8- Their Dream as My Reality

Pavements, benches, and lamp posts scatter all over this beautiful harbour. Located in the heart of Vancouver, this place is a perfect spot for tourists. The surrounding mix of nature, city, and body of water gives a sense of refreshment to anyone (and everyone!) who visits.

….

Pause. Something catches my eye. A big memorial, a photograph filled with people from the far East. A Komagata Maru Memorial.

….

Komagata Maru was a steamship from Japan which carried 376 passengers from (then) Punjab, British India. With hopes of escaping British rule and starting a new life, they sailed all the way from Asia, only to be denied to dock in Vancouver. This resulted in anger amongst the passengers but in the end, 20 passengers were admitted to step foot in Canada, while the remaining were forced to turn back to India. I can't fully imagine the horrors that happened once they were sent back, especially after learning that a British gunboat was waiting for their arrival.

As a settler, a 21st century immigrant, I still couldn’t quite imagine the horrors people from the past faced when immigrating to Canada. Now, different types of ships and boats dock and pass by this park almost everyday. Today, this place welcomes me, an Asian who now has rights to be in this place.

But I wonder, by whose authority am I given a right to enjoy and start a new life here in Vancouver? Was it the trees? The harbour? If it were not for humans, would my ancestors be able to come to such a place?

It was hard to remove humans from the storybook of this place. Humans forced themselves to exist in the story by having such discriminating, immigration laws. The harbour and beautiful landscape that surrounds this place would have welcomed different immigrants and settlers.

This place once told a story of the selfishness and small-mindedness of human beings. But I am glad to see that over the years it has been adding on new chapters, with each chapter not erasing the horrors and mistakes of humans in the past, but acknowledging them and going back to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. This place shares how we still have a long way to go when it comes to immigration laws and welcoming diversity, but it also shares how far we’ve gone, and will keep going.

I am thankful for the story shared today, of how my reality now was once a dream for people all over the world who wished to have been given a chance to step in such an inviting place.

Published by

Faith Dawa

Early Childhood Educator

783 thoughts on “8- Their Dream as My Reality”

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