Tucked away in the Westmount subdivision of Halifax’s west end is Edward Arab Avenue. The name is well known in the Lebanese community as Arab was one of the founding members of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax and the society’s first president.
Arab is also this year’s Heritage Day honouree.
“Heritage Day is an opportunity to tell the important stories of unsung Nova Scotia heroes,” said Premier Stephen McNeil in a pretaped Heritage Day celebration that was posted online.
Edward Arab was born and raised in Halifax, and is the grandson of one of the first Lebanese immigrants to settle in Nova Scotia. He graduated from Dalhousie University with a bachelor of arts degree at the age of 20, making him one of the youngest graduates at that time. He then completed law school before opening his own practice.
“He broke barriers and led the way for future generations of Nova Scotians for different cultural backgrounds,” said Lena Diab, Minister of Immigration in Nova Scotia and former president of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax.
“He fought prejudice and racism all his life,” said Diab.
“He made it clear that Lebanese and Blacks were to receive legal services regardless if they have money or not.”
While Arab had never gone to Lebanon himself, he was proud of his heritage and culture, and because of that he helped to establish the the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax, a society that would grow and continue to promote Lebanese culture even decades after his death.
“One of Arab’s objectives was to keep his heritage, his mother tongue, dance, and community ties,” said Georgette Faddoul, the current president of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax.
Today the society is one of the oldest organizations in North America. It hosts cultural events throughout the year and has established a Lebanese Heritage Language School to teach Arabic language and traditions to Canadian Lebanese youth.
“It is also a testament to the immense contribution of our Lebanese community to the collective cultural heritage of this wonderful province.”
Diab says when she was president of the Lebanon Society she had a chance to speak with those who knew Arab personally, and says many told her that Arab was destined for greatness. A former mayor of Halifax once wrote that Arab was destined to be a great political figure in Nova Scotia , but Arab never had that chance.
Arab volunteered for active service in 1942. Two years later he was deployed to Europe to fight with Allied forces in the Second World War. Arab never made it home as he was killed fighting to liberate the Dutch town of Bergen op Zoom on Oct. 25, 1944.
He had just turned 29 a month earlier. He is buried there in the Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen op Zoom along with the other members of his regiment who died in battle. It was only a few years later, in 1949, that that street in Westmount was named after him — Edward Arab Avenue.