Pier Perspectives Blog

The end of the year is the most preferred time for most people. At least it may be for some people, but for others it is not the greatest time.

One of the things I love most about working in the Scotiabank Family History Centre (SHFC) at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 is that every interaction is wildly different.

Canadian immigration histories are built on a wide range of sources. Among these, the personal reflections of immigration officials are valuable as they may offer insight into the contexts for operation at immigration sites, or the differences between policy and practice at entry points. Fenton Crosman’s memoir, published by the Canadian Immigration Historical Society, offers such a set of personal insights, delivered with the occasional snap of wicked humour.

Our family histories are the stories that we decide to repeat and share, editing out the parts that were unclear or unseemly, and over generations those stories become our truths. But what if there was someone who could help decipher family facts from family lore?

When there is a war in a country, it can become difficult for its citizens to leave... People lose their lives and leave their homes to escape to neighboring countries. Or, they might simply stay put and instead move around the country while waiting to return to their homes.

Several refugees who arrived in Canada from the former Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Warsaw Pact Invasion shared their stories with the Museum in the form of oral histories. Reflecting on the commonalities of these stories led us to realize how unique each story is, even in such a specific moment in history. These diverse experiences help us to understand the complexity of the refugee or immigrant experience.

“I know this door”, the thought was almost overwhelming. Somehow I has been mentally catapulted back in time almost 47 years and my brain kept repeating: “I know this door. It belongs here, almost in this position, but not quite…” But, how does one ‘know’ a door?

Refugees and displaced persons who experience war, trauma, violence, or other limiting circumstances are still able to exercise individual agency in a variety of ways, even in situations defined by a loss of control. Czeslaw Tomaszewski, Lynda Dyck, Umeeda Switlo, and her mother Lella Umedaly are all people who were able to exert control in challenging situations, and further exercised their agency by remembering and sharing their life experiences through oral histories.

At the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, we collect and tell the stories of immigrants who came to Canada and continue to come to Canada to make a new home for themselves.