In 2017, the entire world was quite shocked upon finding out that Libyan savages were abducting Black migrants who hoped to cross into Europe by sea and selling them as slaves. Africans and others around the world were outraged, but they needn't be surprised. After all, the Arabs have a long and cruel history of mistreating Africans, in spite of their claims of universal brotherhood among Muslims.
As an Arab Muslim woman of Saudi Arabian and Libyan descent living in the City of Montreal, Quebec, I know this for sure. Indeed, I laugh at the hypocrisy of my fellow Arabs who feign outrage at the claim of slavery happening in modern Libya. As if their hatred for Africans has vanished. Ha! Everyone seems to be two-faced in my part of the world, or perhaps that's a universal trait.
Whatever, I'm glad to be living in Canada and have severed all ties with my so-called community. Arabs reading this will call me a traitor for what I'm about to say, but I don't give a damn anymore. After all the things I've done, from emancipating myself from the patriarchal ways of my culture, to marrying a Black man from America and having mixed-race twin daughters by him, I don't think they can hate me more than they already do...
My name is Sharifa Salamah-Cagney, and I first saw the light of day in the City of Gharyan, Libya. It's a place as different from my beloved Montreal as night is from day. It's where my father, Mazen Salamah fled after losing the favor of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. He was a wealthy Emir and a member of the Royal Judiciary of Saudi Arabia, but got banished after some improprieties came to light.
Fearing for his life, my father fled to Libya, where he married a local woman, Fatima Al-Barassi. The two of them settled in Gharyan, and had little old me. My father could never stay out of politics, or out of trouble for that matter. He made friends with a Libyan military commander named Abdullah Saadawi, a one-time rival of Libyan superman and oligarch Mouammar Kadhafi. As a result of my father's poor choice of friends, our family was forced to flee Libya. That's how we ended up claiming refugee status in Canada.
I came to the City of Montreal, Quebec, at an early age but I still remembered Libya, where I grew up. I remember the way that dark-skinned people were often mistreated by the Arabs, especially in the town of Misrata, where my father sometimes worked as a civil engineer for the Libyan State. Living in Montreal taught me how backwards my part of the world was, especially when it came to racial and gender relations.
I'm not saying that the City of Montreal doesn't have racism, or sexism, but at least in this town, there are Black police officers, Black professors at colleges and universities, and female politicians and female professional athletes. While attending Lycee Verdieu, a private school, I tried out for the previously all-male wrestling squad, and made it. In spite of my father's reservations, I became the first female wrestler in the 107-year history of Lycee Verdieu.
I learned to compete against young men on their turf, and amassed twenty victories ( out of thirty two matches ) during my first season on the wrestling squad. Not bad for a gal who grew up as a Hijab-wearing, pious and respectful little angel in one of the world's most conservative societies, eh? I became a role model for female wrestlers everywhere, and even got interviewed by the Montreal Gazette. I was new to Canada, and had already made my mark on it. Fate had big things in store for me...
After graduating from Lycee Verdieu, I enrolled at the University of Montreal, to study civil engineering. The school lacked a wrestling team, for either men or women, and although I tried to start one, there simply wasn't enough interest. I ended up joining the University of Montreal women's rugby squad during my freshman year. By then, I was a big, tough gal. Mother nature and the forces of fate must have foreseen much hardship for yours truly, for they made me a force to reckon with.
At nineteen years old, I stood five feet ten inches tall, a bit on the curvy side, which is a nice way of saying that I was chubby, and I was no one to mess with. I was still wearing the Hijab as I started university, and no, it wasn't just because of my parents. I loved my Islamic faith, even though the racist and sexist behavior of many Muslims irked the hell out of me. I wanted to show the world that a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman could be strong, and defy stereotypes that were espoused both by Muslims and Westerners...
While in university, I met the man destined to change my life forever. Tariq Jefferson Cagney, a man from a most unique background. T.J. was a newcomer to the University of Montreal by way of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Six foot one inch tall, broad-shouldered, and ruggedly handsome, with medium brown skin and long, curly dark hair which he styled into an Afro. This brother caught my attention when he saw me working out at the school gym, and offered to spot me...
"Non merci, monsieur, I'm fine, thank you," I replied, puzzled by this random ( albeit handsome ) guy who was getting into my personal space. He didn't look familiar, and I figured he was one of those visitors from another school. Montreal has a lot of colleges and universities, with McGill and Concordia University but a couple of the more famous ones, so this dude could have come from anywhere.
"Just an offer, ma'am," the handsome stranger replied, and that's when I detected a U.S. accent in his voice. We don't get a lot of Americans in the City of Montreal, Quebec. People from the U.S. seem to prefer cities like Toronto, Calgary, Halifax, Vancouver, or even boring old Ottawa to our beloved Montreal. I guess it's the French influence that scares them. Whatever.
I finished working out, and then hit the showers, then headed back to the campus library. The school library has become my second home, since I have so much work to do. Civil engineering isn't the easiest major out there, but I've always loved building things and figuring out how things work. I'm that gal who played with fire trucks instead of Barbie Dolls coming up. Tomboy in a Hijab, that's me. Take it or leave it.
"Can I seat here?" came a voice, and I looked up from my Engineering Dynamics book to find a vision of masculine beauty standing before me. There he was, the handsome stranger from the gym. I rolled my eyes and nodded, and the smiling stranger sat down, and promptly introduced himself as Omar Jefferson Cagney, holding his hand out for me to shake.