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EGYPTIANS SEE RED OVER PLAQUE, PINK AMBASSADORIAL RESIDENCE: CAIRO CITIZENS FUMING AT CANADIAN SNUB OF QUEEN FARIDA'S STAY
Glen McGregor Residents of Cairo are angry over the Canadian government's refusal to honour the former queen of Egypt with a commemorative plaque and its decision to paint the heritage building where she once lived a garish shade of pink. The official residence of the Canadian ambassador to Egypt, located in a upscale Cairo neighbourhood, was once home to Queen Farida, the first wife of the deposed King Farouk. Farouk was considered a loutish playboy who left his country wallowing in corruption before he was toppled in a military coup, but Queen Farida is still recalled fondly by the Egyptian people. She moved into the mansion following her divorce from Farouk in 1948, 10 years before Canada purchased the home. Last fall, Canadian officials had the residence repainted a salmon hue in a shocking departure from the whitewash traditionally favoured in conservative Egyptian society. The new colour makes the heritage building look like "a droll pink wedding cake" and has set off passionate debate among neighbours, according to a report in the Cairo Times. One Times reader complained that the paint job looks as if "someone took a very sophisticated house and turned it into something that looks vaguely like the newest in the Mattel line of Barbie Doll palaces." Last year, Egyptian authorities declared the home a historic site and presented Canada's ambassador, Marie-Andree Beauchemin, with a plaque to mark the queen's stay in the residence. But it has yet to be posted. "An enthusiastic Beauchemin promised to clear it with the concerned department in Ottawa, thus enabling her to append the plaque on the mansion's exterior wall," the Times reported. "Six months later and Cairo citizens are still waiting for the outcome of Madame Ambassador's diligent inquiries. Or is it simply a matter of blue clashing with pink?" The paper claims that Ms. Beauchemin chose pink as part of a Tuscan colour scheme inspired by her diplomatic posting in Rome, when her husband, de Montigny Marchand, served as Canada's ambassador to Italy. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was unable to explain why the commemorative plaque had not been hung. Officials at the embassy were out of reach because of the seven-hour time difference between Canada and Cairo, a Foreign Affairs spokesperson said. Even before the recent paint job, the residence on Kamel Mohammed Street has enjoyed a colourful history. At the beginning of the Second World War, the home was owned by an Austrian Egyptologist who once hosted the Nazi minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. When Queen Farida moved into the mansion, it was owned by a wealthy Jewish department-store magnate who had been interned under suspicion of harbouring Zionist sympathies during the Israel-Arab war. Canada purchased the residence from him in 1958. The queen moved to Paris to study art in 1963, but was unhappy as a unknown commoner. She returned to Egypt a few years later and lived the rest of her life in a modest apartment, occasionally holding exhibits of her paintings. She died in 1988 suffering from leukemia and kidney disease. An online poll run by an Egyptian Web site, www.egy.com, shows that 93 per cent of respondents believe the Canadian government should hang the plaque on the building. "Why is Ottawa dragging its feet? They should be proud to own such a house," one respondent wrote on the Web site. Another added: "It would be an honour for the Canadian Embassy to have the plaque on their wall. What are they waiting for?" Another wrote: "If the ambassador is worried about it attracting the attention of passersby and thereby cutting into her privacy, why paint it candy floss pink?"
Glen McGregor
Follow Up in Ottawa Citizen Canada's language policy behind insult to Egypt: Plaque OTTAWA - The Canadian government refused to post a plaque on a property in Cairo to honour the former Queen of Egypt because it was written in English only, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Cairo residents are upset that Canada has not posted the sign, which marks the residency of Queen Farida in a mansion that serves as the Canadian ambassador's official residence. Queen Farida lived in the home after her 1948 divorce from the deposed King Farouk, 10 years before the Canadian government purchased the property. Last summer, the home was designated a heritage site by the Cairo Architectural Heritage Trust. Marie-Andrée Beauchemin, the Canadian ambassador, was given a commemorative blue plaque to post on an exterior wall, but it still has not been hung. A Cairo newspaper reported local residents were upset at the perceived slight of the late queen, who is still revered by Egyptians. But Foreign Affairs said yesterday a sign may not be hung on a government property unless it is written in French, English and the local language, in this case, Arabic. ''The government of Canada policy is that the plaque should be in both official languages, plus the language of the country,'' said Foreign Affairs spokesman Patrick Riel. The inscription on the donated plaque reads: ''Farida Zulfikar, 1921-1988, Queen of Egypt, Painter, Lived in this House.'' Mr. Riel said the embassy is planning to have the inscription translated into French and Arabic and will erect a new trilingual plaque. Posting the plaque would be a ''very gracious, courteous gesture,'' said Sallama Shaker, Egypt's ambassador to Canada, who notes that many other embassies and consulates have already posted similar signage in English to mark spots of historical interest. She says the Governor of Cairo made an informal request to have the plaque hung, but she noted the government was under no obligation because the residence is Canadian property. King Farouk was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by the Egyptian military four years after his divorce. He was reviled by the Egyptian people for the corruption and excesses that marked his reign. But Queen Farida, an artist who donated the proceeds from her paintings to charity, remained popular even as Egypt turfed the rest of the royal family.
Glen McGregor
CAIRO SLIGHTED AFTER CANADIAN ENVOY REJECTS PLAQUE, Paper Says Toronto, Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) Cairo residents are irked that the Canadian government is refusing to post a plaque in the ambassador's official residence, a mansion that was the home of an Egyptian queen several decades ago, the National Post reported, citing the Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. Canadian officials won't hang the plaque -- which was provided to Canada by Egyptian officials -- because it's written only in English. Canada requires that signs hung on government property be written in French, English and the local language, which is Arabic. Canada has been criticized in local newspapers over Ambassador Marie-Andree Beauchemin's decision to not post the sign, which recognizes that Queen Farida lived in the home after she was divorced from deposed King Farouk in 1948, the paper reported. Canadian Foreign Affairs spokesman Patrick Riel said Canada plans to have a sign erected in the three languages.
Lee Berthiaume The Ottawa Citizen Friday 12 January 2001 (letter to the editor)
Is the federal government dedicated to damaging relations with countries in the Middle East ("Egypt hates Canada's 'Barbie palace,'" Jan. 9)? I had to ask myself this question after I read your story about the "Barbie palace" in Cairo. An envoy to another country is there to smooth relations with that country and ensure nothing comes between the two countries. But the blatant disrespect that Canada has shown in the Middle East in the past year or so is appalling. Prime Minister Jean Chretien stepped on toes during his 12-day tour of the Middle East in April by making comments about sending peacekeepers to Lebanon, Palestinian independence and Israel's control of the Sea of Galilee. Now the Canadian government is showing disrespect for another government by indulging in its own vanity; painting its embassy pink and stalling the placement of a plaque that was presented to the embassy to honour one of Egypt's queens six months ago. Granted, the embassy is officially Canadian soil and the government can do what it wants with it. But wasn't there a bylaw in Kanata that told residents what colours they could and couldn't paint their own houses? And regarding the plaque, Canada should be honoured that Egypt made the offer. Does the ambassador think that putting the plaque on her wall will make the house any less Canadian? If so, she could put a plaque of Molson's Joe Canadian next to it. Canada prides itself on being tolerant and thoughtful, polite and diverse. If things persist, we will become the country known for its arrogance, ignorance and vanity. Then what will we have left?
Lee Berthiaume,
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