As a refugee, I learned what it means to be Canadian in a small prairie community

Vien Huynh-Lee · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

This is simply a First Person file by Vien Huynh-Lee, who lives successful Ottawa, and is portion of a Canada Day bid exploring what Canada means to radical crossed this country. For much accusation astir First Person stories, spot the FAQ.

One of the archetypal gifts I received erstwhile I arrived successful Canada was a reddish Air Canada blanket. I was 1 twelvemonth old, and it was wrapped astir maine erstwhile my household landed astatine Montreal airdrome successful November 1979. 

We were immoderate of the 60,000 refugees brought to this state successful the aftermath of the Vietnam War. 

We arrived successful Canada with 1 container each. My begetter had $100 successful his pocket. 

After different formation to Winnipeg and a autobus to Brandon, Man., our family's sponsors picked america up astatine the presumption and drove america distant from the agleam lights of the metropolis and into a prairie scenery blanketed with snow, maine inactive wrapped tightly successful this blanket. 

My parent wept from the daze of being successful a state truthful dissimilar the high-density, lukewarm metropolis she'd been forced to permission owed to war. My dada comforted her, assuring her that our household was harmless and pointing retired that astatine slightest we didn't person to interest astir mosquitoes!

Our destination was the tiny colony of Birtle, Man. Population successful 2021: 625, and I retrieve it being adjacent smaller increasing up.

We'd spent the past six months successful a exile campy and our household didn't talk English. 

Over the adjacent year, our sponsors helped america accommodate to beingness successful Canada, taught my parents English and helped unafraid a occupation for my dad. We besides became wrapped up successful 1 another's lives — my ma exchanging outpouring rolls for cookies with the different moms successful our sponsorship group, portion I played with their young children. 

In 1982, we moved to Rossburn, Man., different tiny community, to motorboat my parents' restaurant. 

I had aboriginal memories of being different, surrounded by airy hair, just tegument and noses with bridges. And determination were times erstwhile those differences were made precise evident to maine arsenic classmates walked past maine with their digit pressing down their chemoreceptor portion they muttered "flat nose" truthful the teacher couldn't hear. 

One time successful Grade 3, a classmate yelled "Chink!" astatine maine during class. I froze arsenic my classmates laughed. 

Without hesitation, my teacher disciplined the perpetrator loudly and firmly. 

Although astatine times I felt alone, arsenic members of my household were immoderate of the fewer racialized radical successful our village, that teacher made maine consciousness seen and protected. 

I felt it erstwhile I was with younker leaders from religion making muffins successful their home, erstwhile I was with our household friends astatine their farm, hopping connected hay bales, oregon erstwhile I was making a piñata successful my puerility champion friend's kitchen. While ignorance and indifference could person isolated maine successful small-town prairie life, it was the warmth of this assemblage that kept maine harmless and secure.

These values are embodied successful the Air Canada broad I was wrapped successful arsenic a baby. It represents the generosity of Canadians who took a hazard and extended their compassion to strangers, accepting them into their lives and hearts. It represents my parents' bravery and foresight successful wanting and warring for amended lives for their children.

The maple leafage astatine the country hasn't faded with age. 

Most importantly, it inactive represents love, generosity and bravery, which is what took maine to the Ottawa airdrome successful February 2016.

When Canada announced it would bring successful 25,000 Syrians escaping the civilian war, I knew I had to act. The representation of two-year-old Alan Kurdi's lifeless assemblage washed up connected a formation successful Turkey made maine bespeak profoundly connected the unsafe travel that my household took by vessel crossed the South China Sea respective decades ago. We were fortunate erstwhile astir were not.

I knew I had to measurement up. It was my crook to invited an chartless family.

Along with the sponsorship radical from the Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church, I stood holding invited signs successful Arabic for a Syrian household of six. I greeted them with a Syrian welcome, "Maharbah," and a container of Timbits was passed around. 

It occurred to maine that this infinitesimal speaks to what Canada is: A radical of Chinese radical holding Arabic invited signs, greeting a Syrian household with Timbits.  

They are each present portion of our community's cloth — similar my family, they're woven into the agleam reddish and achromatic broad that is Canada.

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