Beauty of a New Land: The Lives and Legacies of Five Immigrant Women in Canada

Intergenerational Adaptation in Canada

ââ?¬Å"Serene aging amid a multicultural society in a beautiful cityââ?¬Â? sums up Michiko Sakamoto-Sengeââ?¬â?¢s ââ?¬Å"Beauty of a New Land: The Lives and Legacies of Five Immigrant Women in Canada.ââ?¬Â? It is a biography based on the personal stories of five elder women, including the debut author, four of whom settled in Victoria, British Columbia in the 1970s and one in the 1990s.

The text, illustrated with portraits of the subjects with their daughters and granddaughters, is about intergenerational relationships within immigrant families and their practice of everyday biculturalism, based on five decades of life here. An interesting angle is that the experiences are of three generations of females from diverse ethnicities and cultures.

Born in Tokyo in 1940, the year Japan entered World War II, Michiko (83), with a BA in English Language and MA in Sociology, is eminently qualified to write on the subject. She interviewed four immigrant grandmothers as sources: Lina de Guevara (90), a theater director from Chile; Sri Lankan educator Hemi Gunasinghe (86); Hanny Pannekoek (84), a social worker from the Netherlands; and Nigerian author and educator, Comfort Ero, of undisclosed age , a ââ?¬Ë?latecomerââ?¬â?¢ who arrived at Victoria in 1996 with six children but without her Nigerian spouse. Lina married a Dane, Hemi a fellow Sinhalese, while Michiko and Hanny were wed to Canadians.

The narrative indicates that all subjects were of upper-middle class status, emigrating of their own free will, and that their long stay in Victoria is testimony to stability, serenity, and satisfaction. This is a complement to the ââ?¬Å"garden city,ââ?¬Â? blessed with the mildest winter climate in Canada and a haven for tourists and retirees, perhaps through retaining its British heritage and colonial past, and where 84 per cent of its present 95,000 residents are fluent in English.

At age 23, Michiko left Tokyo and started employment at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago as a social welfare worker. Here, she ââ?¬Å"witnessed the unfairness of society firsthand when I dealt with patients and their families heavily burdened by overwhelming poverty, deprivation, and maltreatment due to racial discrimination.ââ?¬Â? Such an experience could have driven her career and interest in multiculturalism. The quintet provides interesting views on the subject from which all readers could learn valuable lessons.

The author shows that the ladiesââ?¬â?¢ positive and optimistic outlook, outgoing personalities, confidence, past professional experiences, pre-existing English-language proficiency, and socio-economic status helped them settle well in a foreign but hospitable country. All were employed in the teaching and social work sectors, although ââ?¬Å"a common thread weaves through them: multiculturalism, which ââ?¬Ë?forms the core of their activities.ââ?¬â?¢Ã¢â?¬Â?

For people stressed by current conflicts in parts of the globe today, ââ?¬Å"Beauty of a New Landââ?¬Â?makes for ââ?¬Ë?feel-goodââ?¬â?¢ reading. All five women were able to pursue their professional careers in Victoria.

The conducive environment here also allowed them to easily bridge, reconcile, retain, and share one�s culture and values while assimilating those of Canada. This was facilitated by an attitude expressed by Hanny that friendships should be based upon trust and mutual giving and taking. For Hemi, life required compromise between Asian and Western extremes, and adaptation. She accommodated them through taking the Middle Path of Buddhism mixed with eclecticism, honesty, openness, and collectivism.

With immigration, at present this country could be likened to a multicolored (multicultural) woven fabric. Hemi adds, ââ?¬Å"Society is only as strong as the threads that weave it together.ââ?¬Â? Her view that she ââ?¬Å"feels comfortable and grounded in Canadaââ?¬Â? reflects that of all five retirees. The quintetââ?¬â?¢s sense of satisfaction and personal achievements could also be attributed to what Lina refers to as Victorian societyââ?¬â?¢s positive qualities of multiculturalism and interest in fairness and openness. Given that the groupââ?¬â?¢s overarching goal is to promote multiculturalism and human rights, it seems an oversight that none mentioned incorporating the First Nations in their efforts, considering that they had settled in the vicinity of Victoria over 10,000 years ago. Interestingly, all participants mentioned them only in passing.

The book is written in plain English and professionally edited, making for easy reading. It has a positive, feel-good conversational tone that makes the participants feel like the readers� friends.

Despite its multiple positive qualities, ââ?¬Å"Beauty of a New Landââ?¬Â?sadly left me somewhat unconnected because of its generic substance, social welfare, and multiculturalism and the narrative style being reportage, largely descriptive, and anecdotal. The women interviewed were supplemented by their five daughters and four granddaughters; the result is multiple similar views and repetition without adding a dimension of conflict.

Aside from that, the admirable qualities of all the ladies interviewed and their positive outlook maintained for five decades are a lesson for all. ââ?¬Å"Beauty of a New Landââ?¬Â? by Michiko Sakamoto-Senge may appeal to potential emigrants as they could learn from the experiences of those who settled comfortably into a multicultural society as well as to those seeking a broader view of immigrants and immigration. It is never too late for even the elder generations to learn and continue imparting wisdom to their offspring.