Iraqi Party

On Saturday, Columbia Presbyterian Church hosted an Iraqi refugee welcoming party. Despite the arctic conditions, around 100 Iraqis were able to come. Upon arrival, we were greeted by manual labor such as moving tables and chairs, wrapping Christmas gifts and repositioning boxes from one corner of a room to another.
Volunteering as a greeter, I had to be aware of certain cultural rules so that I did not offend anyone out of ignorance since many of the guests from Iraq have strong ties to traditional practices and customs. About a week before the event, an email was sent out to the volunteers describing certain cultural norms of the Iraqi people. It listed appropriate attire, special greetings and customs that are foreign to America and pointers for conversation. I was able to observe some of the aspects of culture when I talked to a group of teenagers. The email had mentioned that when shaking hands with men, a strong grip is considered aggressive and offensive. When I shook hands with one of the teenagers, I was a little taken back at just how light of a handshake I received. To Americans, it would have been considered "a dead fish handshake", where the hand is almost limp, whereas the Iraqi culture considers it respectful. The email also outlined taboos concerning women. It is inappropriate to look at, talk to, or talk about an Iraqi woman with an Iraqi man. I was able to bring a good friend of mine to this event, so I sent her the email given out to volunteers. I noticed as I was talking to the teenage boys, they did not even acknowledge that she was with me. In fact, I had to introduce her to them before they even looked at her. After talking with her about it later, she told me that she didn't know how appropriate it was for a girl to start a conversation with a guy and that she didn't want to offend anyone.
This party, although it highlighted many differences between the American and Iraqi culture, also showed me just how well people can get along. The Iraqi parents trusted the volunteers to take good care of their children during the program. This American church had hosted an event to help Iraqi people in America. When it comes down to it, people are people. I loved seeing people loving people simply because they were people. The countless differences in culture made absolutely no difference in how much we were able to help one another.