Adrian Ma shines a light on some of Canadian history’s most neglected people.
Video by Gabby Cleveland
Timeline by Jack Wannan
By Thomas Publow
At a guest lecture on Monday, Ryerson School of Journalism instructor and author, Adrian Ma, highlighted the participation of Asian-Canadian people in the World Wars to bring light to their underrepresented history.
Ma explained that Asian-Canadians were eager to fight for Canada in the World Wars.
He states, “a lot of [Asian-Canadian people fought for Canada] because they felt a loyalty to their country even if that country did not necessarily return that sense of loyalty to them.”
Ma explained that the Asian-Canadian people who wanted to fight for Canada faced obstacles such as receiving a reduced payment for their participation in World War I and being given “the most dangerous and back-breaking jobs.”
He also states that there were obstacles for them to enlist out of a fear of them demanding the right to vote, stating “Chinese-Canadians tried to enlist but most military branches refused to accept them.”
Story continues after the timeline
According to two Asian-Canadian students at Ryerson University, they were unaware of facts like the ones highlighted by Ma because much of the Asian-Canadian experience was not taught to them.
“I was not taught about [their participation in the World Wars],” said first-year media production student, Aliey Yamamoto. “I truly have such a two-dimensional view of Canadian history that does not incorporate the Asian side at all.”
According to first-year nutrition student Lauryn Getty, this neglect skews the perception of Asian-Canadian citizens.
She states, “[for Asian-Canadian people], it is immigrants only, and [people] do not see them as a part of Canada even if they are citizens.”
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