Coptic Canadian History Project
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We, as a Church and community, lose greatly when women are valued for their virginity, motherhood, and subservience in marriage. They are told to be quiet and stripped of their inherent value as human beings and as children of God.
The women in my family have always been soignée. One of my earliest memories is waking up to find my mother plopped in front of her eggshell-colored vanity, glamorously applying her face moisturizer, then her eyeliner, and finally brushing her hair ever so gently. It was a sacred time for her because, in those few … Continue reading “Remember to Send Back Some Good Moisturizer”
We must confront the fact of anti-Blackness in North America. Our justified objections to the persistent harassment, discrimination, and overt violence faced by members of our community in Egypt and North America should compel us to condemn the same when it happens to Black people. This is especially our responsibility as we become an integral part of the North American fabric.
On April 29th, Mayor Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga announced on Facebook that the City Council passed a motion to “allow for the broadcasting of the evening call to prayer (azan) from local mosques and other non-residential buildings regularly used for worship during the month of Ramadan this year.” Similar motions were passed in Milton, Markam, Ottawa, and Toronto, among other cities in Canada. Within hours of Crombie’s announcement, the Mayor’s page attracted thousands of comments and hundreds of shares, a rare level of engagement.
We go to work. You stay home and stop yourself from getting sick. Stop the spread of the virus. Protect your family, friends and our healthcare system. Let's respect and love one another. Let’s come together despite the distance for all the vulnerable people in our community. Let's want only what is best for ourselves and our neighbours. By the end we will never know if we overreacted, but God knows we will find out if we under reacted.
During the Sadat era, he lost many of his friends to Salafi organizations. He recalls vividly being called “kafir” by an old friend while the friend’s mother pled with him: “Yousief, Yousief, forgive him—he makes our life miserable too.” Baba kept walking, and between that and the metal factory and no college degree, it was time to move on.
I never understood what it was exactly that made my father leave until I visited Egypt for the first time as an adult. When I met his brother (my uncle) for the first time, he told me that my dad was “too honest for Egypt, and that’s why he had to leave.”
For "Arrivals and Departures: the Journeys of the Copts and their Artifacts," attendees were invited to reflect on their journeys, write a short note, and then place it on a mirror for the next participant to reflect and add upon; like ships passing in the night. These ephemeral memories stuck to a mirror only briefly, now transformed to a digital medium and retold, carry with them the experiences of Coptic emigres who’ve come to call Canada home.
Welcome back for part 2 of Coptic Canadian Women Discuss. At the heart of their stories of adaptation, lay a common inter-generational struggle as immigrants and their children work to strike a balance between two worlds.
Welcome to a very special episode of the Coptic Canadian History Project's Podcast. At the CCHP, we promote the history and collective memory of 'ordinary' Copts. As such, we are delighted to bring you a conversation between five female university students about their experiences in Toronto's Coptic communities.
