Lebanese chicken and rice leads to memories of family

I just finished my one hundred thousandth bowl of chicken and rice. The chicken spiced with Lebanese spices and garlic and lemon —just the way I like it, with lots of hummus, and sautéed kale— although my grandmother (Sito) would have made spinach.

I am third-generation Lebanese, meaning I was born here and so were my parents and my Sito. 

Her father was the first Lebanese in Fredericton. They were “allowed” to live in Devon and were peddlers. That was what they were allowed to do to make a living. I call them the original Walmart: they travelled with a cart by foot to sell goods to neighbouring communities like Minto and Chipman. By foot! 

They made friends, built trust, and had a community. At that time, they were not allowed to open businesses on the south side. That came later, in the 1930s apex. They would gather with other Lebanese on Sundays to have picnics and be together with the food they loved and other people. Other Lebanese families from Moncton and Saint John would sometimes gather too. What I love about this story is that the peddlers from Moncton and St. John as well as Fredericton would not encroach on each other’s territories: they wanted them all to do well.

I’m sure they felt some discrimination going by foot into remote communities. But, people needed things like buttons and wool, thread and fabric, etc.

Since then, many people have come to Fredericton from Lebanon.

I remember growing up not speaking the language because, when my father was growing up, it was frowned upon. They wanted to fit in, to assimilate.

So, when we were young, they wanted the same for us. But, we had a love for the food and the family gatherings and it was so much fun!

Other new Lebanese would tell us we were not “really” Lebanese because we didn’t speak the language. That hurt me deeply.

Canadians would ask me where I was from and I would say “Here” and they would say “No really, where are you from?”

So, I felt kind of displaced. But, as I grew up, I knew I had the Lebanese culture in my blood and bones and it didn’t matter if I could not speak the language. It is in my heart.

So, as I sit here and eat the food that I love and I always crave, I am filled with joy and am so proud to be a descendant of Lebanese ancestors and living in Fredericton where we are now allowed to live all over the city and have businesses on the south side!

Lisa Wilby is a proud Frederictonian of Lebanese descent who used to own a popular Lebanese restaurant called the Cedar Tree Café. Wilby published a version of this text on her Facebook wall on June 5, 2024.