Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Special Treat – From Me!

June 9, 2006

A Single Fig

Carol Roach

She sat beside me on the first day of French Class; she smiled though she did not talk very much. Like me she was older than most of the students. I wasn’t sure of her age, I knew she was a bit younger than me, yet I could still see the quiet wisdom in her eyes. As with some many other new landed immigrants in Canada, I felt that perhaps she was just shy, feeling bewildered in her new country; so far away from home.

Mina did not talk very much but did ask a lot of questions and it quickly became apparent that she was a hardworking student. During the class introductions I learned that she was married with no other family here except for her husband and mother-in-law. She left behind her own precious family in Iran to come to Canada; her brave new world. I marveled at the way immigrants could leave their birthplace and voyage sometimes from the other side of the world to a new country, culture and way of life. I know that I could never do it, but then I never had to.

As the term progressed, I learned that Mina was anything but shy; her lack of conversation was due to the fact that she believed she could not speak French very well and was very self conscious when she spoke. She looked at me as an example of how well she should be speaking. I had to point out to her, I lived in Quebec all of my life. I am a native English Montrealer who has a French family. My mom and sisters speak French. It was not nearly as hard for me to learn French as it must be for a person who spoke a language that did not even use the same alphabet. Iranians speak Farsi, a Persian language that is not Arabic but can sound like it to an untrained ear.

Even with the language barrier much to the delight of the class, we found Mina to be very charming, caring, and a natural born comedian. Her jokes about her mother-in-law, whom she does not get along with, amused us. Most of the class did not realize that this lady hid her pain very well. She longed to feel a part of her husband’s family; she needed family in this strange new world. It was the mother-in-law who would not accept her. Mina could not understand it. She told me how her own family embraced her husband with open arms, and she was brought up to believe that all families did the same.

I asked her why she had chosen to leave Iran and her beloved family behind. Mina gave me a matter-of- fact answer. She left her homeland to follow her husband’s dream. I still wondered why Mina did not talk much about her family and her life in Iran. It wasn’t that Mina had problems speaking French because by this time, three months later, Mina had improved tremendously and she was gaining a lot of self confidence in this area. Still, her self confidence was perhaps lacking elsewhere.

Normally, people easily open up to me and within no time I know their life story. I soon found out that Mina, on the other hand, believed that no one would be interested in her life. She was surprised to find out that this Canadian woman was very interested.

One day when we were talking about the emperor Darius, the first emperor of Iran, Mina asked me if I knew anything about the fast of Ramadan which lasts the entire month. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world, fast during the day time and eat only a small meal with family or friends during the evening hours.

She went on to explain that during Ramadan, only certain people are exempt from fasting for medical reasons such as sickness or pregnancy. The laws are very strict, so much so, that if you are caught in Iran eating during the period, you are jailed.

Mina surprised me that day as she opened up to me like she never had before. She told me about her personal experience just prior to coming to Canada.

She was driving around getting things she needed for her departure. It was very hot and she felt very drained and lightheaded. Of course she had not eaten all day for she was a devout Muslim woman. However, since she wasn’t feeling well, she was afraid of perhaps having an accident at the wheel so she took a small fig from her glove department and ate it.

While she was eating she had noticed a car parked and a man starring at her. She thought nothing of it at the time, yet no sooner had she eaten the fig; she was stopped by the police who accused her of breaking the law. Mina tried to explain that she was not feeling well and it was but a small fig. They were very rough with her and took her down to the police station where she was interrogated for hours and left in a jail cell over night.

Mina was terrified; she had no one there with her to defend her. She had never felt so vulnerable in all her life. The following morning she was to pass by the court officer to prepare for trial. She just could not fathom that she was about to be jailed for breaking Ramadan, a very serious offense, all because of a small indiscretion. She had eaten a fig!

Mina gathered her wits about her. She could not afford to go to jail. She could not afford to be branded as a common criminal the rest of her life. Her chances of immigrating to Canada destroyed right before her eyes. Yet, no amount of crying and begging for mercy was going to help her. She did the only thing she knew to do. She bribed the court officer. She offered him all the money she had in her purse; three hundred dollars, to let her go. A practice she says is done quite often in Iran; pay the court to look the other way.

Talk to Mina anytime about Iran and her eyes light up. She loves her country and her family back home. But behind the smile is the wisdom in her eyes which tell a tale of injustice and despair and the longing for a better life for her people.

Mina came to Canada to make a new life for herself in the land of the just and the free. While I am so thankful that freedom and justice is all that I have ever known.

Carol Roach

winterose@videotron.ca

winterose@videotron.ca

A Native of Montreal, Quebec, Carol is a graduate of Concordia, and McGill University.  She holds a bachelor in psychology and a Masters in counselling psychology.  Carol Roach is a published writer and newsletter editor.  You can purchase her book: Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey at www.publishamerica.com, or www.amazon.com.  You can also go to your local bookstore and order it there as well.  Be sure to quote the isbn number: 1-4137-1921-X for local purchases:  Carol’s second book: Angels Watching Over is currently looking for a home. Stay tuned for details. 

If you are interested in other stories feel free to join her newsletter: Storytime Tapestry at: http://subs.zinester.com/98907 , or email her directly at winterose@videotron.ca and she will be glad to accommodate you.  Carol enjoys email and responds to every inquiry.