I never thought working on a school essay could be so interesting!  Mom has a box of old letters Grandpa Omar had written many years ago.  My uncles gave them to her after Grandma Mona died, but Mom never read them because they’re written in Arabic.  Mom said she and my uncles used to speak Arabic at the dinner table every night when they were young, but none of them ever learned to read it.

One of the Lebanese women in Mom’s English classes offered to translate the letters for us after learning about my project.  Mom actually cried when she read the letters for the first time.  Even she never knew about all the struggles Grandpa Omar experienced when he first came to Canada.

Mom said she wished Grandpa Omar could have lived to see Joe Ghiz running in this month’s provincial election.  She and Dad just nailed a sign with his name on it on our lawn a few days ago.

If Joe Ghiz wins this election, he’ll become the first Canadian premier of non-European descent, but that’s not the only reason why my parents support him.  They also say Joe Ghiz will create more jobs across P.E.I., equal pay for women, and more daycare funding.

Charlottetown already had a Lebanese-Canadian mayor 10 years ago and Joe Ghiz is already the provincial Opposition Leader, so why would it be a big deal if he became premier?

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