There are instances when the different ethnic groups have melted into one another and stood as one, yet in their daily lives, most of the people following a particular custom behave differently from the ones belonging to some other customs.

Out of the diverse origin of the immigrants, the countries that top the list are Mexico, India, the Philippines, and China. Arab Americans are also one of the many ethnic groups that constitute the United States. Although born and brought up in the United States I can trace my roots to Saudi Arabia. I am thankful to my great grandfather and my grandmother since their vivid oral testimony has helped me to gain a deep understanding of my past and origin. This has helped me to the greatest extent to produce this paper on the becoming of an American and being ethnic.

My fifth great grandfather, Faiz Basha, originally resided in the Arabian Peninsula. After the unification of the various tribes and emirates of the Peninsula, the place came to be known as Saudi Arabia. He had two sons, Omar and Adil, who looked after his business once he had grown old. While the elder son, Omar agha, married and had three children, the younger one remained a bachelor. He was very good at accounts and with his intelligence ran the business well. In 1947, a year before the Arab-Israeli war broke out, Omar Agha died of tuberculosis that had no cure at that point in time. The responsibility of the family shifted upon Adil agha. By that time the political atmosphere became very unstable in Saudi Arabia. The business also saw a bad turnover and could not feed all the mouths in the family. Amir, the only son of Omar, who was ten years old, had to leave school. The situation grew worse day by day and Amir Jan started staying indoors with his sisters, mother, and grandfather all day and night. In that air of tension several Palestinians and Egyptians migrated to the United States. Adil agha also considered migrating to the US. In 1949, he wrapped up from Arabia with whatever little money and some precious stones he had and came down to the States with his old father, sister-in-law, and the children.

On reaching North America Adil agha and family landed in the coastal city of Miami in Florida. The first few months in Miami were pretty tough for my family. Adil agha had taken a small rented shack in a corner of a street and with the help of the generous landlord, Adil agha managed to get a job as a mechanic in a car repairing shop.