PCHC-MoM is excited to announce that we will participate in the Word Vancouver Exhibitor 2024 event as it celebrates its 30th year on Sept 28th.

You are invited to join us in person to share our love of both the old and new community Word Vancouver Exhibitor event between 11AM - 5PM at the UBC Robson Square. No tickets are needed; just come on down!

We are Pacific Canada Heritage Centre - Museum of Migration Society, a hub for intercultural learning about our peoples & stories in Pacific Canada through the collective experience of connecting local communities and celebrating the literary arts.

This is an opportunity for you to discover our non-profit Society as we create a deeper and more inclusive understanding of the history of Canada through our virtual Museum of Migration on the West Coast. Incorporated in 2011 to build a broader and improved understanding of Canada's history and growth through intercultural explorations of historic and current trans-Pacific immigration, we uncover, collect, and share the many omitted and missing stories of the people in Pacific Canada.

Stop by our table in the Ice Rink area for a special treat and to learn about our latest projects!

Passage to Freedom, produced by Sheila Petzold, is a moving documentary that features oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees that made the dangerous journey from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada. The film effectively weaves archival clips of news stories, wartime footage, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. New government policies and programs enabled Canada to resettle over 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees from 1975 to 1985. The Canadian response to the refugee crisis was recognized internationally with the awarding of the UNHCR Nansen Medal in 1986. The film delves into the harrowing and courageous journey of the refugees during the Vietnam War, the Secret Lao War, and the Cambodian Genocide; their struggles in settlement; and their resilience in starting a new life in a new country. It highlights their successful integration into the fabric of Canadian life and the contributions of this first generation and their descendants in Canada. 

Admission is free, thanks to our sponsors and volunteers.

Hearts of Freedom – Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees is a pop-up exhibition that focuses on the personal histories of refugees from Southeast Asia who came to Canada between 1975 and 1985, and the stories of people who assisted them.

For other partners of the national Hearts of Freedom Committee, click here.

Join us by registering here for the opening reception of “Hearts of Freedom in Surrey” project organized jointly by PCHC-Museum of Migration Society and St Matthew’s Parish to put a spotlight on the stories of Southeast Asian refugees who arrived in Canada from 1975 -1985. Following the reception, a film screening of Passage to Freedom, produced by Sheila Petzold, will take place in Music Room 2.

Admission is free, thanks to our sponsors and volunteers.

Hearts of Freedom – Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees is a pop-up exhibition that focuses on the personal histories of refugees from Southeast Asia who came to Canada between 1975 and 1985, and the stories of people who assisted them.

For other partners of the national Hearts of Freedom Committee, click here.

PCHC-MoM, AlumniUBC, UBC Transcending Boundaries, and UBC First Nations House of Learning are pleased to present Passage to Freedom, a one-hour long, 2023 Canadian documentary film by Sheila Petzold, telling the stories of former Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese refugees who escaped the Vietnam War and its spillover effects in the 1970s-80s, to settle in Canada through the compassionate and innovative efforts of Canadian leaders and private citizens. After the film, an intercultural panel of speakers will discuss how forced migration events have affected many communities in North America and resulted in lingering, intergenerational trauma. Afterwards, as time permits, PCHC-MoM volunteers will give a quick guided tour of the companion Hearts of Freedom exhibit in the lobby.

Register here!

Panelists

Elder Larry Grant is an Adjunct Professor in UBC’s First Nations and Endangered Languages Program, and with the UBC Musqueam Language and Culture Program within the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, where he teaches the first-year hən’q’əmin’əm’ language course. He also serves the Musqueam people as the Language and Culture Consultant. Elder Grant has also served as Elder-in-Residence at the UBC First Nations House of Learning.

Elder Grant was born and raised in Musqueam traditional territory by his hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking Musqueam mother and Chinese immigrant father.

During his childhood, the Canadian government forced him and his siblings to move away from their Musqueam home to live with their father and paternal relatives in Vancouver’s Chinatown. When Larry enrolled in the First Nations Languages Program at UBC, after four decades as a longshore man, it awoke his embedded memories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language and of its importance for self-identity, kinship, culture, spirituality, territory, and history prior to European colonisation.

Dr. Margaret P Moss, PhD, J.D., is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota), and has equal lineage as Canadian Sioux/ Saskatchewan. At UBC, she is the Director of First Nations House of Learning and full Professor in the School of Nursing. Dr. Moss is the first and only American Indian to hold both Nursing and Juris doctorates, and published the first nursing textbook on American Indian Health (Springer 2015). She served as a co-lead for UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan, one of only a few in North American universities, which was adopted in 2020 and launched to a global audience. She also co-authored the 2021 Annual Report, “In Plain Sight”, about anti-Indigenous racism within the BC health system. She made it onto Forbes Magazine’s inaugural list in 2021, of “50 Women Over 50 Creating Social Change At Scale.” In 2022, Dr. Moss was elected as a member of the prestigious US National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honours in the fields of health and medicine, as it recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service in those fields.

Putsata Reang is an author and journalist whose writings have appeared in a variety of national and international publications, including the New York Times, Politico, the Guardian, Ms, The Seattle Times and the San Jose Mercury News. Putsata was born in Cambodia, and raised in rural Oregon, surrounded by berry farms where she and her family hustled to earn their middle class existence. Her memoir explores the glades of displacement felt by children of refugees, and the overlay of emotional exile that comes with being gay.

Putsata has lived and worked in more than a dozen countries, including Cambodia, Afghanistan and Thailand. She is an alum of Hedgebrook, Mineral School and Kimmel Harding Nelson residencies. She is a 2019 Jack Straw fellow. In 2005, she received an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship that took her back to Cambodia to report on landless farmers. She currently teaches memoir writing at the University of Washington School of Professional & Continuing Education.

Vivian Wakabayashi Rygnestad is third-generation (sansei) Japanese Canadian. Her family was among ~22,000 Japanese Canadians forcibly relocated from their BC homes and incarcerated by the Canadian government during WWII. She serves as a consultant on “Landscapes of Injustice”, a SSHRC research project undertaken by a consortium of Canadian organizations and universities, including the Nikkei Museum and Cultural Centre, SFU, University of Victoria, and the 1906 Japanese Hall. She is a retired school principal living in Richmond, B.C., and is committed to learning, understanding, honoring, preserving, and teaching others about Japanese Canadian history. Along with her extended family in B.C. and Toronto, she has been active within the Japanese Canadian community for many years. She has worked with two book committees on Japanese Canadian 6 history: “Honouring our People” (stories of our elders), and “Pidgin English” (preserving our oral history). She has served as President of the B.C. Retired Principals’ & Vice-Principals’ Association, and has worked as a presenter and facilitator in professional development for educators. She hopes that “Landscapes of Injustice” and a follow-up international project, “Past Wrongs, Future Choices”, will lead to open dialogue and deep learning, to prevent injustices in the future. In 2015, Vivian was honoured as one of UBC’s Outstanding Alumni from the Faculty of Education.

Moderator:

Gwendolyn (“Wendy”) Yip served as President of the Board of Directors for PCHC-MoM Society from January 2020 through October 2022, and remains active as President Emerita. She was University Ambassador for the University of British Columbia (2016-22). In that role, she promoted an intercultural learning environment, and good “town and gown” relationships between UBC and outside groups, particularly local schools. At UBC, Wendy supported such efforts as the Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program, UBC Opera, Museum of Anthropology, Belkin Art Gallery, Green and St John’s Colleges, UBC’s faith communities, Transcending Boundaries and BC Brain Wellness. Wendy has served as an active Honorary President for the UBC Faculty Women’s Club (2016-23), on the Advisory Board of the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, and the Board of the Knowledge Network Corporation (2022). Wendy previously served as the First Lady of the University of Cincinnati, and served on the Board of the Seven Hills Neighborhood House.

Join PCHC President Pat Parungao, Director Ada Con, and founder Winnie L Cheung for this story-sharing event!

Get your tickets here.

A collection of personal memories related to specific moments or experiences can comprise a number of approaches - whether it’s a short story, poem, memoir, or an illustrated children’s book. Sharing the common threads of intergenerational writing and translation about memories of home and migration, the challenges of publishing their stories as books, and insight into how reconciliation can mean coming to terms with past wrongs and healing together in different communities, this panel of authors will offer a fascinating afternoon of conversation. Join members of the Asian Literature Circle in this annual story-sharing event.

The arrival of the Hearts of Freedom exhibition to UBC Robson Square will be celebrated with a free screening of the exhibition’s accompanying film, Passage to Freedom. The film highlights the courage of the refugees and the compassion shown in that era by Canadian officials, churches, and ordinary citizens who stepped up to innovate a private sponsorship immigration program, under the 1976 Immigration Act, where private citizens could sponsor complete strangers as refugees to Canada.

Register here!

A panel discussion after the documentary will showcase UBC faculty and alumni who can speak on topics to do with global migration studies, including UBC’s interdisciplinary Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies. Click here for directions to Robson Square.

Event Schedule

1:00 PM – Program begins, welcome remarks

1:15 PM – Film screening

2:30PM – Panel discussion, audience Q&A

3:00 PM – Reception, light food and refreshments will be available

Panelists

Dr. Henry Yu is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, in History, Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies, and the Centre for Global Migration. He is the Co-Lead for UBC’s new Centre for Asian Canadian Research Engagement (ACRE) and the Director of the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC), mentoring UBC students to become community researchers and leaders.

Dr. Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe is the Lead Curator of Hearts of Freedom oral history project and travelling exhibit. She is also the Chair and Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution Studies Menno Simons College of the Canadian Mennonite University, at the University of Winnipeg. President, Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS). She is a former Laotian refugee and proud UBC alumna.

Margaret Tebbutt is a former Foreign Service Visa Officer, and former Foreign Branch Liaison Officer with the BC Office of Employment and Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Services. She was posted overseas in Southeast Asia and on the frontlines of refugee selection and settlement in the late 1970s to early 1980s. She later worked in trade promotion for Canada, including working with the UBC Sauder Business School of Business.

Chris Friesen is the Chief Operating Office, Immigration Settlement Services of BC (ISSofBC), the main immigrant serving agency in BC. He and ISSofBC have had key leadership roles in all humanitarian refugee resettlement movements since 1972, including most recently, Afghan Special Initiative and Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven. He is the staff lead for the world-class ISSofBC Welcome Centre, a social purpose, shared space facility that opened in 2016 for refugee settlement and integration. He is a proud UBC alumnus who founded the WUSC UBC Student Refugee Sponsorship Program.

For other partners of the national Hearts of Freedom Committee, click here.

Join PCHC Secretary Tāriq Malik for this poetry panel at LiterASIAN 2023.

Get your tickets here.

Poets create magic when they shape their words from a blank page into streams of imagery and eventually a polished book of poetry. The time and effort that goes into refining word upon word and line upon line is often acknowledged but not as widely discussed among writers. Moderated by the City of Vancouver’s Poet Laureate Fiona Tinwei Lam, this panel of emerging and established poets share their insights into their craft and how the aesthetic of their words can kindle a reimagining of different worlds.

Event: "Hearts of Freedom in BC” Opening Reception to mark Asian Heritage Month

Date: May 1, 2023 (Mon.)

Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Venue: Lobby, Three Bentall Centre, 595 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC

Join us by registering here for the opening reception of “Hearts of Freedom in BC” project organized by PCHC-Museum of Migration Society to put a spotlight on the stories of Southeast Asian refugees who arrived in Canada from 1975 -1985. It is also a public event to mark the commencement of Asian Heritage Month on a commercial property in the middle of the downtown core in Vancouver.

Click here for the “Hearts of Freedom in BC” Media Advisory.

Catering and festive performances are arranged to showcase the talents in the Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese communities in Metro Vancouver. Guided tours of the national travelling museum exhibition at Bentall 3 will be conducted by two of the principal researchers at the beginning of the evening.

Admission is free, thanks to our sponsors and volunteers. Pre-registration is required.

Event: BC Premiere: Passage to Freedom (English) and Q&A

Date: April 29, 2023 (Saturday)

Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm (3:00-3:45pm - Informal Guided Tour with Stephanie Stobbe (HOF Exhibition Curator and Co-Researcher) and Michael Molloy (Co-Researcher)

Venue: Room 1800, Harbour Centre, SFU Vancouver Campus (515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3)

Register here!

Join us for the BC premiere of the English version of this new film Passage to Freedom (2023). The French version will be made available at a later date. Light refreshments will be served at this event.

Following the premiere, join guided tours at the exhibit by HoF principal researchers Dr Stephanie Stobbe & Mr. Michael Molloy at 3:00pm April 29 at SFU.

Passage to Freedom is a moving documentary that features oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees that made the dangerous journey from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada. The film effectively weaves archival clips of news stories, wartime footage, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. New government policies and programs enabled Canada to resettle over 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees from 1975 to 1985. The Canadian response to the refugee crisis was recognized internationally with the awarding of the UNHCR Nansen Medal in 1986. The film delves into the harrowing and courageous journey of the refugees during the Vietnam War, the Secret Lao War, and the Cambodian Genocide; their struggles in settlement; and their resilience in starting a new life in a new country. It highlights their successful integration into the fabric of Canadian life and the contributions of this first generation and their descendants in Canada.

The film screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Dr. Stephanie Stobbe and Mr. Michael Molloy – two of the principal researchers of the oral history project that leads to the production of a national travelling exhibit and this documentary film.

Dr. Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe (principal researcher & curator of the travelling exhibit)

Dr. Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe is the Chair and Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College (a College of Canadian Mennonite University) at the University of Winnipeg, and Associate Professor in the Redekop School of Business. She is the author and editor of multiple books, including Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Laos: Perspective for Today’s World, and the Curator of the HOF – Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees travelling museum exhibition. Stephanie is an Expert Advisory Board member for Asia Pacific Refugees Studies at Auckland University in New Zealand, and President of Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.

Mr. Michael Molloy (principal researcher & retired immigration official)

Michael James Molloy, co-author of Running on Empty: Canada and the Indochinese Refugee Movement 1975-80, has 40 years of experience in international and refugee affairs. In 1976, as Director of Refugee Policy, he was responsible for designing the refugee provisions of the 1976 Immigration Act including the sponsorship program and the Indochinese designated class that simplified the selection process for the Indochinese refugees.

This free program is brought to you by PCHC-MoM Society with support from the Government of Canada, City of Vancouver, SFU Vancouver, and in collaboration with Hearts of Freedom national partners & local partners.

Event: "Open Doors, Open Hearts" Fireside Chat

Date: April 28, 2023 (Friday)

Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm (Optional: 5:00pm-5:45pm – Informal Guided Tour with Stephanie Stobbe (HOF Exhibition Curator and Co-Researcher) and Michael Molloy (Co-Researcher)

Venue: Room 1600, Harbour Centre SFU Vancouver Campus (515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3)

Register here!

Join us for this inspiring and thought-provoking conversation that looks back at the changes that have transformed its White-only immigration policy to a system that opens Canada’s door more widely, resulting in its reputation of being a model for multiculturalism in the world. Is this a myth or fact? Panelists will speak from their professional and lived experiences relating to past and current refugee resettlement efforts to illuminate the struggles, pitfalls, successes and concerns, as we collectively work towards building a nation to which all citizens feel they can truly belong.

Featuring:

Mr. Michael Molloy ( speaker) - co-author of Running on Empty: Canada and the Indochinese Refugee Movement 1975-80

Michael has 40 years of experience in international and refugee affairs. In 1976, as Director of Refugee Policy, he was responsible for designing the refugee provisions of the 1976 Immigration Act including the sponsorship program and the Indochinese designated class that simplified the selection process for the Indochinese refugees.

Dr. Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe (speaker) - curator of the Hearts of Freedom travelling museum exhibition

Stephanie is the Chair and Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College (a College of Canadian Mennonite University) at the University of Winnipeg, and Associate Professor in the Redekop School of Business. She is the author and editor of multiple books, including Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Laos: Perspective for Today’s World, and the Stephanie is an Expert Advisory Board member for Asia Pacific Refugees Studies at Auckland University in New Zealand, and President of Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.

Mr. Loren Balisky (speaker) - co-founder of Kinbrace, a non-profit organization in Vancouver that provides housing, orientation, accompaniment, and education to refugee claimants

Loren lived with his family in the transitional housing community from 1998-2017. In his role as Director of Engagement, Loren provides oversight to the Beyond Refuge and Accessing Refugee Protection programs and works with the Board of Directors to promote the values and strategic vision of Kinbrace while resourcing its mission to support refugee claimants regionally and nationally. Loren lives with his partner Tama and their two young-adult children Abigail and Oliver in New Westminster.

Winnie L Cheung (moderator) - co founder of PCHC-Museum of Migration Society and former Head of International House at UBC

Born to refugee parents in cosmopolitan Hong Kong, Winnie is fascinated by the forces behind people’s migration, and is curious to know how individuals’ identities are shaped by the knowledge of their families’ history. Professionally, Winnie has worked as an educator in universities in Hong Kong and Vancouver, promoting international relations and intercultural understanding. In the community, she has been tirelessly building bridges between first-generation immigrants and local-born Canadians of diverse backgrounds through cultural hubs such as PCHC-Museum of Migration Society, which she has co-founded.

This free program is brought to you by PCHC-MoM Society with support from the Government of Canada, City of Vancouver, SFU Vancouver, and in collaboration with Hearts of Freedom national partners & local partners.

Event: PCHC Film Night: A Smorgasboard of Refugee Stories

Date: April 26, 2023 (Wednesday)

Time: 6:00pm -7:50pm

Venue: Room 1600, Harbour Centre SFU Vancouver Campus (515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3)

Register here / Rejoignez ici!

Rejoignez-nous pour la première française de "Passage vers la liberté" - un documentaire émouvant qui présente les histoires orales de personnes réfugiées de l'Asie du Sud-Est.

Screenings include extracts from award-winning filmmaker Cheuk Kwan’s epic Chinese Restaurants (Episode 1), a short Heritage Minute on “Boat People”, personal migration stories shared and captured by PCHC-Museum of Migration Society, and an intro to the “Hearts of Freedom” project, as well as a fascinating account by an immigration official Michael Molloy of his involvement & reflections on this recent and previously undocumented chapter in Canadian history. The final program will be a sneak preview of the French version of "Passage to Freedom" - a poignant documentary that recounts the firsthand accounts of Southeast Asian refugees who embarked on perilous voyages from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada.

Passage to Freedom is a poignant documentary that recounts the firsthand accounts of Southeast Asian refugees who embarked on perilous voyages from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada. Through a skillful interweaving of archival footage, news reports, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials, the film vividly portrays the resettlement of over 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees in Canada between 1975 and 1985. The Canadian response to the refugee crisis was internationally recognized with the UNHCR Nansen Medal in 1986. The film sheds light on the refugees’ integration into Canadian society and celebrates the contributions of both the first generation and their descendants.

This free program is brought to you by PCHC-MoM Society with support from the Government of Canada, City of Vancouver, SFU Vancouver, and in collaboration with Hearts of Freedom national partners & local partners.

Event: Sneak Preview: Passage to Freedom

Date: April 24, 2023 (Monday)

Time: 6:00pm -8:00pm (two showings - 6:00pm and 7:00pm)

Venue: Room 1600, Harbour Centre SFU Vancouver Campus (515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3)

Register here!

Join us for a sneak preview of this new film Passage to Freedom (2023) exclusively made available to our volunteers, partners and the Hearts of Freedom storytellers. The French version will be made available at a later date if there is enough demand for it.

There will be two screenings, one at 6:00pm and one at 7:00pm. Please select your ticket accordingly.

Passage to Freedom is a moving documentary that features oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees that made the dangerous journey from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to Canada. The film effectively weaves archival clips of news stories, wartime footage, and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. New government policies and programs enabled Canada to resettle over 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees from 1975 to 1985. The Canadian response to the refugee crisis was recognized internationally with the awarding of the UNHCR Nansen Medal in 1986. The film delves into the harrowing and courageous journey of the refugees during the Vietnam War, the Secret Lao War, and the Cambodian Genocide; their struggles in settlement; and their resilience in starting a new life in a new country. It highlights their successful integration into the fabric of Canadian life and the contributions of this first generation and their descendants in Canada.

Content advisory: This film features coarse language and graphic first-hand accounts of physical, psychological, and sexual violence.

The film will be officially launched in BC on April 29 (Saturday) followed by a question-and-answer session with two of the principal researchers of the oral history project that gives rise to the production of the travelling exhibit and this documentary film.

This free program is brought to you by PCHC-MoM Society with support from the Government of Canada, City of Vancouver, SFU Vancouver, and in collaboration with Hearts of Freedom national partners & local partners.

Join us at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on April 19 for our volunteer training & social! Meet other Hearts of Freedom volunteers while learning about how you can contribute to this travelling exhibit. Register here to reserve a spot!

If you missed our first info session on this national travelling exhibit on March 15, here's the chance to sign up for this new info session on Zoom before in-person training starts later in April.

Register here for a spot to learn more about this exciting program in BC and see how you can contribute as a partner, volunteer, or performer on specific dates or occasions.

Call for volunteers and more! Join us on Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30pm to learn about the upcoming Hearts of Freedom in BC exhibition & related activities. Hearts of Freedom - Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees is a Travelling National Exhibition that will be taking place throughout the Lower Mainland & beyond from mid-April to mid-July. PCHC-MoM is proud to co-host the exhibits with local community partners.

Attend this information session to learn more about this exciting program in BC and see how you can contribute as a partner, volunteer, performer on specific dates or occasion.

Click here to register for the information session.

This International Women’s Day we honour the women in our lives and continue to fight for equity for all.

Some resources below:

• Women and Gender Equality Canada

• Inclusion Canada