Educator Robert Shiner Dies

By Pat McDonnell Twair

The Southern California Arab-American community is mourning the loss of Robert Shiner, 61, who suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 16. Shiner retired in July as principal of Aggeler High School in Chatsworth. His Anglicized last name was a rendition of the first name of his Lebanese grandfather, Shina Shehadeh. The grandfather returned to Lebanon with his family, but his American-born son, Robert Shiner's father, returned to the U.S.

A member of the National Association of Arab Americans and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Shiner worked to improve U.S. teaching about the Arab world, and devoted much time to the first Educators' Conference on the Arab World in Los Angeles. His widow, Mary Ann, said he was studying Arabic and they had planned to take their first trip to the Mideast next spring. A graduate of St. Michaels' College in Winooski, Vermont, Shiner wrote his master's thesis on the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

Police Kill Visiting Jordanian

Butros Samaan was a retired police lieutenant from Jordan who was visiting relatives and working at the family ice cream business when he was shot dead Nov. 6 by a San Bernadino police officer.

His death was due to a double case of mistaken identity. The police had been summoned to a robbery at a health food store which once had been located at the ice cream shop. The officer remembered the health food store's old location and approached it from the back, hence not seeing the sign "Mike's Ice Cream."

According to Samaan's brother, Joe, the victim was walking out the back door with the day's receipts and a gun in his hand for protection. The officer said "drop the gun" and Samaan mistook him for a robber.

Samaan shot the officer in the chest, but the policeman was wearing a bulletproof vest and was not injured. Other officers arrived and Joe Samaan contends his brother was shot after several police officers entered the ice cream factory. He says his brother would not have fired if the officer had identified himself as the police. The district attorney is reviewing a police investigation to determine if the officer acted properly.

Syrian Club Organized

Jamil Saqur, the Syrian consul general to the U.S., addressed the Syrian Arab American Association at its first annual banquet Sept. 30 at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel. He discussed the seventh round of peace talks and Syria's determination to work with all Arab teams to recover all Arab territory occupied by Israel in the '67 war.

Serving on the charter board of the SAAA are Mu'az Chichakli, president; Hassan Sanoubara, vice president; Farraj Issa, secretary; and Bader Jaroundi, treasurer.

[Editor's Note: A plaque of appreciation was presented to Pat McDonnell Twair, presently a columnist for the Washington Report as well as Sada al Watan of Detroit, MI, and other periodicals, for all the articles she wrote on all phases of Syrian life and culture from 1978 to 1984. Samples of these stories were on display and guests were presented with a 17-page bibliography of the more than 1,150 stories she wrote during her five-year residence in Damascus.]

Lebanese National Day

On Lebanon's 49th Independence Day, more than 1,100 well-wishers were greeted at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel by Consul General Farid Abboud and Mrs. Abboud. Guests strolled from one lavish buffet table to another, but the centerpiece was an ice sculpture of a cedar of Lebanon. Children in Lebanese national dress sang the Lebanese national anthem before Judge James Kaddo introduced Consul General Abboud. Noting that the start of a new era in Lebanon's history was being celebrated in the room, Abboud called this a phase of peace, reconstruction and prosperity.

"For the first time we feel we have started climbing out of the trap into which we have fallen, and that the end of the tunnel seems within sight," he said.

Explaining to his audience how all Lebanese can participate in the process of rebuilding their country, Abboud said there are two choices: "Either sitting on the sideline explaining what in our opinion should be done, or adding our own input, however small, to the ongoing process.''

USOMEN Convenes

Los Angeles, San Diego and Northern California chapters of the United States Organization for Medical and Educational Needs convened in Los Angeles for their joint annual meeting. The organization reported that it had donated $99,710 during the 12 months from June 1991 through May 1992. This broke down into $61,000 in pharmaceuticals and medical supplies and $38,710 in cash to such agencies as the Iraqi Children's Relief Fund, Al Makassed Hospital and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to name a few.

Serving on the national board for the coming year will be Tony Halabi, president; M. El Ghouleh, vice president; and Hanna Danfoura, treasurer.

Pat McDonnell Twair is a free-lance writer based in Southern California.