{"id":832,"date":"2013-04-18T13:17:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T13:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/?p=832"},"modified":"2013-04-22T15:33:22","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T15:33:22","slug":"whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/2013\/04\/18\/whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in a name? : Immigrant Identities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Abu Olinto Sebasti\u00e1n ibn Mateo ibn Juan ibn Isaac alkurtubi alubedi algarnati ashibani alkutubi<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The words above are not a random string of words; they are one person\u2019s name. \u00a0This name\u00a0represents a combination of both Hebrew and Arabic naming practices and traditions\u00a0and is that of a man who spoke at a conference we attended in Malaga on March 15, 2013: \u201cCitizen Participation in a Multicultural Society and the Challenge of Interculturality.\u201d\u00a0 It was hosted at the Center for Spanish-Moroccan Studies (Centro EHM), well-known for its efforts to promote harmonious relations between cultures.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The person behind the card.
<\/b>Credit: http:\/\/www.mwakilishi.com\/content\/articles\/2010\/03\/09\/id-card-for-workers-is-at-center-of-immigration-plan.html<\/p><\/div>\n

The man who spoke is a well-respected librarian and historian and is active in politics in Spain, specifically in the Andalusia region.\u00a0 His real name is above, but the name on his ID is Sebasti\u00e1n de la Obra Sierra, which he conveniently pulled out of his front jacket pocket for all of us to see.\u00a0 When he went up to the panel to speak, he had a serene presence.\u00a0 He wore a maroon jacket that appeared to be of velvet. \u00a0The voice that escaped his lips under his perfectly groomed salt and pepper \u00a0mustache when he spoke sounded as satiny as his blazer looked.\u00a0 Before he even began giving his original talk, he insisted that he \u201cname himself.\u201d\u00a0 His Arabic name immediately lets the person he greets know: the name of his son, his father, his grandfather; where he lives, where he was born, and where he has made an important journey; a physical characteristic, his profession, and a moral trait.<\/p>\n

As he spoke, I was in awe of how much effort he put in to creating this name, this identity that tells so much more than the simple, \u201cHello, my name is\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I thought, what a powerful way to be able to introduce yourself.\u00a0 Often we wonder where a person comes from, what their journey has been, but as Sebasti\u00e1n said himself, you can learn so little from the official name on your identification. \u00a0And this identification is often what immigrants become reduced to when they arrive in a new country: a name, a number, not a person with a background or a story to tell. \u00a0All throughout our journey\u00a0we were learning people\u2019s names, asking questions about where they are from, how they arrived where they are today, and so on.\u00a0 This tradition of naming lends so much more to a person\u2019s identity.\u00a0 It is a constant reminder of where they come from and where they want to go. \u00a0It is important to remember that people are more than what they are on a piece of plastic. \u00a0Opening conversations breaks down barriers \u00a0to reveal more about a person and their journey. \u00a0That is not to say if people introduced themselves this way there would be no need for further questions, but it would without a doubt facilitate curious conversations.<\/p>\n

\"Centro<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Link to a description of the conference on the Center’s website (Spanish):<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.centroehm.com\/actividades_descrita.php?id=22<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abu Olinto Sebasti\u00e1n ibn Mateo ibn Juan ibn Isaac alkurtubi alubedi algarnati ashibani alkutubi The words above are not a random string of words; they are one person\u2019s name. \u00a0This name\u00a0represents a combination of both Hebrew and Arabic naming practices … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7853],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mediterranean-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}