Arab, Queer and Proud
“This past Sunday I went to the Baycrest Gala. I wore jewelry and brought my husband. When it was over, I came home and watched the Sunday NFL game.” -Salah Bachir
What you may know about Salah Bachir is he’s a philanthropist, community advocate, two-time Toronto Pride Grand Marshall and probably one of the most bejewelled personalities in Toronto. AND in many ways, Salah’s jewelry is a metaphor for his activism, a symbolic reminder that being visible, and to take up space as an LGBT person, is a powerful form of activism.
A typical day for Salah is packed meetings, lunches with clients and a quick trip to the gym. While no two days are alike, Salah usually ends his day with kidney dialysis at 4:30. With his sights set on a possible transplant in the next year, Salah continues his hectic schedule juggling between his role as the President of Cineplex Media, philanthropist and chair for many of our communities most significant fundraisers. Despite Salah’s hectic schedule, he recently carved out some time for an interview with theBUZZ.
HELKIO: What has been most challenging part of being an openly gay business owner?
BACHIR: I’ve been very lucky in that a lot of people were very supportive. I’m sure there were people that didn’t give me business, but I never took it personally. There are a lot of people who have faced a lot worse stuff than I’ve faced. I was lucky enough that I was in the entertainment industry that was a little bit more open than other places. I came out to my uncle who was a mentor of mine at an early age and I was waiting for all the drama and everything, and there was none. And when I came out to my parents, my mother said the loveliest thing I’ve ever heard, “We love you whatever you are, we kinda knew already. I want you to have a kid that is half as nice to you as you have been to us.”
HELKIO: What has been the most rewarding part of out and being open about it at work?
BACHIR: The old cliche, you’re not living a lie. They have to accept your partner or your husband, the way I would accept any straight person’s partner. I think there is so much stress if you’re living your life as a lie. It’s like that old Zen saying, the way you do one thing says a lot about how you do everything else.
HELKIO: If I could grant you magic powers and could change one things about Toronto’s LGBT community, what would that be?
BACHIR: I don’t think I have magic powers , there are a lot of people who want to impose their views, but I think its important to let every different thing flower, and nourish people. A lot of people fought pretty hard to get this far so its important that new ideas be entertained and not crushed right away. Any community has these issues not just the gay community. I see it in the Arab community and in other places as well. The whole idea with Pride was a whole united front with all kinds of groups. I remember at the beginning people said we shouldn’t have corporate sponsorships, shouldn’t have this group or that group, the whole idea was a united front and everybody who supports the community, but things can get bogged down by the personal infighting.
HELKIO: It was amazing to see you as Grand Marshall for the 25th, so that was like obviously a big honour. What did it feel like to have the crowds cheering you?
BACHIR: I was the Grand Marshall five years earlier, but what I wanted to do this parade, it was right after the Orlando shootings and there was a lot of Islamophobia, and a lot of negative stuff. Also coming out of the Arab world, we had about eighty people, including people like Atom Egoyan. They were carrying signs with the names of the people that were shot in Orlando and our float was a mixture of straight and gay people and we played Arabic music, and wore Arabic robes. It was also a message to places like Iran who say they have no gay people. I think the sign on the back said: Arab, Queer and Proud. I was sending a message that, yeah, there are a lot of gay people in the Arab world. We were ahead of the Black Lives Matter [contingent] so we weren’t aware of what was going on because we had already finished and had gone home.
HELKIO: What advice would you give to a young queer person entering the world of business?
BACHIR: Be yourself. I think that’s the biggest one. Be bold, know who your friends are, they’ll be your early supporters.
HELKIO: How did the Chancellor position come about at the Ontario College of Art & Design University?
BACHIR: That was a total surprise to me actually. The board of governors vote on somebody or choose somebody, just my background in the art world and everything else. Then the board of governors, Jamie Watt approached me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it because I wasn’t sure if I had the time, but I’m really loving it.
HELKIO: Do you have anybody you consider that mentored you, or you looked to as a mentor?
BACHIR: John Bailey who heads up Famous Players was a friend and a mentor when we entered the business. There’s a lot of people who aren’t necessarily mentors, but that are friends that you can run any ideas by, seek advice, or just have a lunch. Certainly Ellis Jacob who is the CEO of Cineplex is a great friend and I’ve run a lot of ideas by him and Andy Pringle has helped me out a lot with different fundraising projects. It’s part of what makes it easier to fundraise, because there are a lot of friends I’ve relied on over the years. An old Marxist saying is, social relations are capital, and in a lot of ways that’s true still.
HELKIO: I would add to that anytime you’re behind a project, I think it adds credibility to it. You pick projects things that really matter and resonate with people.
BACHIR: I don’t have as much money as a lot of other people, and I think that the great thing about it is being able to build those relationships. The 519 gala is a great example. We sell out pretty quickly, and its a very expensive table to buy, and a lot of friends over the years see the value of the 519. When we do a gala, we try and entertain people, not huge speeches. People know why they’re there, they’ve already paid a lot of money for it, you don’t need to go on and on. Feed people first, and then put the entertainment on, and send them home at a decent hour.
HELKIO: What do you know now, that you wish you had known when you started out?
BACHIR: Don’t take it personally when someone says “no”. Really do your homework first. If you are passionate about what you are doing, people will believe in you and support you.
Thank you: transcription by Stewart Borden.Salah Bachir: Arab, Queer and Proud
“This past Sunday I went to the Baycrest Gala. I wore jewelry and brought my husband. When it was over, I came home and watched the Sunday NFL game.” -Salah Bachir
What you may know about Salah Bachir is he’s a philanthropist, community advocate, two-time Toronto Pride Grand Marshall and probably one of the most bejewelled personalities in Toronto. AND in many ways, Salah’s jewelry is a metaphor for his activism, a symbolic reminder that being visible, and to take up space as an LGBT person, is a powerful form of activism.
A typical day for Salah is packed meetings, lunches with clients and a quick trip to the gym. While no two days are alike, Salah usually ends his day with kidney dialysis at 4:30. With his sights set on a possible transplant in the next year, Salah continues his hectic schedule juggling between his role as the President of Cineplex Media, philanthropist and chair for many of our communities most significant fundraisers. Despite Salah’s hectic schedule, he recently carved out some time for an interview with theBUZZ.
HELKIO: What has been most challenging part of being an openly gay business owner?
BACHIR: I’ve been very lucky in that a lot of people were very supportive. I’m sure there were people that didn’t give me business, but I never took it personally. There are a lot of people who have faced a lot worse stuff than I’ve faced. I was lucky enough that I was in the entertainment industry that was a little bit more open than other places. I came out to my uncle who was a mentor of mine at an early age and I was waiting for all the drama and everything, and there was none. And when I came out to my parents, my mother said the loveliest thing I’ve ever heard, “We love you whatever you are, we kinda knew already. I want you to have a kid that is half as nice to you as you have been to us.”
HELKIO: What has been the most rewarding part of out and being open about it at work?
BACHIR: The old cliche, you’re not living a lie. They have to accept your partner or your husband, the way I would accept any straight person’s partner. I think there is so much stress if you’re living your life as a lie. It’s like that old Zen saying, the way you do one thing says a lot about how you do everything else.
HELKIO: If I could grant you magic powers and could change one things about Toronto’s LGBT community, what would that be?
BACHIR: I don’t think I have magic powers , there are a lot of people who want to impose their views, but I think its important to let every different thing flower, and nourish people. A lot of people fought pretty hard to get this far so its important that new ideas be entertained and not crushed right away. Any community has these issues not just the gay community. I see it in the Arab community and in other places as well. The whole idea with Pride was a whole united front with all kinds of groups. I remember at the beginning people said we shouldn’t have corporate sponsorships, shouldn’t have this group or that group, the whole idea was a united front and everybody who supports the community, but things can get bogged down by the personal infighting.
HELKIO: It was amazing to see you as Grand Marshall for the 25th, so that was like obviously a big honour. What did it feel like to have the crowds cheering you?
BACHIR: I was the Grand Marshall five years earlier, but what I wanted to do this parade, it was right after the Orlando shootings and there was a lot of Islamophobia, and a lot of negative stuff. Also coming out of the Arab world, we had about eighty people, including people like Atom Egoyan. They were carrying signs with the names of the people that were shot in Orlando and our float was a mixture of straight and gay people and we played Arabic music, and wore Arabic robes. It was also a message to places like Iran who say they have no gay people. I think the sign on the back said: Arab, Queer and Proud. I was sending a message that, yeah, there are a lot of gay people in the Arab world. We were ahead of the Black Lives Matter [contingent] so we weren’t aware of what was going on because we had already finished and had gone home.
HELKIO: What advice would you give to a young queer person entering the world of business?
BACHIR: Be yourself. I think that’s the biggest one. Be bold, know who your friends are, they’ll be your early supporters.
HELKIO: How did the Chancellor position come about at the Ontario College of Art & Design University?
BACHIR: That was a total surprise to me actually. The board of governors vote on somebody or choose somebody, just my background in the art world and everything else. Then the board of governors, Jamie Watt approached me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it because I wasn’t sure if I had the time, but I’m really loving it.
HELKIO: Do you have anybody you consider that mentored you, or you looked to as a mentor?
BACHIR: John Bailey who heads up Famous Players was a friend and a mentor when we entered the business. There’s a lot of people who aren’t necessarily mentors, but that are friends that you can run any ideas by, seek advice, or just have a lunch. Certainly Ellis Jacob who is the CEO of Cineplex is a great friend and I’ve run a lot of ideas by him and Andy Pringle has helped me out a lot with different fundraising projects. It’s part of what makes it easier to fundraise, because there are a lot of friends I’ve relied on over the years. An old Marxist saying is, social relations are capital, and in a lot of ways that’s true still.
HELKIO: I would add to that anytime you’re behind a project, I think it adds credibility to it. You pick projects things that really matter and resonate with people.
BACHIR: I don’t have as much money as a lot of other people, and I think that the great thing about it is being able to build those relationships. The 519 gala is a great example. We sell out pretty quickly, and its a very expensive table to buy, and a lot of friends over the years see the value of the 519. When we do a gala, we try and entertain people, not huge speeches. People know why they’re there, they’ve already paid a lot of money for it, you don’t need to go on and on. Feed people first, and then put the entertainment on, and send them home at a decent hour.
HELKIO: What do you know now, that you wish you had known when you started out?
BACHIR: Don’t take it personally when someone says “no”. Really do your homework first. If you are passionate about what you are doing, people will believe in you and support you.
Thank you: transcription by Stewart Borden.
Originally published in SummerPlay Magazine, 2018