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By now some of you may be wondering, “who the hell is Ozman and why does he write so much?” To answer the second question, I write because I love it, writing is one of the skills I do best, besides singing. Seriously, ask me to hit those Pavarotti notes, I dare you! But to answer the first question I need to tell you a bit of my story, for our stories are what make us who we are, whether we succumb to them, or rise above them. My name is Ossman Jamal Darwiche, and that is a very Arabic name I know! My father and half of my family are Sunni Muslims from Lebanon and my mother is a Cuban American and a Christian with Jewish roots. That’s quite an explosive mix right? Oh, you have no idea! Growing up in sunny South Florida surrounded by two of the world’s major religions, I felt like a fish out of water, trying to fit in to both Christianity and Islam, but somehow find my place. I had no idea who I really was!
I grew up mostly with my mother and her Cuban family, the rest being mostly Catholic, but I never really felt right. Nonetheless, one thing was for sure, if you can believe it, I had all these strange dreams as if from a past life or some kind of genetic memory. Having been bullied in school as a kid, I instinctively turned to prayer, and I asked God questions like a kid would ask a parent or an older friend. I was about 12 years old when my mother told me, “We’re Sephardic.” I asked her what that meant, she explained to me how she discovered that our ancestors on her side were Jews in old Spain who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. My grandmother then confirmed to us that yes, while her family were publically Catholic in Cuba, they had all these secret traditions passed down from generations of our ancestors, traditions like Shabbat and not allowing statues or images of any saints or deities in the house. She knew they kept those traditions a personal family secret, but she never understood why. As I got older, I sought the guidance of rabbis who informed me that I and my family are what they called Crypto Jews. Suddenly it all made sense! I had found my identity and calling, studying on my own for years and eventually completing my journey into Judaism.
As a proud Jewish Cuban Lebanese American, or “Jubanese American,” as I like to call it, I have grown to understand, appreciate and embrace all my other identities because all those religions and cultural upbringings are where I came from and made me who I am today, and I believe it only reflects how diverse we are today as Americans. Seriously, test your own DNA and you may be surprised at just how incredibly mixed most of us are! A little bit of this, another percentage of that, but 100% human in the end. That’s why I love studying history, science and genetics, because it reveals just how connected we all are to each other whether we like it or not. It unites us as a species and gives us hope for a better future full of kindness where we recognize the divine image in each and every human being. That’s why I am proud to now write for a team that endeavors towards that future using the power of philanthropy and the love of humanity. They are the Endow America Network Foundation, and their project Social Secharity is something you and your family should really look into, because it could just be the answer to your own economic situation, that of the whole country and the world entire. For more information visit www.socialsecharity.org and like us on Facebook @SocialSecharity. Also be sure to check out our weekly webcast Route 664: The Road to Human Kindness.
Ossman J. Darwiche is a freelance writer. His articles are available on the Endow America Network Foundation website socialsecharity.org.
All articles can be reprinted with written permission requested from Endow America Network Foundation (send request to socialsecharity@att.net). Reprints must include the following statement: “This article has been reprinted with permission by the Endow America Network Foundation and the author Ossman J. Darwiche.”
