DIANA AND FRANK

vol. 2, no. 2, February 2009, $1.00


si vous voulez lire en français, : http://www.laviereelle.blogspot.com/

It may sound indecent to talk about something like love between a young Lebanese woman and an elderly Jewish man. But it is not something gross. It is in fact the virtual -in time- common passion by two human beings for understanding and peace as an upshot of deep and mutual respect.

I have known the young woman – Diana- in a coffee shop where she was acting as a supervisor and waitress for a well-known restaurant, outlet of a Canadian chain store. It was in the 2000s. She was keen and very curious to learn restlessly about just everything: the world; on one hand, the Middle East in general, on her motherland in particular; on the other hand, Venezuela (especially on Chavez that she heard of) and finally Cuba. We became acquainted and gradually I spoke to her with the words of a dear and passed away communist comrade whose name was Frank. He is this old man.

Frank came to Canada in 1921 from Poland. He was a garment worker and proud of it. He dedicated his life up to the last moment, sick and with a crippling age (I knew him in his 80s), to the cause of the working class of Canada and of Québec. Though he never learned French language, - the ups and downs of a hectic life of struggles hindered him to do so -, he was always amongst the firsts to attend meetings in Montréal of the communist party to support the right of Québec to self-determination up and including secession.

Once, he came to the bookstore of the communist party downtown of Montréal, looking for a car driver to help him in his weekly “run” to sale communist literature –from Poland, New York, Israel and Soviet Union- in the Jewish neighbourhoods of the metropolis. The author of these lines volunteered with his poor knowledge of the Jewish reality, himself born and educated in Québec City amidst a total French-Canadian society.

Prior to the beginning of this new adventure, Frank would lead: “turn right, turn left, go straight, stop here or there, etc.” After a few weeks, everything ran smoothly. Frank happily and smiling would call his partner: “good horse, you’re a good horse!”

One fine morning, he inquired: “what do you do, sonny, on Saturday evenings, before coming here on Sunday mornings?” - I have a couple or more of honest beer. I chuckled.
- Do you eat then?
- No, I’m not that hungry.
The Sunday soon after, he invited me to his house. His wife was there and she invited me right away to the kitchen: “So you’re Frank’s friend… Now, let’s eat." I ate more than enough and I called for “surrender”.
- Don’t be stingy, eat more, you’re young, young men must eat if they want to get stronger. Try this struddle, I made it especially for you.”

Frank poked his nose in the kitchen: “Yo, she made everything for you; you know old folks like us don’t eat much."

And for the week-ends to come, I started to enjoy typical Jewish goodies. I was no more hungerik and durshtik.

Diana

At least 25 years later, Diana was in her twenties, I sat at her place of work, with a pain in the stomach. She came to the table: “you don’t order anything today, Daniel?” - Oh no, ask my friends, as for me, I don’t feel too well." After a short while, she brought me herbal tea: “it’s mint, it is good for the stomach. It is on the house.”

But most of the time, since I was in a good shape, I told her when she was free what Frank taught me about Israel and Zionism: “you see it is poison, an ideology of domination whose aim is to destroy the Arabic people of Palestine. We must support this people in its struggle for a State in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip and the West Banks with the beautiful city of East Jerusalem as the capital. Naturally the dispossessed must be repaid. You see at least 10 millions Palestinians live abroad, almost five to six times more than those actually living in the territories.”

Furthermore, the State of Israel cannot speak on behalf of the whole of the Jewish people. It never spoke on behalf of Frank Goldman. Frank’s engagement was to the working people of Québec. One of the last days that I saw him; although he was very sick, he put his back over the sink in the kitchen and raised his body; he looked at me and declared: “you get this Daniel, the French-Canadian workers are a very good people, too good perhaps, but untidy. The day that they will act like one fist and better organized, they will conquer heaven, mark my words. ”

As for one, Karl Marx said in his time: “The working classes will have learned by experience that no lasting benefit whatever can be obtained for them by others, but that they must obtain it themselves by conquering, first of all, political power.” (Collected Works, Volume 10, International Publishers, New York, 1978, p. 275).

Frank Goldman, eyes open to the whole world is no more; Diana, blossoming, of different descendants, can bring this message to the young Arabs of the Middle East: “there in Canada, a middle-age French-Canadian communist told me about an old Jewish worker who cherished peace and loved all people until his last breath.” And he was not alone; in January 2009 only, many thousands from all corners of the world, Canada included, protested against the war the leadership of the Hebrew State wages against the people of Palestine living in Gaza; by the way 80 percent of its inhabitants are already refugees despoiled of territories during previous conquests conducted against them by the same Zionist invaders…

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