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Ottawa Asian Heritage
Month is in full swing. May is jam-packed with activities, films, performances,
speakers, cooking demonstrations, readings, and exhibitions in celebration.
May 6, 2010, two distinguished guest speakers appeared to talk about their lives
at the Library and Archives Canada: Dr. Vincent Lam, Emergency Physician,
Toronto East General Hospital, Writer and Professor Errol Mendes, University of
Ottawa, Faculty of Law. |
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“Personal
Journeys” focused on the experiences of Dr. Vincent Lam
and Professor Errol Mendes in Canada with their
immigrant families. They shared the challenges they
faced and the people who most influenced them and shaped
their lives.
Their stories
reflected paths to success. Host for the evening was CBC
Radio’s Michael Bhardwaj. He challenged, “What happens
when a new kid shows up with sticky samosas for lunch at
an all white school.”
Michael Bhardwaj
Lam said that life isn’t easy for
newcomers. Often people are starting over, leaving their
old lives behind. He insists, “You have to be persistent
and keep on trying in the face of obstacles.” He added
that it’s important for everyone to engage in public
discourse, write letters to the editor, vote, and state
your opinions. Lam spoke about the success of
multiculturalism in Canada where immigrants are
integrated into society and feel at home. He credits
Canada as being a country of flexible thinkers.
Dr. Vincent Lam
Mendes is interested in what unites humanity. He loves
Canada because here people from around the world are
accepted. “Immigrants helped build this country,” he
stressed, “It’s important to teach this in schools.”
Professor Errol Mendes
“Multiculturalism
is about helping each other,” Mendes insisted, “and
caring about the ones not doing so well.”
Lam was born in London, Ontario into a family from the
expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, but he grew up
in Ottawa. As a teenager, he wanted to be a writer.
Lam’s first book, “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures,”
won Canada’s most prestigious literary award, the
Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2006.
Mendes’
background includes living in Asia, Africa, Britain, and
the United States. He’s known for his human rights work
internationally and is the Editor of Canada’s leading
constitutional law journal, “The National Journal of
Constitutional Law.” |
