Personality of the Month — Mrs. Nazik al-Abid Beyhum

* A lady of noble lineage, cultured.

* She played an important political role in the era of the Arab government in Damascus.

* She distinguished herself as an energetic, capable farmer.

* A great social reformer.

* A unique personality among our ladies.

* A lover of good works.

Q — I know, Mrs. Nazik, that you were, and still are, among the enthusiasts for the Arab cause. When, I wonder, did this feeling begin in you?

A — The awakening of national feeling began in me while I was still small, when the Turks exiled the free men of my people, my father among them; and there I began to feel the intensity of my love and longing for my people, and that I was ready to do anything for the sake of their liberation and advancement.

Q — Were there certain events in the dawn of your youth that nourished the spirit of nationalism in you?

A — Yes. What redoubled my national feeling was that danger which overtook my homeland, Syria, after its independence under the rule of King Faisal. For the French — no sooner did the ambition stir in them to impose their mandate on Syria than a stormy nationalist whirlwind arose there among the daughters of the noble families, to say nothing of their men. The government of that time appreciated these noble sentiments and wished to include the ladies in the work of defense; and when the "Red Star Society" was formed — which was the equivalent of the Red Cross — it chose for it a group of daughters of good families and appointed me its president. And when we founded the School for the Daughters of the Martyrs, it delegated me to head it as well. And when the war broke out, we set up the hospital in a few days.

Q — Did you witness the battles between the French and the Arab army?

A — Yes, and I was in the front lines; and when the Minister of War, Yusuf Bey al-Azmeh, was wounded, he gave up his soul in my hands, at Maysalun.

Q — A mighty endurance and a rare courage!! How did the government of King Faisal reward you?

A — It conferred on me the rank of honorary captain in the army — "yuzbashi" — and I used to inspect the troops in my military uniform, which I still keep and put on for certain occasions, as a memento dear to me.

Q — And did you continue your political activity after King Faisal's departure from Damascus?

A — Yes, and I was the mainspring of the movement in kindling the fire of the revolts — which drove the French to banish me out of the country: I was exiled three times.

Q — And when was that?

A — In 1920, and in 1922. On one of these occasions I went to Istanbul, and I took advantage of the opportunity of being there and entered the American College for Girls and studied English.

Q — I understand, Mrs. Nazik, that at its beginning your activity took a political direction. In what circumstances did it turn to agricultural activity?

A — When I was removed from the field of politics and forbidden by the French government to take part in the opposing revolutionary movements, my father sent me to his villages on the outskirts of Damascus, and I devoted myself to the service of the land; and when my father saw this zeal in me, he set apart for me the lands of al-Zuraiqiyah, which were still fallow, and I turned them into a green paradise.

Q — And how did you succeed so completely? Had you any previous acquaintance with the life of peasantry and farming?

A — The land was not strange to me; and what helped me to succeed, and helps me still, is my practical view of things. I always make of myself the good example for the peasants: I go down to the field early, I work with them, I deal honestly with them, and I settle their problems; and for this they believe in me and come back to me in all their affairs.

Q — An excellent method indeed, for it surely requires keen intelligence, wide experience, and sound judgment — and all of these are abundant in your person. And now I have a question of another color. Have you ever tried working in literature?

A — Yes. In 1920 I brought out the magazine "Nur al-Fayha," a women's magazine, moral and literary, of which nine numbers appeared. Its mission was to rouse woman from her slumber and to draw her on toward expressing opinion and spreading thought.

Q — And was the magazine "Nur al-Fayha" the first women's magazine to appear in Damascus?

A — No; it was preceded by the magazine "al-Arus" of Mary Ajami.

Q — And did you demand woman's political rights?

A — I had more than one round on this subject. I raised my voice for the first time and demanded that woman be given her political right when the matter was put up for discussion at the Syrian Congress held in Damascus in the era of King Faisal, in 1919.

Q — And the October liberation movement in Lebanon — did you not have a hand in it, Mrs. Nazik?

A — And how should a liberation movement against colonialism arise without my being in it? For though I may appear to keep away from politics, I have a watchful eye that observes affairs and bides its opportunities.

Q — God bless your good fortune... And now let us pass to another subject, which is in fact the axis of our talk — I mean the Society for Securing Work for the Palestine Refugees. I believe that, with the help of your husband, Mr. Mohammad Jamil Beyhum, and a group of ladies, you founded this great project exactly two years ago.

A — Yes, that was exactly two years ago, when we felt, after the Palestine catastrophe, that the refugees were in need of someone to preserve their dignity, and that by helping them toward honest earning and by securing work for them. We began our project by securing work for the refugees, striving to find employment in various fields, and we succeeded greatly: the number of those for whom we secured work reached nearly three hundred. And after our personal contacts we found that the problem of the woman was the harder one, because she is not equipped educationally; moreover, family tradition stands in the way of her employment in outside work. And so our project expanded with the founding of an orphanage, a workshop, and a school. And before a year had passed since the founding of

this orphanage, it held within its walls thirty orphan girls, for whom we chose, from among the Palestinian women, experienced matrons and capable teachers.

Q — And what did you teach them?

A — Elementary studies for the little ones, according to the program of the Ministry of Education; and the teaching of the free women's trades, such as sewing, embroidery, and dressmaking, to those refugee women who need to earn, for the sake of securing a livelihood and preserving dignity. And we give them certificates that help them secure their future.

Q — It is truly a great humanitarian work. And how many are there in the institute?

A — Thirty orphan girls, daughters of the martyrs, as boarders; fifty refugee girls as day pupils; three hundred refugee women pupils in the vocational section.

Q — And may I ask about the chief material resources of this project?

A — Its chief resources are the donations of people of piety and charity, and we thank God that we have found no difficulty in drawing forth their open hands, convinced as they are that our positive, constructive work is the best answer we can make to the Palestine catastrophe, until perhaps the final settlement comes with which the Arabs will be content.

Q — I have heard that you recently opened a new branch to graduate children's governesses from among the Palestinian refugee women, and I have praised very highly the bringing of this idea into being, for the country is in urgent need of governesses and directresses. And what do you teach them in this branch?

A — Besides reading and arithmetic, we teach them special lessons in child-rearing, psychology, cleanliness, health, and the like.

In the name of our refugee brothers, and in the name of every zealous soul who strives for the advancement of his country and the raising of its standing, I express my deep admiration and appreciation of your activity and the activity of your colleagues, men and women, who carry on this great project. May God uphold the hands of you all in everything that is for the good of the homeland.