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Faithful ally: The United Church and one father’s journey from homophobia to LGBT advocacy

January 18, 2011 in Briarpatch Articles, Jan/Feb 2011: the Soul of Activism by admin | 1 comment

illustration: Nick Craine

By Marc Colbourne
Briarpatch Magazine

I remember the exact moment my Sundays changed forever. I was 14.

Sunday mornings in our house had always been filled with a routine chaos. Mom and Dad woke up first, showered and dressed, then called my two younger sisters and me in sequence. After our allotment of bathroom time, carefully monitored and often punctuated by knocking on the door, we each got dressed in the clothes my mom had laid out on our beds: dress pants and an ironed shirt for me, dresses reserved for Sundays for my sisters. All of this happened amidst constant complaints and pleas to stay home that week. New and creative excuses were tried and ignored. Finally, neither a moment too soon nor too late, we crowded into the car and arrived at the church in time to claim our regular pew – not too close to the altar but not far enough away to suggest that we really didn’t want to be there. Read the rest of this entry »

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Letters across borders: Two brothers separated by the U.S./Canada border reflect on what unites and divides them

June 30, 2010 in Briarpatch Articles, July/Aug 2010: Freedom of movement by briarpatch | No comments

illustration by TJ Vogan

illustration by TJ Vogan

An  e-mail  conversation between  Authman Mushtaak and Zidan Mushtaak
Briarpatch Magazine
July/August 2010

Authman and Zidan Mushtaak are Pakistani nationals who moved to the United States 15 years ago, as children. Because their family was forced to go underground to stay in the country, they’ve lived more than half their lives as undocumented immigrants.

After being deported from the U.S. in 2007, Authman, now 25, moved to Kingston, Ontario on a student visa and is working toward his Canadian citizenship. Zidan, 21, still lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his parents – all three without legal status.

Though they live less than 800 kilometres apart, Authman and Zidan have been separated for the past three years by an impenetrable, invisible line created by Canadian and U.S. immigration laws. The following is a series of emails exchanged between the brothers. For their and their family’s protection, they have chosen pseudonyms.

Authman: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our first few years in the U.S. Do you remember moving there after Dad lost his job in Saudi Arabia? You were so young.

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