PLACENTIA : Missing Sister Has Put Girl in Spotlight

Mahsa Ghalandar is used to being her parents’ link to the English-speaking world. The 11-year-old has done it for most of the 15 months since her family moved from Tehran to Placentia.

But since her sister, 20-year-old Mahtab Ghalandar, disappeared Sept. 6 from a bus stop across the street from Fullerton College, that already difficult role has added to her strain.

“I think someone has her. I can’t believe she’s gone,” Mahsa said. “Somebody took her because she knows her.”

Placentia Police Detective Corinne Loomis, who is investigating the disappearance, said it is unlikely that Mahtab Ghalandar was taken by force in a crowded area in broad daylight, but police have no leads. “If you’re the only one that (speaks the language), you’re going to be the family spokesman. But the subject matter (now) is very, very different,” Loomis said.

Mahsa’s school principal, Randi Trontz, said it’s a burden for any child to be thrust to the forefront by a parental language barrier. “I think it’s very stressful for a student who is dealing in the adult world. It’s very difficult to translate for her parents in a parent-teacher conference or in any situation,” she said.

Mahsa, who is a sixth-grader, feels the weight but betrays little. “It’s so hard. I can’t explain,” she said.

She has grown accustomed to television cameras and attention. She holds back tears because schoolmates laughed at her when they saw her cry. Trontz says she keeps a poker face at school.

Mahsa recalls her sister matter-of-factly. “She’s nine years older than me, but she never yelled at me,” she said.

Then the child behind the adult facade shows through. As if her own prayers are not enough, she says: “I’d like somebody to pray for my sister.”