| An Awesome Dad……. |
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By Harry Jim Keswick, Ontario On June 22, 2006, the Government of Canada offered an apology to the Canadian Chinese community for a head tax that their forefathers were forced to pay when they entered Canada from 1885 to 1923. This tax was enforced in Newfoundland until the province joined Canada in 1949. My father, Hong Jim, arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland in the spring of 1947 after a long journey from China to San Francisco via ship, then a transcontinental train ride and finally another ship voyage on the Burgeo to the British colony of Newfoundland. He was 20 years old and spoke no English with the exception of “tomato sandwich”. He paid the head tax on arrival as did all the Chinese men that arrived before him. Throughout his life, he never mentioned this unfair tax even though it had created a heavy burden. He spent the rest of his life in this new land. He learned the language at night school while working in a hand laundry business for room and board plus 25 cents per week. He saved and sent money back to China to my mom until she came to Newfoundland in early 1957. They started a family with the birth of my sister, Jennie, in 1957. I arrived a year later and my brother, Will, in 1961. We moved to Mount Pearl, a small town just in the outskirts of St. John’s in 1962 where our parents ran a humble restaurant and confectionary store for the next 43 years. The turquoise green store with the shutters was a landmark at the corner of Park Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue until they retired and moved to Mississauga, Ontario to be with their grandchildren. They endured racial prejudice and financial hardship yet never yielded. They adapted to the culture and enjoyed their Sundays, fishing for trout, gardening Chinese vegetables and picking blueberries in the barrens. They gave us priceless childhood memories of a rugged place that we still call "home”. Never once did I hear either of my parents complain about their adversities. They were always grateful for having a much better life than if they had stayed in China. My dad passed away in Toronto on May 27, 1998. This apology came too late for most of the men who paid it but it is never too late to right a wrong. Leadership and success is not about how many degrees and diplomas one accumulates or how much money one has. Our parents’ generation did not have the same educational opportunities that we have yet contributed greatly to the society they adopted. They ran businesses that serviced their communities, raised children to be respectful of others and to exceed in life. Our parents were neither flamboyant nor loud. They were humble, hard working survivors who made huge personal sacrifices so that their children could have better. We cannot even begin to appreciate their hardships in this "foreign" land so many years ago. As I get older, I realize how awesome our Dad really was, a man who was wise, diligent, respectful, humble and fair. I choose to remember my Dad in my own way by trying to keeping those values that he taught us so well. He truly was an awesome dad……. Background InformationThis article was written in 2006, shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the Chinese Canadian community for the Head Tax. My mom spoke of this event with great reverence yet I did not recall ever hearing either of my parents complaining before. I reflected on the obstacles and adversities that they endured to find a better life. From humble beginnings, they managed to nurture successful businesses and instill life skills on to their children. They showed us by example what humility, honesty, respect and tolerance is. These values still guide my siblings and me. I am a proud first generation Chinese Canadian who is in a much better place in life because of my parents’ foresight to immigrate to Canada. I was born, raised and educated in Newfoundland and have been a Family and Palliative Care Physician since 1982. I had worked in rural Newfoundland until moving to practice in rural Ontario in 1991. |
