Habeeb salloum biography of christopher

He hated the disappointment in their faces when he would have to tell them no. Sometimes he walked many miles to finally reach a household, only to be turned away, frustrated, because he had no rosaries or crosses from the birthplace of Christ. There were the odd times when the door was closed in his face, but there were also the better times when a farming household would invite him to eat dinner and stay overnight to get his rest.

My father always praised the farmers of Swedish and Norwegian origin. They were invariably kind and hospitable to him and would rarely let him go without a good meal and a good night's sleep. These people, he told us, had 'good hearts. Salloum family on the homestead, But Dad's intent was still to be a farmer and own his own land, the dream he carried with him when he left Qaroun.

He told us, that night, that to work as a farmer is much nobler than being a peddler. We also learned, that same night, an expression he repeated in Arabic - 'wishing does not make a poor man rich. And it did. Ironically, it was on one of the peddling trips that my father learned that the Government was selling homesteads approximately 40 miles south of Gouverneur.

But he saw that there was nothing on it and that it would not be productive. It was close to the Burnabrea post office run by Donald Salmon, a veteran and farmer. We now owned 50 acres of broken land, with the rest being pasture. It also had a small unfinished house on it. As well, Dad had saved enough to buy a team of horses, a wagon and a plow.

This second homestead became our first true living on a homestead and the beginning of fulfilling Dad's dream to be a farmer on Canada's western plains. This is not to say that he stopped peddling. He continued to do so for the next couple of years whenever he had the extra time and needed the extra money. I remember looking at Dad when he stopped and took a sip of his hot tea.

There were a lot of memories floating around, and it seemed that my parents, as my father was telling his story, were reliving those first few years. I took this break as a chance to ask my Dad a question. No one was around you. You had relatives and friends in Qaroun that you would see every day. Now there wasn't even a neighbour's house in sight?

My father turned to me and said, "You hear your mother's whispering cries at night? You hear me get angry more than not? That's how we cope with reality and our new life here in Saskatchewan. The story of my father's life is one of a demanding and grueling struggle to become an independent farmer, all of which he did on his own. It stands in stark contrast to derogatory descriptions of the Syrian as a "parasite" who is "averse to work of any kind…will never work at hard physical labor," [1] or as an "undesirable class" with "low intelligence.

McLaughlin, Popular Science Monthly 65, , p. Whelpley, The Problem of the Immigrant , , p. Salloum family in , after all the children had left the farm and made their lives in various urban centers. All photos are courtesy the author, except where otherwise noted. We are saddened to tell you that the author of this article, Mr. Habeeb Salloum, passed away in December of last year.

It was a loss not only for his family and friends, but for all those who love Saskatchewan and Canadian history. In addition to his many other accomplishments, his writings share important immigration history that has not yet been brought into the public eye nearly enough. He felt that this is the way to write history, that is, the history of immigration: Its effects not only on the immigrant but on the new society into which the immigrant has settled.

Habeeb salloum biography of christopher

Create a new account. Log In. Browse Biographies. Quiz Are you a biography pro? A John F. B Theodore Roosevelt. C Bill Clinton. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. The family raised chickens, sheeps and cows, first on a farm 18 miles north of Val Marie, then on a farm north of Gouverneur.

They grew legumes that were previously unknown here. Shams improvised to spice her foods, using lemon instead of sumac, for example, and foraging for wild greens and saskatoon berries to substitute for traditional herbs and fruits. Women — like his sisters — could more easily assimilate, leaving their family names behind as they married men named McCallum, Carleton and McWhirter.

During a career as a civil servant, Salloum had a desire to write and travel. After retiring, he did both. Since the s, he has written food and travel columns for various publications, some of which are included in the new book. Unlike its predecessor, there are no pictures of the food, so following the recipes takes some imagination. I tried three of them — burghul with tomatoes, Egyptian falafel made with broad beans instead of chickpeas , and a yogurt and eggplant dip.

Many years later, after retiring from Revenue Canada, he was able to become a full-time freelance writer and author. Once he began his new profession, he began his widespread travels around the world. Salloum had three children, Muna, Leila, and Raji. Elisabeth Plain , Toronto: Ginn and Company, , pp. Contributor to The Recipes Only Cookbook, ed.

Wasserman and R. Melitta W. Adamson , New York: Routledge, , pp. Bard, B. Salloum created new dishes at his home in Toronto, Ontario and spent much of his time traveling the world and authoring articles for each visit. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.