May is Asian Heritage Month. Let’s encourage everyone to learn more about this month and celebrate the contributions Asian-Canadians have made – and continue to make – to Canada!
As B.C. Minister of State for Multiculturalism John Yap recently wrote, the definition of Asian is fairly broad and inclusive. “Asian Heritage Month celebrates a long list of people who come from, or whose ancestors came from; East Asia – China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan; South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; Central Asia – Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; and Southeast Asia – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam,” wrote Yap.
As a person who came from Brunei Darussalam, in Southeast Asia, and who is of Chinese ancestry, Asian Heritage Month is especially meaningful to me. I had a lot to learn when I first arrived in Canada; its vast geography, its people, its government, its education system and, of course, human rights.
On the other hand, my immigration to Canada has given others a chance to learn about the unique aspects of Southeast Asian and Chinese culture. Today, as Canadians, we appreciate our country’s rich Asian-Canadian diversity and its many different ethnicities, languages and traditions.
Finally, as an Asian British Columbian, I am pleased to share with you that on Monday, May 7, 2012 – after 70 years – the Province of British Columbia formally apologized to the Japanese-Canadian community for the internment of thousands of people during the Second World War. For more details, please refer to this article by the CBC.
Enjoy reading and have a great week.