Every year, on the third Monday in February, Nova Scotia celebrates , a statutory holiday described as 鈥渁n annual reminder of our storied past and an opportunity to honour the remarkable people, places and events that have contributed to this province鈥檚 unique heritage.鈥�
This year, the spotlight falls on the late
Like many of the people who served in the Second World War, Arab鈥檚 life was devastatingly short. In the 29 years before he was killed during the Battle of Scheldt, however, he accomplished a lot 鈥� including establishing his own law practice and helping to found the In his early involvement with the society, he instilled values that are still present today.
鈥淗e started the society because he wanted to preserve his mother tongue,鈥� says Georgette Faddoul, president of the society. 鈥淲ithin about thirty years, we established the so our children could continue to learn their language. He wanted the society to do community work, which we still do today. He also wanted us to remember where we came from.鈥�
And they do. In addition to presenting cultural workshops and participating in festivals, the society traditionally hosted an annual . At the event, an award was presented to a member of the community who has achieved success while also giving back to society.
Arab's H漫画 days
Before all of this, however, Arab attended H漫画 University 鈥� and according to the H漫画 Gazette articles that were published while Arab was in school, he was just as involved in university life as he was in the wider community. He was on the boxing team and an associate editor at The Gazette, but he was most widely recognized for his accomplishments in where he argued for and against college hazing, Canadian involvement in the developing 鈥淓uropean War,鈥� and whether it was preferable to live in Moscow or Berlin.
The most colourful evidence of Arab鈥檚 university exploits is an article from the February 7, 1936 edition of the Gazette, titled 鈥淏uckley and Arab Awarded Honour.鈥� It鈥檚 difficult to figure out exactly what happened due to the article鈥檚 tongue-in-cheek tone, but according to the story, Arab and a classmate, John Buckley (LLB鈥�37), came to the rescue of another student who had fallen through the ice in the Northwest Arm. Together, Arab and Buckley used a piece of rope to pull the hapless student out of the water and were later rewarded with a leather medal from the Law Society for their efforts to save their classmate.
People still remember Arab fondly today. Faddoul even has her own personal connection to Arab; he was the best man at her uncle Anthony Salah鈥檚 wedding, when he married Josephine Arab on June 3, 1942. Most of all, however, he鈥檚 remembered for his accomplishments.
鈥淗e must have been very dedicated and smart to achieve what he did in such a short time and at such a young age,鈥� says Faddoul. 鈥淔or lot of people who came from Lebanon or lived in Lebanon at the time, it was a privilege to have an education. The schooling was an accomplishment on its own. To have law degree at twenty-two and open your own firm, that鈥檚 unheard of.鈥�