together when there is a conflict mostly. But, going to this book club, first I thought, you know, I am an outsider. I always felt like will they accept more or something. But, they were welcoming in the beginning. And at that time, I was expecting my daughter. And she and they made a what do you call it a baby shower surprise for me. I didn t know they organized it. And I was very touched very, very touched. I think that s what many things changed for me and the way I looked at things. And they made a blanket. I still have it, and I didn t use it on my daughter. I just didn t want to spoil it. They made a blanket for me, like a MCCA Interview

9 patched blanket, and everyone of them, you know, painted an animal on the pattern then with a pen stitched them together and made a blanket for my daughter. It was beautiful, beautiful gift, which showed me that people here value friendship as well not just family, you know, you can be friends. They value that. I still go there. I wouldn t trade that club for anything else. I tell them if I ever have to leave this country or this place, you know, one thing I will miss most is the book club that I have and the friendships I ve made there. AL: That s wonderful. MO: Yes, beautiful. I mean, we give gifts to each other when they are sick. And we have had two friends that have passed away due to diseases, and we went to their funerals. And, I mean it s interesting because we have people of different religious background as well. And that is actually something you can mostly seen in America. You don t see it somewhere so that s why to me it s very special experience. And for my children, I m very happy that they grew up from the beginning with this diversity. And I hope they will have an easier time to accept others the way they are because they re growing here. JL: How how different would you say raising your children in America is compared to if you were living in Albania? MO: It s different. It has it s own challenges because we don t have the support of extensive family, which is very important because in your extensive family mostly, you kind of try to implement the same values. So you are not the only authority over your children. Other people kind of fortify what you try to teach them. Like if you try to teach them honesty, then the uncle will also teach the same and grandmother and grandfather. So you have an easier time as an educator, I think, and also, practical help you could get. Like for example, even if I need a bottle of water or medication I have to go with the four of them to the pharmacy and, you know, unload them. So it s very hard for me some aspects. But on the other way, I enjoy the resources we have here. We may not have them there like access to Internet or books tons of books, you know, in the libraries. We use CDs and school. I like the way they approach teaching and learning. My children are enjoying it very much, and they learn many things, you know, hands-on. They go to visit, for example the community helpers they go to visit them in their working place, which is good. We never did that there, you know. People in Albania mostly the students are inside the school. They don t really all the teaching takes place in the building. But here it s more of like you learn and you also live what you learn in a way. So, I enjoy very much the field trips. For example, the visits of firefighters, you know, and they have a little cap that they have given them. So, I think these are very cherishable memories that the children have. They give a good way to teach them. So, there are many good classes. We have them raised here. The diversity of races and religion is beautiful. Because children, you know, tend if you when they see this diversity, they tend to focus on the essentials not details. You know, they have to come down to the common ground, and the children have no problem with that, really. I mean, we as adults should learn from the children the way that they accept each other, the way they bond is amazing. Yeah. Very inspiring, also. JL: Did your daughter wear Hijab? MCCA Interview

10 MO: No, she is very young. She s seven. She s going to be eight. So she s probably seven and a half. She doesn t, but she does she does once in a while, you know, like little kids little daughters want to be like their mommies, you know? She will do it once in a while maybe on religious holidays or when we go to mosque. She ll say, Mom, I want to put on the scarf. And, I let her do, but generally, no because she is very young still. And when she comes of age, you know, thirteen or fourteen, still it s going to be her decision if she decides to wear it. Because that s part of what I believe, you know. It should be her own decision no matter the age, and no matter her status if she is married or not. She should make her own decision to choose what she wants to dress and how she wants to dress. AL: Did you say that is your husband American or is he Albanian? MO: He s Turkish. AL: Turkish. MO: So we have a multicultural family, too. Yes. AL: And when did he did he move to Albania? MO: He did come from working he worked three years, and that s where we met (can t understand this part) I spoke his language. We met, and we decided to marry. And then soon after the wedding, we came to the United States. Which is also good, you know. But I see that my children identify themselves with America more than Turkish heritage or Albanian heritage. I ll you for instance we are coming from Sam s Club, and I was talking Turkish to them because Turkish is our family language. My husband doesn t speak Albanian. So at this moment, they don t speak Albanian. They speak Turkish and English. So we were coming out of Sam s Club and I was communicating to them in Turkish. And the person, you know, who checks the bills, you know, he said, Where are you from? You know listen to language. So, you know, I thought since he heard Turkish, I was thinking Turkey just a short answer, you know, just to pass by. And then my son said, No, that s not correct. My dad is from Turkey. My mom is from Albania. And, I am from here. So, I could see that he identified with, you know, being American rather than his cultural heritage. JL: Sure, sure. Are there anything particular that you re doing to keep Turkish or Albanian tradition with each other? Like holidays or food or anything? MO: Yes. I actually I cook food that I ate when I was smaller. The also if you know maybe in school they have programs when they choose different cultures. They sometimes they d have the international night or some types of subject. So they sometimes they when they are asked to bring a traditional food, sometime they will take an Albanian food sometimes a Turkish food. And also, I tell them about my memories, you know, how my life was as a child how different it was, especially the communist time. So they do know a lot about Albania, but they lack a lot about the language. And they know a little bit of Albanian just to have them go through the exchange of pleasantries when we go there, but not a lot. But the reason I didn t teach the Albanian is that, you know, I don t have an Albanian community here. Or at least I haven t know yet. So, I thought I would be the only person communicating to them in Albanian. And in the first years of life, it s very important that I build a solid communication with my children. Because, you know, if the first years of life, you build character, you know MCCA Interview

11 you begin to learn what is this and what is that. So having me giving them those three languages I thought it would be very tiring for them. So I decided to leave it for later. So, now my son will be ten in May, so I m considering to start teaching him Albanian. JL: Are there any similarities between Albanian and Turkish? MO: Unfortunately, no. Yes. But what we do have we have imported from Turkish language about five thousand words during the Ottoman times because Albania was ruled by Ottomans for over five hundred years. So we have a lot of more or less five thousand words in the vocab. And now, you know, okay we ve already got our Turkish in origin. Some of them have slightly changed due to the phonetic differences of the languages, but we don t we are not similar. I mean the languages are not similar in terms of grammar or, you know, composition. JL: Actually it s funny that the exchange of certain words in lang I think one of the questions on there is the what do you think what do you think are some of the misconceptions of Islam that Americans hold? MO: If the question is what misconception Islam American holds or the misconception Muslims hold about Americans? JL: Well, I guess both if you d like. MO: The most popular misconception for example in terms of language and culture is that people think all Muslims are Arab when the majority of Muslims are not living in the East. They live in Malaysia and Indonesia. And they assume that we all speak Arabic or at least we have a knowledge of Arabic, which is not true. Although Arabic language is very crucial in Islam because it s the language of the Quran. And we are all encourage to read it and learn it at least as far as we can read the book, but most Muslims do not know the language. There are differences in culture as well and customs. I think even as far as, you know in this country and most other countries there are differences as far as many issues, you know political system, the economy, the status of women in policy, you know but somehow, people see them all together jammed, you know, in one community, which they call Muslim. So, I think it s a very diverse world out there that needs some exploring. As far as what misconception a Muslim might have about Americans is, especially a Muslim who does not live in the states may think of Americans as people who kind of have gone too far with their freedom meaning that they have lost maybe their moral values or family values. They may see them as corrupt, you know, which is also a misconception because there are bad people in very country. So morally corrupt can even be seen in Muslim countries, and it has nothing to do with living in that country. And I have met, you know, very respectful, descent people in the United States. People who I admire, and they have different backgrounds, different religious background. So another I m trying to think what are the misconceptions Muslim people may have about Americans. Sometimes, they may think Americans are very materialistic that they do not value spirituality and think they only want to have, you know, car, house, nothing else. You know, they just live for the enjoyment in this life. This is also another misconception because the trend toward spirituality in the United States is increasing. You can read that in books, you know, or papers. MCCA Interview

12 JL: Do you think that s the South in particular the stronger religious sense? MO: Oh, yes. I haven t actually it s very interesting. I haven t been up in another places other than the South. So I don t know how I ve came to that, but maybe because what of I ve been told by people who have lived in the North, and also by the idea that all the South is called the Bible Belt - you know, some of the states. But I don t know if it s only because of that or it s because you feel this sense of religiosity like the number of churches you encounter just by driving by, and the number of people coming out of churches on Sundays, you know. And the traffic being, you know, quite especially on Sunday morning, you know quite free open ways on the streets because people have already gone to their worship services, especially in South Carolina. Like for example, the first thing I was very surprised is that we went to a store that said we don t sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays. So I saw that as a sign of religiosity. The bumper stickers, you know, and I think you can see that even if you don t have to compare it to other parts of the state, but and I like this kind of religiosity. I don t know maybe because I value religiosity myself, you know. So I value that in other people as well. AL: Do you want to visit the North? MO: I do, I do. And actually, you know, we I have been in Pittsburgh, and I ve been Like for really short stays. So you don t really see things, you know. Even if you go as a tourist and see places and take pictures, I don t think you really get to know the places if you don t live there for at least three or four months, you know extensive time. But I would love to have that experience. AL: Anywhere specific? MO: Pennsylvania, maybe. My children want to go to New York. They want to see the Statue of Liberty. We are playing a trip as a family there, but I would love that. Yes. AL: I m going to Pennsylvania next month first time. I ve never been North either so I have no idea. MO: Oh. It s very funny that when you re living in a country, you don t really plan to explore it because you think, Oh, I ll have plenty of time. And it s very strange, but you never have that time that you assume you have. My husband, for example, has seen more of Albania than me. You know, I grew up there, and he has seen more of it than myself because, you know, he came there as a working person. And, he wanted to see the country so he took the time and went to location here and there. For me, I just went to places where my relatives lived, and I always think, Oh, I can visit there anywhere. But now I see that, it wasn t true. JL: I lived in New York over twenty years. I ve never once been to the Statue of Liberty. AL: Really? MO: You thought you thought you would go one day right, you know. AL: Twenty years Wow, wow. MO: That s a long time. That s inexcusable. MCCA Interview

13 AL: Really. So what would you like non-muslims to know? MO: About Islam? Actually more than know, you know, I would love to people to not to be hasty in conclusions, and it s okay to be ignorant. They should at least act upon that ignorance, you know. As long as you don t act and take decisions and make an impact on something that you are aware that you don t know, or you may not know. I think and respect, you know just accept you as you are and respect you. And this is a part of life. This is something that Muslims should show respect and accept the rest of the people. Because it s hard, you know, to know everything of every religion. So I cannot blame someone of being ignorant. But I would rather, you know, resent someone acting acting as if they knew when they really don t know. That could be sometimes harmful. AL: That s frustrating. MO: Yeah, that is frustrating. Yes. AL: How do you think Islam is portrayed here in America? MO: In the media, I think there are some attempts to portray as a subject as objectively as it can be or sometimes there are attempts to have Muslims speak for themselves. But mainly, in Europe, there is a sense of Islamophobia in the U.S. I ve read a book recently. It is called Who Speaks for Islam maybe you are aware of it. But it s an analysis of about a poll an extensive survey of 55,000 Muslims over thirty-five Muslim populated countries. So it is the largest of its kind as a study. And what came, you know, when I read it, I saw that, for example, twenty five percent of Americans surveys said that they wouldn t want a Muslim for their neighbor. So you can tell that there is some mis-portraying, you know, taking place. JL: It s happening right here in Suwannee the building of the mosque. MO: So there is there is maybe I don t know if it s deliberate or out of ignorance or is it just because people have certain agenda, but many channels, or media, or groups of people do portray Islam as something to be afraid of as a dangerous, evil thing spreading, you know, in the lands of the U.S. And Islamophobia also is prevalent if you are Islam. JL: If there was one thing that you would want people to know about Islam, what would it be? MO: One thing. One word? Do I have to express it in one word? JL: If you have a couple things too that would work, too. MO: Actually, I just want to say that Muslims are human. Human like you. Really, I mean they love their children like you love yours. They want to make a descent living. Their worship what their religion has to do more with their private lives their personally lives. And they value their life. They value their belief. They value actually they value the freedom they have here in the states. You know, I tell my friends that I m very happy living as a Muslim here in the states. I feel like the laws and the rights are well protected here. I m relieved and comfortable. Although I m a minority, I feel comfortable in the states personally. So I just want to tell people, you know, just try to think that we are human, you know. We are just like you. Actually, we look a lot different, but, you know, down in the base, we are so MCCA Interview

14 similar. I ve tried to write short stories and fiction in English, and I wrote one fiction story about two mothers, one Muslim and a Christian, meeting in a graveyard. Both of them have lost their children their sons, and how they understood each other, and how they understood the pain as mothers. They shared so much in common. So if they had met someone else, they would have thought, Oh, we are people of different worlds. But there in this specific place at a specific time, they felt that they were the same. So I think they shouldn t listen to people demonizing the Muslims and telling scary things about them. The majority of Muslims, I think, are just human normal people like the rest of the people. AL: Anything else? JL: No, that s actually, I do have one question from my own curiosity Of the langauges that you speak, which translation of the Quran? MO: Do I read. That s a very wise question. You know, for purpose of studies, I do read several translations because sometimes I want to compare things. But for devotional personals or worship, I read more Turkish. I should be ashamed to say that, but I have been so much away from my language, Armenian language, sometimes I do say my prayers in my Turkish, which is also something people should not know especially the Albanians, you know? They say that, Oh, you re being assimilated or something. But it s about I think it s with the brain the language that you speak mostly is the language mold of your brain so it s hard for it to switch. Like nowadays, I ve been more involved with the volunteer work at the center. I m reading more books in English and writing in English. And I have noticed that I m not as fluent in Turkish as I used to. I put words in English among the Turkish sentences. So I think it has to do with what I am exposed more with. So now, I read more translation in Turkish, but if maybe years from now, I maybe start to read it in English or if we go back to Albania, we can go Yeah, my poor brain is adjusting, yes. Yeah, it s very tough, you know. I tell my husband at the beginning of my marriage the first few years, all of the sudden I started speaking Turkish, you know, and I didn t know Albanian at all when we came to the states. So I told him, I feel kind of tiredness, exhuastedness that I don t know where it s coming from, you know? Like I ve been beating or doing such philosophical thinking or something. You know when you re tired or drawn out like you want to close your eyes and sleep or rest. So I don t know I expect because of the language, you know. All of the sudden, I m spending twenty-four hours or all my away hours in a different language. Although I was very fluent in Turkish, but still, you know, I wasn t all the time. And you stop thinking in that language. After the point I was translating, you know, thinking in Albanian then translate it. Then all of the sudden, you know, with the intensity of the language, I started thinking in Turkish. It s a transformation. AL: Do you meet with your book club every week? MO: Every month. AL: Every month? MO: Yeah, we discuss a book every month, and the selection is great. One good thing about the book club is that also I m in touch with the latest best sellers and also this group that has such important insights. And they are average age, you know some of them are seniors, MCCA Interview

15 some are over fifty. They do know American history very well. Some of them have lived through that, you know? So when they are kind of for me they are like a living encyclopedia. So whenever I have a question or something, they are read to answer so Something to say we have the whole time. JL: We have another sixty minutes. AL: We really appreciate you talking with us. Thank you for coming. JL: Yeah. MO: It s my pleasure. It s my pleasure. I can say on behalf of the people that I congratulate you on this project. It s very important to record these things. People coming out here also appreciate that. AL: Yeah. Thank you. It was really nice to meet you. JL: Thank you. Thank you so much. MO: You re welcome. MCCA Interview