Who We Are

Maunifa was born in Jdeideh, Lebanon in 1929. Her parents passed away before she reached her adolescence. She was left orphaned with no relatives willing to take her in. She had no monetary income to support herself. She needed to join the workforce. Age-discriminatory practices limited her career prospects. She found a job as a live-in housemaid (she accidentally joined the kafala system). She became victimized by the vicious torment caused by the family. She became susceptible to verbal abuse. She received physical beatings. She slept outside in a barn where rats bit her. She met a criminal (my grandfather) who had obtained his citizenship. Together, they moved to Canada.

Hana was born in Majdel Balhis, Lebanon in 1961. She moved to Canada at three years old. Her family moved into a low-income house. She spent her late evenings reading novels in the dark. It resulted in her eyes deteriorating. It did not hinder her love for education. Her eldest sister received the recommendation to attend a technical high school. Her father determined all his daughters would attend a technical high school. His sons could go to general high school. Afterward, she entered the workforce. Dating was strictly prohibited. At 25, she visited her brother in the hospital. The man in the next bed asked her out. She agreed to a secret relationship. A year later, he coerced her into marriage. The alternative was an honor killing. 

Brianna was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1996. I suffered from malnutrition as an infant. I became deprived of drinking milk. The nurse was under the impression that I was getting fed. My mother was not lactating. On the third day, the nurse noticed that I was on the brink of dehydration. I got rushed on life support. The nurse informed my mother that alcohol would produce breast milk. It went against her religious ideology. She ultimately drank the can of beer. It saved my life. I entered into my formative years. I got diagnosed with a Nonverbal Learning Disability. The man who forced my mother into marriage had a compilation of learning disabilities and mental illnesses. I developed permanent brain damage as a result.