TIME TO GET A LITTLE STREETWISE
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WHAT’S CRAZIER THAN PIE IN THE SKY?
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FISH TO FIND A HOME IN BC MUSEUM
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Local diamond girl is gem on the Canadian squad.
FRIDAY
JUNE 15 2012
See Page A10
www.burnabynewsleader.com
Hospital group not official: Corrigan Wanda Chow wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Mahjobeh Badakhsh and her family left Afghanistan when the Taliban took over, and now the Grade 12 student at Byrne Creek secondary school advocates for those who can’t Àght for themselves.
Student aims to advocate for others wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
Even as a ¿ve-year-old, Mahjobeh Badakhsh knew it wasn’t right. While her family was living in Iran, someone had broken a neighbour’s window. As one of the few Afghan families in the area, they got blamed. “My dad paid [to ¿x the window] because he didn’t want any trouble, even though it wasn’t our fault,” recalled Badakhsh.
BOTTLE DEPOT
and on Saturday, the family Àew to another province, eventually settling in Iran where her dad got a job with the Afghan embassy. In Iran, emigrants and refugees from Afghanistan were eventually segregated and discriminated against. After she attended kindergarten, Badakhsh, her siblings and other Afghans were barred from attending public schools. Badakhsh, only a young child, would be called names whenever she emerged from their home.
2 watch ONES
POP
Wanda Chow
It’s that sense of injustice that the Grade 12 Byrne Creek secondary student plans to ¿ght after she graduates this month. Badakhsh, now 17, was only two when her family left Afghanistan. Her parents were both professors at the University of Kabul, and they enjoyed a privileged lifestyle, but they knew their lives would change drastically once the Taliban came to power. The Taliban took over the city where they were living on a Friday
POP
Family experienced discrimination Àrst-hand
Finally, when her father developed an eye condition that would eventually require support services, he decided they needed to move. “We came to Canada in search of a cure and a better future,” she said. Badakhsh was eight years old at the time; it would be years before she understood why they left. She was 13 when she ¿rst returned to visit family there and was shocked by what she saw and heard. There were rockets exploding in the distance. Please see ADVOCACY, A3
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Despite much fanfare, the community consultation committee looking into the future of Burnaby Hospital is not the of¿cial planning process for the project, said Mayor Derek Corrigan at Monday’s council meeting. He was referring to the 12-member community consultation committee led by Liberals MLAs Harry Bloy (BurnabyLougheed) and Richard Lee (BurnabyNorth). As reported in the NewsLeader, the group has been criticized for including three doctors and a former Liberal riding president for Burnaby-Edmonds (Pamela Gardner), but no front-line nurses nor representatives from the City of Burnaby. The latter was particularly surprising as city hall will ultimately be involved on issues of land use and rezoning. Council has also publicly stated it would prefer the hospital be relocated to the former Willingdon Youth Detention Centre site, to allow for collaboration with B.C. Institute of Technology across the street. Please see COUNCIL, A5