São Paulo – There is news at the Syrian Arab Cultural Centre in São Paulo. Since it was established, in April 1974, this is the first time that the institution is headed by a woman. Majd Al Shara was inaugurated in January and already has many plans. Among them is promotion of Arab culture in other cities in Brazil and translation of books in the Cultural Centre’s library from Arabic into Portuguese.
Graduated in English literature from Warsaw University, in Poland, the new director of the Cultural Centre is a master in American literature and a doctoral student in compared literature at the University of São Paulo (USP).
Ahead of the Cultural Centre, she has already made changes: she has restarted the folk dance classes and the course in Arabic calligraphy, which returned to being offered in March. The Cultural Centre should also start a Syrian cinema session to show Syrian movies every Friday at 8:30 pm, as well as expanding the choir course and offering lessons in Arab gastronomy. These are the short-term objectives. There are others, which need longer for implementation.
"I want to show the Syrian civilisation and culture to Brazilians," said Al Shara at an interview at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce where she discussed cooperation between both organisations. "I am sure that the meeting we had will generate fruits in the future," she said.
The fact that she is the first woman to manage the centre does not scare her, but makes her proud. "It shows that the centre is advanced and that Syria is a civilized country, where we have a female vice president. The fact that I am the first director at the Cultural Centre is a victory for women and for Syria too."
Married to Mustafa Haj-Ali, Majd, consul general of Syria in São Paulo from 1988 to 1992, she knows the local culture well and plans to use it in her favour in her new mission. To reach the great objectives during her three years in office, Al Shara plans to establish partnerships. She evaluates that the professionals to translate the books will have to have greater with Arab culture. "Some will have to travel to understand the pronunciation better and the meaning of some works," she observed.
At age 56, Al Shara has three daughters and six grandchildren who live in Dubai, where the Al Sharas lived before returning to Brazil, one year ago. The couple’s connection with the country is old: apart from the first trip, in the late 1980s, they lived in Brasília between 1994 and 1997.
An employee of the Syrian government, Al Shara was placed in the position due to her having lived in several countries (including the United States and Nigeria) and due to her knowledge of several cultures. Apart from Arabic and Portuguese, she is also fluent in English, French and Polish. "As I have lived in several countries, it is easy to understand the mentality of a people," she explained. And she understands Brazilians well. "They are very happy and optimistic people, who are not racist. Brazil is a mixture of peoples."
The Cultural Centre is on Rua Augusta, in the central region of São Paulo, and offers free Arabic courses.
*Translated by Mark Ament
