Forty-two years after leaving everything he knew behind B次元官网网址� his family, his friends and his country B次元官网网址� Khanh (Ken) Tran has very few regrets about choosing to start again in Canada.
From his comfortable North Saanich home, Tran sat down with the PNR for an interview on the eve of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 150th anniversary of Confederation. He wanted to talk a little bit about his journey from Vietnam in 1975 to Canada, as a young man. But mainly, he wanted to express his gratitude to a country that took him in at the end of the Vietnam War.
Tran escaped his home country in his mid-20s as Saigon fell to the Communist forces in 1975. He endured attacks while on a boat sailing out of the country, eventually making it to Guam. He was a refugee from Vietnam, or as he puts it: stateless. He no longer had a home and would be putting his life at risk if he were to return to his place of birth.
After three months in a refugee camp, Tran chose to come to Canada, along with a few others from Vietnam. The first stop in this country, was Ottawa, where he stayed for seven years.
B次元官网网址淚 left behind everything and everyone and came to Canada,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 had very little of anything but fortunately, I had some knowledge of French.B次元官网网址�
There were significant differences between Vietnam and Canada, he continued, most notably the people.
B次元官网网址淓veryone was just so nice,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was also very quiet and very clean.B次元官网网址�
Yet, he missed his family very much, he continued, and would often find himself crying due to loneliness. Ottawa in the mid-1970s didnB次元官网网址檛 have a very big Vietnamese community and most things he was familiar with B次元官网网址� including food B次元官网网址� just didnB次元官网网址檛 exist.
B次元官网网址淭here was really nothing in Ottawa at that time. I think I missed fish sauce the most. But 20 or 30 years ago, there were a lot of differences.B次元官网网址�
Of course, the weather was also a departure from what Tran had grown up with B次元官网网址� snow being quite the novelty at first.
Yet, despite his loneliness and change of living conditions, Tran said he set his mind to making a new life for himself in Canada. Thanks to his knowledge of French and the skills he had already gained as a young man, he said he found a job after only about three weeks in Ottawa.
B次元官网网址淲hen you first came to Canada, you accepted any job that came along. In Vietnam, I was a marine engineer and I was really good at that job.B次元官网网址�
After taking some tests, Tran would find work as a power engineer, working in a local hospital. It was a good job for the time B次元官网网址� but for Tran, it was only the start.
He would, in 1978, meet the woman who would soon become his wife. Mai had arrived in Ottawa as part of the Vietnamese B次元官网网址渂oat peopleB次元官网网址� as they were known at the time B次元官网网址� a large group of people fleeing that country. He and Mai married in 1981.
Tran worked hard the whole time, eventually earning his ticket as a chief engineer. By 1982, he was working with the Department of Public Works in Ottawa B次元官网网址� and then found a job with Fisheries and Oceans and he and Mai moved to Vancouver Island. Tran worked continuously for 37 years, retiring from the Canadian Coast Guard, Pacific Region, as a chief engineer and project manager. He said he never once was without work B次元官网网址� apart from some training and education time B次元官网网址� and never applied for employment insurance. His last vessel was the Coast Guard vessel the John B. Tully, which is often seen in Pat Bay.
He pointed out that was important to him B次元官网网址� to earn his keep and make is way in a new life in Canada, without ever being a burden to the country that took him in.
B次元官网网址淓veryone who came here with me was happy to get a job, even if it was a a dishwasher.B次元官网网址�
Tran said when he left Vietnam, there was no going back. The state of that country at the time and the cultural ramifications of him leaving made it extremely difficult to do so. He has however, been back to that country a few times, as relations became better between Vietnam and the West. Still, he said, B次元官网网址渘owhere is better than Victoria.B次元官网网址�
He said he worked hard to integrate into the Canadian community, as he had chosen to come here to start a new life.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted to be a good citizen, the be educated and gainfully employed, and then contribute to the community we were living in.B次元官网网址�
Tran said heB次元官网网址檚 been retired now for five years, adding he is very grateful for the last 42 years in Canada B次元官网网址� only a short amount of time in the countryB次元官网网址檚 150 years of history. He said he hopes that new refugees coming to Canada recognize the kind of opportunity they can have in Canada B次元官网网址� whether they wish to stay like he did, or to one day return to their home countries.
B次元官网网址淚f people do come here and they are willing to work hard, they will have a good life in Canada.B次元官网网址�
