“’Hills’ and ‘bridges’ made of books”
At times, it becomes immensely difficult to cross the “ ‘hills and Brides’ made of books,” because of deep-rooted hatred and abhorrence. Poor Meiying fell victim to hate, as she could not cross the ‘hills’ and ‘bridges’ that lie between her and her Japanese boy friend. They fell victim to a war, which was being fought thousands of miles away from Canada. The war between China and Japan had overshadowed Vancouver’s Chinatown and Little Tokyo. The battleground was different, but the sentiments of hatred were as intense as the war in the far away battlefields. Perhaps, Poor Meiying couldn’t learn from the lesson she taught Sek and his friends. “When the two Jenson boys, Ronny and Rick, deigned to play with us, and we had arguments, she taught us how to form alliances. “Fight against a common enemy,” she said. “That’s what friends do.” She could not form the right of an alliance. She wanted to share her life with an enemy: a Jap. Immigrants’ native land does not stop following him or her even thousands of miles away.
“Stepmother, Stepmother!” I heard Father yell, “The Americans are going to have to fight the Japs!” Strange bedfellows: yesterday’s enemies are today’s friends. Alliances keep changing, but immigrants’ destiny doesn’t.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Immigrants's destiny is going after life. Life goes on. They can't allow their blood to be cold.
ReplyDelete