I have noticed that some of those who
are critical of our current refugee programs are saying that we
should not try to justify them by talking about early immigrants,
because those immigrants were not supported by government funding or
handouts. I would like to share a couple stories from the early
twentieth century in my local area, which I hope will help to
illustrate a couple of points. First of all, I do not think we should
romanticise the struggles and hardships of early immigrants. We may
admire their perserverence and spirit, but we should not want to
return to a situation where people had to work so hard for so little.
Secondly, I would like to point out that early immigrants did get
help from the Canadians who welcomed them, so far as they were able
in a time when there was little money to go around. I believe
Canadians who welcome refugees, whether by directly raising money to
sponsor them, or by advocating for them, are fulfilling the dream of
many who came before them that wished they could do more to help.
My father-in-law, Bob Kennedy,
immigrated to Edmonton as a small child. After a few years, his
family fell on hard times. At that time there was a relief program in
Edmonton, but only for men who would do labour in exchange for the
money. Here in Canada, that meant things like shovelling snow off the
streets. Bob signed up for this program. At age ten, instead of
attending school, he worked a full time man's job in order to support
his family.
In 1929, around the same time that Bob
was working in Edmonton, Frank arrived in Fort Saskatchewan. He had
come from Yugoslavia, and hoped to earn enough money to send for his
wife and two sons to join him. He managed to get work at a farm near
Josephburg, but the money he was able to save accumulated slowly, and
he was worried about his family's safety. He convinced his employer,
Charles Thomas, to give him extra money in exchange for putting in
extra hours at night, digging a ditch. He dug a two mile long ditch
by hand, but still did not have enough money to send for his family.
By now a decade had gone by and his sons were teenagers. Frank
received word that they were going to be conscripted into the German
army. At this point Charles raised the money that was needed, and
loaned it to Frank. Thanks to his help, the family was able to leave
Europe just before outbreak of war.
Frank's story is told in more detail
by Helen Lavender under the title "Ditch of Dreams" in the
anthology Under the Wide Blue Sky. If you live in Alberta, you
should be able to get a copy by way of the TAL library system. But I
actually want to recommend a different book.
When we talk about the dangers of
letting possible terrorists into the country, by and large the people
that cause the most concern are young men. We need to remember that so
often, just like Frank's sons, the young men trying to leave troubled
countries are doing so in order to avoid being forced into military
service against their conscience. When we help a young man to avoid
being forced to fight for the Islamic State, we are not just showing
kindness to him, we are denying them a soldier.
So because it deals with exactly that
theme, and because I think it would be nice to make a point through
humour after depressing everybody with real life stories, I would
like to recommend Harry Harrison's book The Stainless Steel Rat
Gets Drafted. It is a bit dated, but still a good read, with the
trademark dry humour that distinguished all the books in that series.
And even if you find the whole thing completely unrealistic, you may
still be left with a feeling that Mr. Harrison had his heart in the
right place.