Transcriber: Abel marcelino Reviewer: 新 陈
(Applause)
It was a nice sunny day.
The girls were laughing in the school playground.
The boys were playing with their gadgets and toys.
There was one little girl who stoped from the others.
She wanted to play with the other girls,
but she was faced with one problem.
The other girls do not look anything like her,
and they all acted differently from her.
But the little girl was brave.
She decided to ask if she could play with them.
The other girls responded with
“Sorry, you can’t play with us. Go play with the boys instead”.
From this moment,
I knew that being an Asian immigrant was going to be hard
Good afternoon, everyone.
Today,I will be sharing my story and ideas
on the lives and discrimination Asians and immigrants have to face daily.
Have you ever heard about how squirrels will feel unsafe
if you release them in a different area than their own?
Well, this is because of the squirrels that were already living in the area
will attack and drive up the new squirrel,
just because it is not from that area.
This is similar to the discrimination that some immigrants have to face
[The Difficulties of an Immigrant]
One big issue I would like to bring up today
is the unfairness surrounding jobs and opportunities for immigrants.
In Canada,
Immigrants earn a 48% lower wage than non-immigrants of a similar age.
It’s also very hard for immigrants to be accepted into jobs.
Many employers tend to choose resumes with whites-sounding names,
and often assume someone’s education or language skills
based on their nationality or ethnicity.
This makes it very hard for immigrants to live,
and makes it harder for them to contribute to society,
because of these unfair views and policies.
Now, let me tell you another story.
You’re walking your dog on a bright summer day,
only to get confronted by someone who says to you,
“Go back to your country
and stop bringing viruses”.
Unfortunately, scenarios like this
were faced by many of my family and friends
[Discrimination Against Asians]
Shockingly, hate crimes against Asians in Vancouver
has increased by eight times over the past two years.
Many researchers say that
these aggressions towards Asians have been building up for years,
but Covid-19 was the thing that triggered most of these cases.
So, why would some people have this hate towards Asians?
Perhaps it may be the harmful stereotypes that have surrounded us for years,
from being discriminated against for our foods and cultures
to being put under many physical stereotypes.
These stereotypes have already generalized the ways others think of us.
So now you’re probably wondering, “how can we fix all of this?”
Well, unfortunately, there is no real “fix”.
but we can definitely work overtime to make a better world.
There are many things you can do to help support these people.
Oh, you have new neighbors and they’re immigrants from another country?
Welcome them and showed them opportunities around the area.
Have a friend who’s facing discrimination?
Support them and tell them that they are respected.
By supporting each other,
together, we can build a more inclusive community
and we can fill in the gaps that separate us.
Even though, I never really had a real happy ending for my story.
But once I came to Ashbury,
I felt like I was more accepted for my culture and my background.
In the end, we’re all human beings and we all live in a community.
From the times I was made fun of to now,
I’ve learned so much
and I feel like all of my hardships have turned into experience.
I am proud to be an Asian immigrant and I hope that we can all work together
to create a better world.
Thank you.
(Applause)
[Thank you]