ANAHEIM, California: Members of the Arab community along Brookhurst Street in Anaheim, California have been advocating for their neighborhood, nicknamed “Little Arabia,” to be officially recognized by the local government for two decades.
Now their efforts have made history.
The decision was recently made in an Anaheim City Council meeting where more than 100 people arrived to speak in favor of the designation.
Now they can look forward to signs and public notices recognizing Little Arabia, and they’re anticipating an increase in tourism.
“For the first time in history, the designation of Little Arabia was actually being discussed at a city council floor in the United States of America, so not just in Anaheim, but in the United States,” Arab American Community leader and activist, Mirvette Judeh, said.
“We're going to have to have constant conversations and involvement and engage stakeholders to make sure that the study that they're doing is good for the people,” she added.
Currently, Little Arabia accounts for the two blocks of Brookhurst Street where the majority of the area's Arab-owned businesses are, but the official boundaries could increase if recommended by a study which the local government will be conducting on the district.
“People from all over Southern California and outside of California come to Brookhurst Street because they know this is where they can get their Arabic groceries, the authentic Middle Eastern and Arabic food, and get their services here,” Rashad Al-Dabbagh, executive director of the Arab-American Civic Council, said.
“So it was always a Little Arabia for us, but it was time for the city to designate it,” he added.
