Origin story

Here’s a common question I get: Where are you from?

It’s a loaded question. In the County, I’m sure some people simply mean, ‘you’re not a Bongard or a McFaul, so obviously you arrived here from elsewhere.’

It could also mean, ‘wow, what an unusual name, what is its cultural origin?’

Or it could mean, ‘upon observing your slightly darker complexion and angular nose, I’ve determined you’re not of western European origin like most of us white folks here in Canada, so what countries do your family members hail from?’

In any case, it gives the sensation of some subtle form of racism, however well-intentioned. It is meant to imply, ‘you do not belong to here. You are an other. Please justify.’

Don’t agree? Ask yourself how often you hear that question.

And although I am not, perhaps, the most obviously different person in this community, or any other in Canada, I feel it.

I also feel for Maryam Monsef, the Peterborough- area MP whose origin story has been both an asset and now a curse.

When I was younger, I would respond to the question like this: “I was born in Israel, but I am a Canadian citizen. My mother’s family is Polish and Romanian, my father’s family is Persian.”

Complicated enough? Well, it’s not quite true. My roots are Lithuanian rather than Polish— borders in Europe change frequently and can be confusing for a child who is still learning about the provinces and territories of Canada. And my father’s family is Kurdish rather than Persian. They are, I have since learned, distinct ethnicities. Add to that an ambiguous border, and I’m really not clear, even as an adult, whether they were originally Kurdish in Iran or in Afghanistan before they arrived in Israel as refugees.

So you see, it would be easy for someone who really wanted to take the time to research my background to call me a liar.

But that’s not really fair. Just like it’s not really fair that anyone deemed ever-so-subtly as an other feels the need to explain where they’re from, why they look or sound different.

Still, I suppose all is fair in love, war and politics. Monsef was touted as Canada’s first Afghan-born MP, and that was indeed false advertising. She was actually born in Iran.

On top of that, it puts into question how MPs are vetted. It has led to MPs from across the aisle questioning the Liberals’ vetting process, despite revelations five years ago this month that Tory MP Bob Dechert was sending flirtatious emails to a reporter for China’s state-run media organization.

I feel for Monsef because it is hard enough discovering information that is fraught with issues of personal identity without colleagues and the media discussing the information and its repercussions, including the potential that her Canadian citizenship was obtained fraudulently.

But it’s too bad this woman, who learned something about herself at the same time the rest of the country did, is only in the spotlight because people seem to care where she came from.

mihal@mihalzada.com