Retro-Posted Post-Post... Post?

Here's a June 2006 post whose "Publish Post" button I just clicked today. I don't remember why I kept this in the draft stage and forgot it for so long, since I had written it all and clicked "Save as Draft." Moral of the story: publish whatever. Nevertheless, there's a Globe and Mail article in the post whose link still works, so read of the Demise of the Quebec City China Town.

Yeah, sorry about that. Ugh, well... The author, as far as I remember, writes about the fact that there was a Chinese community in Quebec City around the early days after the wars. They established themselves in Quebec near the old port, at the foot of the Citadel and the old city, and in the St-Roch area. They had built quite a few things there, and had been doing pretty well until the development of the giant overpass. The government made a highway that leads from upper town (directly from the National Assembly building) to Beaupré and beyond, but that meant making giant pillars and the overpass throughout the lower city; many buildings had been appropriated and thus started part of the the exodus of Chinese. Nowadays, you'll find the buildings but not the businesses nor any sign that they existed, despite the historical significance of the area. And the Wok-N-Roll. The old grandma from that restaurant passed on recently, and she was probably one of the last remaining "old ones" that would probably be able to tell first hand of these events. The last thing about the Chinese in QC is that they are still around, but not in any centralized area, so a Chinatown is not feasible to establish at this time. As far as I know, new Chinese immigrants to the city are mostly studying or working in the university, or looking to work in the restaurants.

There should be some discussion on the Quebec Urbain blog and the forum about the defunct Chinatown revival project, though I have no idea where it is.

Es-see-pa-die-nah***

I remember going to Toronto during the 2003 gigantic SARS scare. SARS was a terrible blow to all the Chinese communities - financially, socially, and probably even weakened family ties ... (that's another story). Due to the western world's irrational fears of contagious disease being transmitted through foreign-looking people regardless of nationality, and then people actually dying in Toronto of SARS, everyone avoided downtown Chinatown. And every Chinatown in the country.

So for the first time, ever, there were parking spaces on Spadina avenue. Every single restaurant had opened all their doors wide and advertised inexcusably cheap lunches, hoping for some customers to fill their unusually empty tables. Eddie wasn't concerned about SARS, and neither was I, so we went to a place for lunch (which was also deserted). We had only ordered one dish to share between us, as most Chinese restaurants make oversize portions with this intent. (It surprises me sometimes how Jorgh's family doesn't really understand this concept... but I guess it's a cultural thing.)

The waiter brought a massive bowl of tasty soup (one of those that you usually split between 6 to 8 people). "Included." Well...

After failing to consume enough soup to fill one of the great lakes, the waiter brought our oversized plate of "General Chow's" chicken and rice piled to the ceiling. Ok, I'm exaggerating - it was only halfway up to the ceiling. Even with Eddie's above average appetite and me being starved on the train for 4 hours without breakfast, we barely finished half of the meal. I thought it was a hugely overcompensating meal until the bill came... for 5 dollars. Now that was just ridiculous.

*** Say it like a middle aged chinese woman having been born over there but lived here for thirty-odd years yet never really got rid of the accent. Yeah, like that.

Chinatown... QC?

My family has not been as long-established in Canada as those who came and made this almost fabled Chinatown QC that the Globe and Mail talks about, but we still exist nonetheless. My parents both came over during the fifties and sixties, and as some of you might know, got married in Sept-Isles in the 70s (of all places...), and started their long and winding road to this city. We don't have many blood relatives, and we certainly don't have any of them in Quebec.

Nonetheless, it's absolutely fascinating how some of these people have firmly tried to root themselves in this city; thus, the Wok-and-Roll is probably the last bastion of the Chinatown described in this article. The old matriarch died not too long ago, at something like 100 years old... my mum would probably know more about that.

Why is it that people are not actively reinvesting in the Chinatown QC? Because all the young people are leaving or have already left. [I am aware that chinese students come to study but they don't really stay as much as any other international student.] The only old chinese still in this town are the parents and grandparents of the young people that they worked so hard to get better lives for. The Chinese laundries, restaurants, and other shops were not meant for their kids to take over and work long hours at dead-end jobs. They were meant to earn money for their children to gain the education and skills in the region's schools and programs to leave this town and become professionals.

Frankly speaking, QC has been quite disappointing for a lot of bananas like myself. We have advantages in so many ways that were never available to our parents. On the other hand, we no longer have the "new immigrant" status that they had, though we have a visible minority status. I won't go into how often we'd have to sit the fence between the white French (and English, I guess) and the Chinese point of views here, but it is very frustrating. On one hand, the white people are not racist and they are quite accommodating to the romantic ideas of the chinese and other people of asian origins settling in the region. On the other hand, once these immigrants are no longer immigrants but second generation, there's no letting go of the "Oh that's a pity you've lost all your culture" facade.

It's hypocritical and kind of insulting to expect that the second generation and onward of any immigrant family will be able to hold on to a culture that doesn't exist in the place where it grew up. Other than ghettoizing or isolating our immigrants and creating "home away from home" neighbourhoods like Chinatowns, we don't always have the means to stay in touch with our roots. Sure, we are exposed to many of our parents' and grandparents' ways of life but there's only so much that can be done at home. How much more can be done without more immersion? What extent of "culture" would one expect this person to be able to display to people who ask for it?

Also, a professional who is of a visible minority still doesn't strike me as an image that seems to be comfortable to the white French and English. If it were the case, I would really like to see local ads and billboards to show that. And if it were really the case, I'd also like to see more of these professionals practicing their trades in QC.