95 - North Shore News

By Deana Lancaster

" One’: of “Sarvnaz Mirbagher’s

favourite things’ about living” in
Canada is her gym class. In:Tehran,
Where ‘she: spent the: first. eleven
- years of her life, she only got to take

one:gym class per week; there just .

_-wasn’t enough: space for all: the
.| “students to participate. every day. °-
“Here we have a gym, and | you can
“do all ‘kinds ‘of “sports,” it_ doesn’t *

“Matter if you're not good at it’ mm

+ the twelve-year-old. °
~ Participating. in: athletics:
“reason why she submitted an essay
for the torch. relay competition. “I
want' to ‘Carry .the-torch’ because I.
‘want’a chance to. participate in a‘
provincial sports event. Befcte, only
athletic people c ould do that and as
you ‘may see |’ was neVer one:of

. them,’-wrote Sarvnaz. “Even though:
i have. a hard time running, i want to

see what it’s like to be in an event
like this. { might-not be accepted, -
but I'm very. grateful to the winte
games’, organizers _ for their
willingness to’ give the not very
athletic kids a chance.”
While gym class is one of Sarvnaz’s

favourite classes, she is a top student ©

“in her. other, subjects: and loves to -
»“ write. Her writing skills won ber the:
“chance .to- be ‘one, of, the 96
participants in the, torch relay and
although’ she's nervous, Sarvnaz

‘ D
something Sarvnaz loves and is the says she can’t wait.”

Coming to’ North. Vancouver from -
‘Tehran was an easy choice for the.

' Mirbagheris. ‘ Nava” says ‘there isa’.

large lranian community: here and.
. they. can: find all., their” favourite”
«things ; from: home’ in: the. many.
Iranian “shops, grocers and
“restaurants in the community.

“Its better not to worry, tt to be able to.
take ° ‘time. toe grow pr :

says

Sarynaz’s mother, Nava. “ts better :
‘to sleep at night.”

“. Sarvnaz says she can rermiember the a

missile warnings on, the TV. when’
she was four and tran was at’ war.

- with Iraq. She remembers having to

move -into:the basement of their

home in“the middle of. the night =
during raids,’ but at the. time she os

wasn’t scared.) ;
“it was like a game. It was like when
they have those emergency tesis on
the TV: and. you practice what to :

do.” week i
Nava says ‘she and her husband, mo

‘Mostafa, tried to keep the children

from getting’ ‘frightened. Life in Iran.”
is. much. better. how, but Nava says ©
they ‘were still’ concerned ‘about the”.
future, os : “
It’s been: easy ‘for the ‘children to”

= adapt. to Canadian life; especially’

Sarvnaz, ‘sirice she began to 5 speak :
Engle at tage three .

f aes Farig be
ors for sports venues.” .