It’s a good job the farm family don’t use the ping pong table or the billiard table any more as they are my favourite places for doing my packing. I start months in advance of departure, popping things in as I buy them or find them.
One year I packed three kitchen knives but when I got to the check in the lady said my case was small enough to carry on board; I’d completely forgotten about the knives. When I arrived at security I was chastised because I had nail clippers and they had a knife in them. I didn’t know they had. It took two men a few minutes to open the knife and it was as dull as dishwater. They wouldn’t let me keep the clippers and they didn’t find the knives. The same happened in Vancouver; I sailed through. In Taipei the man said, “Do you have knives in your bag?” I said I was sure I didn’t. He said, “I think you do, do you mind looking?” I found them and apologised profusely. He smiled and told me to put them back in the bag and check it in. Far more considerate than in Edmonton. Nowadays, I let the airline have my bag - in any case I’m getting too short to put it in the overhead bins.
Today I had a real treat, having lunch with friend Laurel. We've known each other for years but rarely meet because she takes contract work with the UN, UNHCR and other relief agencies. When I first met her she was in charge of the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers which took care of the needs of refugees and provided counselling for those suffering from torture trauma. Since then she's worked all over the place around the world. Her latest job was putting together a UN manual while being based in Budapest. She said it's a very right wing country now with lots of racism. A colleague was from India and he suffered a lot of verbal abuse on public transport, mainly because he looked like the local Roma. He suffered more abuse than the Africans on staff. She loves field work and earlier had been based in Burkina Faso and northern Kenya looking after refugees in the huge camps. It was a pleasure catching up with her news. She said I'm her favourite emailer.
Later in the day I visited the Wakilzada family who've been here about 15 years from Afghanistan. They actually came from Pakistan as they fled following death threats. Surya, the mother, lost her husband, and had to marry off her daughter to prevent her being taken by a Taliban soldier. She came here with her three sons and four enormous suitcases. We thought they were poor so were surprised at the suitcases. It turned out that they'd been told Canada was cold so each suitcase contained a heavy quilt.
They had no idea where the daughter was so I contacted the international Red Cross and, after three years of searching, they finally located her. They are happy to be in Canada but it's not been easy for them. Sulaiman, the oldest son, was born with cerebral palsy and, while here, he developed colon, bladder and bowel cancer. I got the citizenship judge to come to his hospital bed to make him a citizen as he said he wanted to die a Canadian. He survived and is a lovely young man, carrying his urine bag and other paraphernalia. Recently, someone bumped into the father, whom they thought was dead, and so now he's in touch with the daughter and with his family here. We are now working with the government to bring him over to Canada. The daughter took a video of the father visiting her family but mother said she didn't want to see it as it would make her too emotional; she'd love to go to see her family but is afraid because of security. I can understand as they've lost so many of their family since the Russians invaded.
As usual I was forcibly overfed by Surya who refuses to take no for an answer. After the meal various nuts and dates were put out plus tea made with cardamon, which is always a treat.
