MEENA Heritage Month: Acknowledging Inclusion and Intersectionality

By Tony Khing

For the first time last year, the United States recognized April as National Arab American Heritage Month. Like the other heritage months, the month honors the rich history and culture and contributions of the Arab American community.

This year, PG&E’s MEENA Employee Resource Group took the celebration a step further. Instead of focusing just on the Arab nations, the ERG took its name into consideration and broadened its scope to include additional Middle East countries, European nations and North Africa.

As a result, the company now celebrates MEENA Heritage Month.

Jim Chaaban

“Many European cultures have very rich and overlapping histories influenced by the Middle East through trade and periods of occupation,” said Jim Chaaban, president of the MEENA ERG and a supervisor in Electric Operations. “The Middle East, Europe and North Africa have been intersected for centuries through common culture such as art, architecture, cuisine, and in language.”

For example, the Islamic Golden Age (8 through 14 centuries) saw advances made in scientific fields, notably in math (algebra, spherical trigonometry) and in chemistry. These advances eventually made their way to Western civilization.

Various musical instruments used in European music were influenced by Arabic musical instruments. The rebec, an ancestor of the violin, was a key instrument used in Arab classical music. The oud, which resembles a guitar, was used within the Middle East and North Africa for thousands of years.

“If Arab American Heritage Month is truly about Arab heritage, it makes perfect sense to include the nations and regions that have links to the Arab legacy,” said Shaheen Rasheed, an instructional designer in Electric Operations.

Shaheen Rasheed

Chaaban, who’s Lebanese and Irish, experienced the intersectionality between the Middle East and Europe growing up in Lebanon during the 1970s. “Lebanon is the gateway between Europe and the rest of the Middle East,” he said. “I saw strong international ties with European countries like Italy, France and the United Kingdom. In Lebanon, the schools would teach French, Italian and English.”

But according to Chaaban, the commonalities go deeper.

“Many of the MEENA ERG’s members come directly, or a generation or two apart, from areas directly impacted by global and internal politics which resulted in wars on their native lands,” he said. “We have that in common, particularly on the Middle Eastern and North African landscapes. Much of Europe has been a haven to millions of Middle East refugees.”

Yigit Ucar

Chaaban pointed out the current war between Russia and Ukraine, the numerous conflicts in Ireland over the years and the wars in the Middle East as examples. “Healing and topics of healing are never ending,” he said. “Our MEENA ERG serves as a healing circle for these discussions because we have so much in common.”

Despite the strife the MEENA region has experienced, there’s always hope amongst the people. That’s why the MEENA ERG’s theme for the month is #SpringForward.

“Spring is a time of rebirth and revival, full of new possibilities,” said Yigit Ucar, an expert program manager in Electric Operations. Ucar came to America from Turkey in 2011. “#SpringForward means setting aside our differences and celebrating the new beginnings and possibilities.”

Bryan Gordon

“It’s important to acknowledge the various ethnic groups and celebrate the history and complexities of the region,” said Bryan Gordon, a senior project manager in Gas Operations. Gordon’s father is Jewish and his mother has roots from throughout Europe.

“MEENA is much more than a region or a group,” said Rasheed, who was born in India but raised in Kuwait. “It’s the legacy millions of people, regardless of where they currently live or where they were born, can connect to.”

“MEENA Heritage Month is a celebration of diversity and cultural awareness,” said Ucar.