Oral History: Gail Rashed Faris

Oral History Gail Rashed Faris is a seventy-two year old female, who aims to “lighten her foot print.” Gail is a daughter, a sister, a mother, and a grandmother. She is a second generation, full Lebanese, born in the United States during the “melting pot” in which most people tried to conform to societal views and norms. Gail has pride in her heritage and partakes in cultural aspects, traditions, and celebrations. She grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts with her father, mother, two sisters, and one brother. Her extended family lived in the same community as well, so they often supported one another. However, she spent the majority of her life in Rhode Island, more specifically attending the University of Rhode Island (URI). Gail received …show more content…
She described herself as a woman with a lot of experience because she is an older woman. She believes she is a well respected woman in the community as well. Her friends would consider her sensitive to their needs and a good listener. A skill her friends admire is her ability to organize people and events and bring people together. She realized this strength as she got older and it was a part of her working persona. I went on to ask her what her most vivid and memorable memory was; she said having children was a turning point in her life. She had her first child at twenty-nine. Prior to the birth of her first child she was daring, fearless, and thought everything was a lot of fun. After the birth of her first child and subsequently two more, life was different; Gail became cautious of life and mindful. She no longer had responsibility for herself, but of her young children as well. She realized her kids defined who she was and that her life now revolved around …show more content…
Her parents had close families; however, Gail was closer to her mother’s side, having said that, Gail parents and her uncles and aunts on both sides are deceased. Growing up she spent most weekends with cousins. Gail along with her parents and three siblings lived in a three bedroom apartment. Gail described the convenience of having her extended family all living in the same community. She told of an instance when the bathroom was occupied in the house, they could go two doors down the hallway of their apartment building to their uncle’s apartment. Her mother worked and she was the oldest, which made her responsible for her siblings at the age of twelve. She had the support of uncles and aunts, so she wasn’t alone and completely responsible. These were the good parts, but there were also bad parts. Gail’s parents spoke the native language, but chose not to pass it on to Gail and her siblings because they wanted them to be in the “melting pot of America” not the “mosaic of America.” There were racial slurs such as being a “camel driver” and that they should go back to where they came from. Her parents wanted to avoid this and they did that by presenting the culture, but not the language because language was public. Her parents were defensive about passing on the language because it would make the kids stand out as different. They were surrounded by people