After 3 years, 60 Aramcons came together for the 7th Toronto Aramco Reunion on September 30, 2023 at Woodbine Beach Park, Toronto. The azure skies, the blue waters, the sandy beach, the trees showing traces of fall colors and the green grass by the shelter that was rented for the event made for a perfect day. It was nostalgic to see the banner with the Aramco logo inviting Aramcons. And what was more exhilarating was to be reunited with many friends in person. For some, they were meeting friends who they had lost touch with and did not know that they were living in Toronto and the surrounding area. Some had retired more recently and moved to Toronto. The air was filled with laughter and chatter, exchanging stories and how thrilled they were to meet up after so long. Many were identifying the departments they worked for or how they worked on projects together. Some were Aramco brats.
Those attending included Nusratbanu, Mohammed, Sarah and Usman Abid, Bhuvana and Vanson Ananthnarayanan, Dr. Muhammad and Najam Ayub, Farhat Begum and Anwar Baig, Janet Bowes, Kathy and Fraser Brown, Jasmine, Wilfred and Marc Carvalho, Ghazala, Saghir, and Omair Choudhry, May and Musbah Dajani, Mona Deeb, Farida and Javaid Hamid, Halah and Nabil Hijazi, Najwa Iliyan, Tamara and Iqbal Iqbal, Nazek and Abdulrouf Ismail, Shane Kearney, Afrisa and Farooq Khan, Khalda and Masroor Khan, Reshma and Zain Khan, Yasmin and Farouk Khory, Sapna and Sunil Kokal, Kiran and Jay Lal, Nouha Mekdashi, Naiyara and Abu Moosa, Anju and Sumir Pattoo, Prasana and John Paulous, Rehana and Shahbuddin Sheikh, Farzana and Yousef Sheikh, Ilyas Siddiqi, Majhabeen and Mohammed Suboor, and Nauman Waheed.
Bringing on more nostalgia was the game played with the four communities Abqaiq, Dhahran, Ras Tanura and Udhailiyah.
Reminiscent of the lavish banquets of Aramco days, a delicious spread of kebabs, biryani and other delicacies were laid out for all to savour and enjoy. Thanks goes to Javaid Hamid for organizing the delicious food.
The organizers Yasmin Khory and Jasmine Carvalho received a never-ending stream of appreciation from all who attended. And thanks to Farouk Khory, Wilfred Carvalho and Marc Carvalho for helping out with the setting-up.
All Aramcons who live in Canada and would like to attend future reunions held in Toronto are welcome to write to Yasmin Khory (faryas@hotmail.com) or Jasmine Carvalho (Carvalhojp@hotmail.com) giving contact details. A database is being updated for future reunions.