A Tale of Unbelonging
BOOK REVIEW: But You Don’t Look Arab and Other Tales of Unbelonging
By Hala Gorani / Hachette Books
Reviewed by: Marc Polymeropoulos
The Reviewer — Marc Polymeropoulos served for 26 years at CIA and retired from the Senior Intelligence Service in 2019. He is a MSNBC national security and intelligence analyst and author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA.
REVIEW — I have an ongoing fascination in comparing the two professions of field intelligence officer and journalist. Why is that? Well, for one, I served at CIA for 26 years, where I had the great fortune of serving as an operations officer, and where I both recruited and handled agents. In part two of my life journey, I am an MSNBC contributor, and have both met and befriended some of the great journalists of the modern era. So, I have seen the overlap between the two jobs – finding sources with access, serving in hardship locations, and for many, becoming emotionally attached to issues that sometimes involve life and death. This must explain why I have made some lasting friendships in the media – hardly what I would have expected after hiding in the shadows at CIA for several decades. Former CNN International anchor Hala Gorani, author of the recently released “But You Don’t Look Arab; and other Tales of Unbelonging,” nails it when she states: “we love chaos.” That rings true for many an operations officer (present company included).
For this reason, I was drawn to Gorani’s memoir. To pique my interest even further, I had overlapped in one specific locale in the Middle East with Gorani, and clearly recalled her trip to the capital that caused the city to buzz. It was a time where there was a whiff of change in the region. I never met her, despite efforts of local friends to introduce her to my wife and I – it is not encouraged by CIA headquarters for case officers to mingle with the press. Yet I felt like I always knew Gorani well. To many of us who served in the region over the last several decades, Gorani was a fixture on CNN International, and we respected and admired her both for her reporting acumen and also that, in our view, her Syrian roots always ensured she actually knew what she was talking about.
The premise of the book is that Gorani, born in the US to Syrian parents, raised mainly in France interspersed with schooling in the US, then living in Atlanta and London, has never felt a sense of belonging. Blue eyed, fair skinned – reminding me too of my mother-in-law, who was a Syrian born Lebanese-Georgian – Gorani recounts her struggles simply in fitting in. Is she Syrian? French? American? Her description of her early time in France, where she wore different clothes and barely spoke French, was heart wrenching. In the early part of her career, she hid her Arab identity, due to discrimination. Many can probably identify with this immigrant experience.
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Gorani’s family tree was fascinating, from her great, great grandmother’s kidnapping into the Sultan’s harem, to her grandfather later serving as Syrian Minister of Justice in 1961. For students and aficionados of the Middle East, it was a history lesson spanning a century, interspersed with a personal touch.
Gorani’s description of Syrian culture – and the importance of families – also rang very true to me. Through the pages of the book, the tragedy of the Syrian civil war is never far from her thoughts. Her family’s hometown of Aleppo was destroyed. Relatives moved to Lebanon and France. There is an enduring sadness that what once existed in pre-war Syria will never be found again.
“But You Don’t Look Arab” is a fabulous read, a journey of searching for identity and belonging. To the outside world, Gorani is a spectacular success. Known and respected globally, winner of Emmy awards, she appeared to be – and was certainly in our eyes – on top of her profession. Tough, fearless, compassionate, always in the mix. Yet the pages revealed inner struggles that frankly made her seem so much more human.
After finishing the book, a thought came to my mind. I contacted my mother-in-law, who also grew up in Aleppo. I told her that I thought she may find the book interesting. Several weeks later, I received a reply. “I went to school with her mother you know, she was two years ahead of me in high school.” What an amazing revelation. The world is indeed small. Careers have parallels that become obvious over time. And the timeless story of an immigrant family – to any country – feeling alone and confused, yet ultimately succeeding in a spectacular fashion, while always searching for their identity. Well, to me, such a story never gets old.
But You Don’t Look Arab and Other Tales of Unbelonging earns a prestigious 4 out of 4 trench coats
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