Arab American Heritage Month: Elia Kiameh’s Journey Across 6,000 miles 

Gaby Planta-Yap ’28
plantayapg@lakeforest.edu
Feature Editor

A year after the Beirut Explosion in 2020, freshman Elia Kiameh, 19, made the decision to move to the U.S. from Lebanon, away from his four siblings and parents. At just 16 years old, Tennessee became his new home, with his uncle and aunt. However, his initial impression of the country was not positive.  

“I did not like Memphis at all,” Kiameh said.  “It was all white in the south.” 

Although the decision to move to the U.S. was ultimately his decision – as he was not a fan of the online learning that continued in Lebanon post-pandemic – there were also major economic problems due to the explosion.  

“People [in the U.S.] stopped doing online school, so [people] actually went to school, and I wanted to do that. So, my parents were like ‘Lebanon is messed up, online doesn’t work for you, go live with your uncle in the States’,” Kiameh said. 

Now, at Lake Forest College, Kiameh is pursuing not only his studies but his interests as well. Kiameh, for example, is a middle blocker for club volleyball at LFC. Kiameh and his roommate are aiming to make the club an official DIII team. Additionally, Kiameh is hoping to pursue medicine and is on the pre-med track. And, unlike his experience in Memphis, his Arab identity is something he has connected with at the college through LFC’s Arab Student Association (ASA).  

Even after four years of being in the U.S., Kiameh still does not fully identify himself as an Arab American, however, this has not stopped him from getting involved with the community. As an executive member of ASA, he has been part of the planning for the Arab cultural events on campus.  

“I’m not American, so technically I’m not part of the Arab American [group], but I’ve lived here for four years so I understand their perspective,” Kiameh explained. “I joined [ASA] because it helped me build a community of people who are Arab like me so I could relate with them [experiences] in the States as well as create events that share our culture and traditions on campus.” 

On Thursday, April 24 two ASA events took place. One of which was a lunch takeover and the other a dinner at 5:00–7:00 p.m., both featuring foods from Arab culture. The foods included falafel, shawarma, and Fattoush salad. 

“We sent recipes and had meetings with the executive chef of Parkhurst,” Kiameh said. “[We wanted] to share our culture, let [students] enjoy our food and traditions” 

Despite all this work done for this month, Kiameh believes celebrating who you are should not be subjected to one month out of the entire year, rather pride in one’s culture should be recognized every day. 

“I don’t think people should celebrate their month, [the culture] should be celebrated all year long,” Kiameh said. “People should celebrate their culture every single day and try to teach others their culture.”