{"id":2301,"date":"2019-08-10T01:50:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T22:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=2301"},"modified":"2019-08-10T01:50:04","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T22:50:04","slug":"business-interests-and-community-activism-fight-over-yemen-murals-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/business-interests-and-community-activism-fight-over-yemen-murals-fate\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Interests and Community Activism Fight Over Yemen Mural\u2019s Fate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Simon Albaugh – YAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Between the man who owns one of the most popular restaurants in Hamtramck and a community group who\u2019ve worked to bring the Populace together stands the Yemen Mural. Spanning 80 feet, with a price tag of more than $20,000, the mural was intended to be a celebration of Hamtramck\u2019s diverse population.<\/p>\n

Its artist, named Dasic Fernandez, called upon tropes of freedom, culture and the country of Yemen itself. In an interview, Fernandez talked about trying to put the viewer in the mural by depicting figures in the eyes of the man and covered woman. Throughout the painting are trees that can only be found on an Island off the coast of Yemen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe country\u2019s at war right now and a lot of those sites that are captured in that mural have been destroyed,\u201d Shaffwan Ahmed of OneHamtramck said. \u201cThe trees have been destroyed by natural disasters, like tsunamis. This has cultural significance in Hamtramck. Some of those things are gone and this is a representation of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Yemen Mural is on a wall that separates Sheeba Restaurant and an open lot. Ali Al-Zuebairi, owner of Yemen Caf\u00e9, bought the lot as part of a package along with the building where his Caf\u00e9 now serves people from all over the surrounding communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Al-Zuebairi bought the building and the lot after the mural had already been painted on through the work of a group called OneHamtramck. Led by Bill Meyer, OneHamtramck is responsible both the Yemen Mural and the Bangladesh Mural in Hamtramck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gone out to see people in cars just staring at the mural,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cPeople come from all over to see the mural. I\u2019ve heard stories and stories. It\u2019s exactly what we wanted the mural to do. Bring pride in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, a building application for the lot has just been approved by the city. Al-Zuebairi\u2019s plan is to build a small hotel that other business owners believe would bring more people to their establishments around the city.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding [on the lot] is going to bring benefits to the city,\u201d Tawfeek Al-Gahinm said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to bring taxes and it\u2019s going to bring people.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because the hotel would completely block the mural, OneHamtramck has been trying to stop the construction. As of right now, the group says they offered to buy the lots behind both restaurants for a trade. Those lots would offer more land for Al-Zuebairi\u2019s building plans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, Al-Zuebairi says OneHamtramck approached him about giving them the lot without any offer of a trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to make everyone in the community and the city happy,\u201d Al-Zuebairi said. \u201cBut the lot is not free.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

OneHamtramck also said that in addition to these offers, they would work to make the street of the future business into a two-way road for better traffic. But according to representatives from OneHamtramck, Ali Al-Zuebairi has been refusing these offers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to him,\u201d Al-Gahinm said. \u201cBecause [Al-Zuebairi] owns the land. Nobody has the right to stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The image is something that members of OneHamtramck say could never be made again. Even though Al-Zuebairi offered to pay $8,000 for the mural\u2019s replacement, the process of replacing the mural is close to impossible for OneHamtramck to afford.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has intrinsic value that you really can\u2019t put a price tag on,\u201d Abraham Aiyash of OneHamtramck said. \u201cThe fact of the matter is this is something that\u2019s elevated the Yemeni Community in ways that celebrates its rich cultural history.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite the building application being approved by the city, Al-Zuebairi\u2019s project still needs to get approval from the city council. So far, Council Members have not voted on the issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shaffwan Ahmed and Bill Meyer established an event to take place an hour before the next council meeting to help people communicate their stance on the mural. He believes it will give people the opportunity to talk about solutions or just to tell the council what the mural means to them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil won\u2019t know that people want to protect this mural, aside from their own opinions on it,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cSo we put this event together to urge residents to say \u2018hey if you want to save this mural, let\u2019s find a compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mural is a powerful reminder of the beauty of Yemen. But in a predominately low-income community where opportunities can sometimes be hard to come by, the chance to expand a wildly successful business enterprise is something that must be handled carefully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As of right now, no compromise has been found for the mural. On August 13, residents of Hamtramck are invited to share their opinions during the city council meeting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than just paint on a wall,\u201d Abraham Aiyahs said. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol of hope for folks who have fled war torn Yemen when people walk out of a Yemeni restaurant and say \u2018wow, the patterns, the Socotra trees give me nostalgia,\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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