Lila Suboh Oral History

During this interview, the interviewer Hannah Ryan interviewed Lila Suboh, one of the first founding members of the Majdal center in El Cajon, California. Suboh first grew up in Los Angeles but late moved to the Fresno and then the San Diego area and became involved with the Arab youth groups and also the Palestinian youth groups. Throughout this oral history, interview, and project Suboh discussed many things about what it was like to grow up Arab and more importantly Palestinian in the United States and how she became involved in the Majdal Center in order to better her community. This was mainly because of the refugee crisis in many Arab countries which caused an influx of Arab immigrants into the El Cajon area and Majdal was a center created to help and aid this community with their basic needs when moving and trying to integrate into American society. This interview covers topics such as the Arab migration, the Arab-American experience, and the making of the Majdal center. The interview was conducted via phone call in order to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic and because my narrator was not living in the area she is currently living in New Jersey. The interview was conducted by Hannah Ryan, a third-year International Studies major at UCSD who is interested in learning more about the Arab population and “Middle Eastern” history.