At my own request (I was bored), it’s the return of “Rose-Aimée bothers strangers without telling them because she finds their house interesting”.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
I was walking down Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal when I noticed a surprisingly lush garden for this time of year. A woman was leaning over a clump of yellow flowers while a man was sweeping nearby. He gave me back my smile.
“Your garden is beautiful!
– Thanks ! I don’t know how my wife makes our flowers look so beautiful in the fall…
– I would like to know that too. Can I steal you a few minutes and ask you questions to The Press ?
– Sure ! »
(Sometimes I wonder if I should worry about inciting so little mistrust…)
Jorge Vidal, 68, introduces me to his wife, Acklima Khan, 77. They met nearly half a century ago at a party given by mutual friends. They had respectively been established in Quebec for less than two years.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Aklima Khan
Acklima had left Trinidad and Tobago to join relatives in Montreal. Jorge had fled Spain to avoid compulsory military service: “I’m very proud of that. Serve a dictator? No way ! »
It was far from arms and Franco that he fell in love with Acklima. “She has a hard head like concrete and I like people who don’t try to please at all costs,” he says.
The couple have lived in a large ground floor with gray stones for 40 years now. Above all, he is a proud member of the Milton Park Community.
The organization was established in 1987 to preserve historic and affordable housing in the neighborhood. Today, it includes more than 1,500 residents in 16 housing cooperatives, making it one of the largest non-profit housing projects in North America.
The impressive result of a long citizen fight in which Jorge Vidal participated.
“Oh, how I fought,” he recalls. We blocked streets, we made sit in ! »
In 1968, real estate developers announced the “Cité Concordia” project. Several properties in the Milton Park neighborhood would be razed to make way for huge towers. These would include more than a thousand homes, but also a hotel, an office building and a large shopping center.
Some residents quickly agreed to receive compensation for their eviction, but others resisted. They refused to see their neighborhood gentrify. There followed human chains in front of bulldozers, arrests and hunger strikes.
In 1976, the first phase of the project was finally completed, but about two-thirds of the historic homes slated for destruction were still untouched. These are the ones that were saved and recovered in the vast program of cooperatives that Jorge still enjoys today.
“I think it’s the best housing model,” he sums up. In fact, I believe in a world with social justice. »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Jorge Vidal and Acklima Khan
At the same time, a passerby greets the couple.
Everyone knows each other here. Montreal is my homeland. And my neighborhood is the best! It is very multicultural and thanks to the many cooperatives, we know how to help each other. Any neighbor can come and ask me for a hand and he knows that I will be there for him.
Jorge Vidal
Acklima Khan adds that she wouldn’t change houses for anything in the world. Yes, there is the community, but there is also the emotional bond that has developed over decades. The couple raised two children there while working. He often ran after time, but housing has always been a gathering point.
“My house is for my family,” says Acklima. I even taught my children to choose which friends could come here or not. Just the good guys! »
Then she returns to her flowers.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Acklima Khan and Jorge Vidal have lived in a large gray stone ground floor for 40 years.
So what is the secret to their longevity?
While removing dead leaves — the energy of this 77-year-old woman overwhelms me — she replies that it’s all in the choice of flowers. She opted for annuals. She shows me her coneflowers, coneflowers and carnations, telling me that there should be some until the end of October.
All there is to do is a little maintenance twice a week. Anyway, the garden is not there to be beautiful, but so that she can relax there.
Jorge smiles proudly, adding, “She never did the garden for the neighbors. She likes him like that, that’s all. »
He explains to me that she is the genius behind his design. He only assists him by watering the plants or cleaning the entrance a little.
It’s like that between them, any task is done by two.
In the kitchen, he is the chef and she is the sous chef. He does the housework, she folds the clothes.
“I’m very macho, but I’m also very feminist,” laughs Jorge.
Is that the secret to living together for 48 years? Divide tasks equally?
“Maybe, but that’s not the most important thing,” Acklima replies. Above all, be honest, no matter the truth. And you know, love takes many forms. You prove your love through what you do for each other, ultimately. »
Jorge adds that they are not the type to throw “I love you” several times a day. In fact, they flee from the hypocrisy of those who utter these words without being consistent in their actions.
I tell them that I find them inspiring, both in their gardening and in their love and activism.
Jorge answers me by very kindly putting me out.
“That’s nice, but you just asked me for a few minutes, didn’t you?” I have a broom to pass, me. »