Arab City grows up in the shadow of Disneyland: the southern Californian town of Anaheim is home to 25,000 Arab Americans and more are on the way. (Community).

Los Angeles has earned a reputation as the melting pot of the world. So much so that it is home to ethnic groups that no longer exist in the land they originated. There are neighbourhoods designated as Little Tokyo, China Town, Little Armenia and Korea Town. East Los Angeles is inhabited by more than 2.5 million residents from Mexico and Central America.

In nearby Orange County, the fastest growing ethnic group is located in an eight by 11 block area designated as Arab City. Located in Anaheim, famed for its Disneyland resort, Arab City is home to an estimated 25,000 Arab-Americans. The total population of Anaheim is 175,000.

But if Arab-Americans continue to move into Anaheim, they could exceed 60,000 in 10 years predicts Ahmad Alam, a businessman who has been laying plans for Arab City since 1996.

The main drag of Arab City is Brookhurst Avenue, often referred to as the Gaza Strip, here Arab restaurants proliferate, grocery stores and businesses, medical, legal and dental offices are identifiable by neon signs in Arabic. A towering directory for one mall reads like a United Nations roster: Sizzler, Al-Rayan Restaurant, Al Sanabel Bakery, Mexican Food, Sami Mashney Law Offices, Al-Anwar Islamic Fashions, Cleopatra Hair Designs and Alaa El Deen Video, Audio and Water Pipes.

And that's just one mini-mall in a couple of dozen clustered in Anaheim's Arab City. Three mosques, three Eastern Orthodox churches, the Southern California headquarters of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and 300 licensed businesses are proof the community is deepening its roots here.

Since opening a real estate and loan office in Anaheim in 1995, Alam staged the first annual Arab-American Day Festival in 1996 and established a bilingual newspaper, The Arab World, in July 1998.

"We print a minimum run of 12,000 issues weekly and circulate in 14 different states," Alam explained. He runs new ads for homes and businesses available in Arab City. "Readers in Texas or the East Coast see these ads and, they check their location in the Arab City map and business directory that appears in our newspaper. They already know about Anaheim because of Disneyland and they relocate here and then invite their relatives to come here as well."

Alam says he has personally brought 200 Arab families to Anaheim in the past six years and he now is selling on average one house a week to Arab-Americans. He also deals in business properties and Arab-Americans have established warehouses and factories in the city. "I point out that Anaheim is the least expensive city to live in Orange County and it also is the safest thanks to Disneyland which protects its tourist revenues by ensuring a secure, family-friendly atmosphere in the city."

Alam admits that six years ago there was a 50% vacancy in Anaheim's commercial real estate valued at 60 cents per square foot. Today, there are no vacancies and the going rate is $1.05 per square foot. This compares to $2.50 per square foot in coastal Costa Mesa and anywhere from $4 to $12 in elite Newport Beach. The average house in Anaheim sells for $260,000 to $550,000; condos range from $150,000 to $300,000.

Alam also established the Arab-American Council in 1997 which raises funds for and endorses political candidates. His next step is to establish an Arab City Chamber of Commerce.

"We have 300 businesses operated by Arab-Americans," he explained, "and it's time to organise. The Anaheim Chamber has 800 members and nearby Garden Grove has a chamber of commerce of 200 businesses. "Bobby MacDonald, who started the African American Chamber in Anaheim is running for the Anaheim City Council. We've endorsed him and as soon as the election is over in November, he's promised to help us form an Arab-American Chamber."

The annual Arab-American Day Festival is a pet project of Alam who came to the US from Lebanon in 1971 at the age of 17.

A highlight of the first festival was the flying of a giant Palestinian flag that was carried by a parachutist who jumped from a low-flying plane over the fair grounds. A big setback for the sixth annual festival slated for 21-23 September 2001 was the terrorist attack of 11 September.

"We had to cancel the festival. I lost $40,000 in deposits already paid for renting the fairground, tents, games, rides and sound equipment," he said ruefully.

"FBI agents were staked out in front of my business offices for days after ... but eventually they left, they knew we were harmless," Alam adds. The entrepreneur earned a bachelor's degree in restaurant and hotel management from California State University at Long Beach in 1975. "I worked my way through college taking jobs in restaurants doing everything from cooking to designing menus. I never was a waiter, that is hard work."

After graduating, he returned to Lebanon and landed a job as manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Beirut. Then civil war broke out. Alam was stranded for two weeks in the basement of the restaurant as fierce battles raged overhead. He was back in Southern California by 1976 where he developed a chain of restaurants in the Los Angeles area. He married a stunning Lebanese, Rula, and began studying real estate in his spare time.

Why has he invested so heavily in sponsoring an annual Arab-American Day Festival which has yet to break even financially in seven years?

"I have four children. I don't want them to get lost in the American melting pot. I want them to be proud of their Arab heritage, the festival is a way to bring all Arabs--Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, Moroccans, Lebanese, Algerians, Saudis--together to celebrate our food, music and culture." He notes with pride that his American-born children are fluent Arabic speakers and readers. Alam spared no expenses on the 2002 festival. He paid the air transportation for Palestinian Knesset member Azmi Bishara to fly to Orange County and deliver two speeches during the three-day fair. The esteemed Israeli Arab statesman spoke in Arabic to community leaders giving a fiery speech about Palestinian aspirations and later, in English, he addressed a crowd including Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and Congressman Dana Rorhbacher, the mayor, police chief and city council members of Garden Grove. More than 50,000 people attended the festival, which featured two concerts by the Middle East Symphony Orchestra led by Dr. Nabil Azzam. Alam's ambitions seem to have no boundaries. He already has collected commitments for $1.5 million for his dream project: The Arab House. But he needs many more millions before it becomes reality. The project will be set on 15 to 20 acres of land in Southern California and will feature a shopping mall, park, Arab Trade Centre, convention hall, hotel, library and Arabic handicraft factories. He foresees the site as a place where Arab heads of state can take up residence when visiting the US.

The mall will be a souq spread over 120,000 square feet capable of generating $500,000 income monthly. The 16-storey Arab Trade Centre would house Arab embassies, consulates, banks and corporations. It sounds ambitious, but judging by his current successes, the Arab House may come to fruition.