D2

BY BILL CLARKE

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On July 21, Mohammed Altrash arrived in Dalhousie and started building a new life here. His had been a long journey — one that started in the Gaza Strip.

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Altrash holds a Ph. D. in mathematics and had been teaching at a university there. It was a good job, but as he explained last week, life had not been easy. Rockets could fall in the area at any time; the noise terrified his children and the explosions shattered his windows. He decided to look for another opportunity and took a year's sabbatical leave.

The Gaza Strip is a bit of coastal land between Israel and Egypt. It has been the scene of hostilities for decades.

While exploring possibilities in Canada, hostilities in his homeland escalated. The borders were closed; no one was allowed in or out.

For the past two years, he's been teaching math at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. It was what he knew, but Altrash said that the cost of living there was a problem. Renting a house could cost $1,600 to $2,000 a month. He faced other pressures. His children came to Canada with little knowledge of English and none of the culture; his wife, Malak, speaks no English; they were all dependent on him. That led to a heart attack.

Altrash decided to try to find a home somewhere else. Through an Internet search, he found a house in Dalhousie for about what a year's rent would be in Alberta. He headed east to inspect the house and see what the town was like.

Altrash said that he found Dalhousie would be a great place to raise children. There was no crime to speak of, no gangs. He said that he likes peace and quiet, and that's what he found here.

He went back to Alberta and prepared for the move east. That meant driving for five days and nights, with the family's belongings in a small trailer he built himself. Since his arrival, he's been picking up furniture and turning a house into a home. That includes fixing things that need fixing, something he says he's good at.

Of course, there's another challenge. He has to find work. There are few openings in the education system. Although he's fluent in English, his French isn't adequate for teaching at the community college in Campbellton.

Still, he hopes he'll be able to find something. He points out that over the years he's taken part in a number of international conferences and even organized some of them. He has computer skills and managerial experience. He just wants "to feed the kids."

Those kids range from one five months old to Abdul, who's 13. Older children are married and living in Alberta and Gaza, or are attending college in the west. There are 11 in all, seven of them in Dalhousie where some will attend school this fall.

Dalhousie has been through its own hard times, with two of its major employers ceasing operations in the last six months. Altrash is one of those who have seen the advantages of a town with low real estate prices and a simpler way of life.