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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S  W HILE VISITING LEBANESE RELATIVES in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, my brother and I accompanied our Brazilian-born cousin to a local arts-and-crafts fair. Among tourists and national artisans, my brother set his eyes on an elaborate bottle decorated with fake stones. With a client in his midst, the vendor declared, “Forty thousand cruzeiros.” Appalled at the inflated price, my cousin and I countered that it was not worth more than twenty. Lowering his initial offer by almost half, the dealer grew impatient as I demanded another descontinho (little discount).“Twenty or nothing,” I repeated. Tired of my haggling, the vendor met my demands but then commented to me, “You don’t have the face of a Brazilian. You’re turco [Turk]!” He proceeded to raise his clenched fist into the air to signify my tightfisted character, concluding, in a tone of defeat, “Pão duro! [fig., cheapskate].” Walking away from the successful transaction, we all laughed. Our cousin was afforded free entertainment. My brother acquired the uniquely decorated bottle. And, as a third-generation Lebanese American from upstate New York, I received my first lesson in being recognized as Arab in Brazil, at no further cost. Notwithstanding this penchant for bargaining associated with Arabs in Brazil, I have incurred innumerable debts in the almost fifteen years that have passed since that exchange. To John Burdick, Arlene Dávila, Jeff Lesser, Karin Rosemblatt, Caroline Tauxe, and Hans Buechler, I am indebted for the countless number of detailed commentaries and critiques of what began as a dissertation project at Syracuse University. I can only hope that this book is x A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S worthy of all the time and effort that you all have spent on it. To Bob Foster, I am indebted to you for taking me under your collegial and intellectual wings ever since I took my first anthropology course with you at the University of Rochester in 1992. To William Hammell, Laura Nader, Eugene Nassar, and two anonymous reviewers at Temple University Press, I am indebted to you for crucial suggestions and energizing words of encouragement that brought this manuscript to fruition. Any shortcomings in the coming pages are of my own doing. I am also thankful for the financial support that I received from several institutions. My graduate studies were made possible by a University Fellowship from Syracuse University. A Maxwell School Summer Fellowship Grant and Roscoe Martin Fund Grant helped me to begin research in Brazil and Lebanon. A Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Award from the U.S. Department of Education was crucial for the bulk of research undertaken in Brazil. A library travel grant from the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville, enabled me to consult primary and secondary sources on Middle Easterners across Latin America and the Caribbean. Finally, the Sultan bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) at the University of California, Berkeley, provided me with a marvelous space and wonderful colleagues to complete this book project. I am especially indebted to Nezar AlSayyad, Emily Gottreich, and the CMES staff. This book would never have been possible if it were not for Arab Brazilian friends and colleagues. Words cannot express my gratitude to so many of you who shared your experiences and thoughts on what it is like to be, and be seen as, Arab and Brazilian. Except in the cases of public or well-known figures, I decided to use fictitious names throughout this book, because I did not want to compromise anyone’s position or opinions that were often conveyed to me in confidence. But I will here extend my deepest appreciation to many of you. In particular, I thank Magali Abbud, Samir Abdul-Hak, Michel Alaby, Dr. Sami Arap, Valéria Aron, Dr. Samoel Atlas, Adel Auada, Dr. Sarkis Joud Bayeh, Sílvio Bussab, Sílvia Tonetti Bussab, Maurice Costim, Teresa Salemi Cury, Eduardo Daher, Chaker Ussama Al-Debes, Roberto Duailibi, Paulo Daniel Farah, Luiz Fernando Furlan, Miguel Gantus Júnior, Eli Ghanem, Dr. Claude Fahd Hajjar, Dr. Alfredo Salim Helito, Sadik Kassis, Adhemar Khachef, Georges Fayez Khouri, Mauro Fadul Kurban, Regina Helena Kury, Khaled Fayez Mahassen, Bernando Badra Maluhy, Vera Kattini Mattar, Dr. Antônio Moucachen, Dr. Ismail Rajab, Nassar Rajab, Jean Risk, Chaalita...

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