This the story the Vancouver Sun published about Roy Mah on Monday, June 25th. Roy's niece Ramona Mar is interviewed. I have been friends with Ramona since 1986, when we worked together on the Saltwater City exhibit held in the David Lam Multipurpose Hall at the Chinese Cultural Centre.
'Gentle' man touched so many people's lives
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Chantal Eustace |
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Vancouver Sun |
Monday, June 25, 2007
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VANCOUVER - Chinatown 's soft-spoken revolutionary, Roy Mah, may be gone, but the freedom fighter's legacy will live on, say his friends and family.
Mah -- publisher, human rights activist and soldier -- was above all a champion of Canadian multiculturalism, said his niece, Ramona Mar.
"He was a passionate, humble man with a strong passion for human rights, particularly vis-a-vis Chinese-Canadians because he grew up in such racist times," said Mar in an interview with The Vancouver Sun on Sunday.
Mah, who suffered from kidney disease, passed away peacefully in a Vancouver hospital Friday at the age of 89.
Mar said he will be dearly missed.
"He was just there for everyone," said Mar, 50, a former CBC journalist. "I'm going to remember him as a role model in the Chinese community."
She said that more than 720 people showed up to celebrate her uncle's last birthday at Chinatown 's Floata Seafood Restaurant, a testiment to many people he touched in the community.
Not that he was showy or loud.
"You would never think that that guy was responsible for bringing multiculturalism and the vote to Chinese-Canadians. I have trouble being able to believe he was able to rally people around issues -- but he did," said Mar. "Quietly."
Mah preferred to do things in a behind-the-scenes manner with a quiet determination, said his long-time pal, Fred Mah, 72, a retired scientist with Environment Canada. (He is no relation to Roy .)
He said his friend was a good communicator. Together, they helped to form the city's Chinese Cultural Association back in 1973.
"He's quite gentle -- not like me," he said. "He's very good with people."
He said he is a better person because of their friendship.
"To me, anyway, he expanded my outlook on life -- especially on multiculturalism on that sort of thing. He was a champion for multiculturalism," said Fred Mah. "I think that throughout his life, equality has been an important thing for him."
Roy Mah was born in Edmonton in 1918 and moved to Victoria when he was six years old. Back then, schools were segregated. He wasn't allowed to swim in the public pool.
It wasn't an easy time to be a Chinese-Canadian.
"Somehow he developed this incredible passion for fighting for the underdog," Mar said. "I never knew him to complain. Not a once."
Instead of griping, Mah turned to action.
He joined the army and became one of the first Chinese-Canadians to fight in the Second World War, encouraging others to join him.
"He really went to fight in two wars, one for the allies and one for Chinese-Canadians," Mar said.
When he returned, Mah lobbied the government for the right to vote, something that was granted to Chinese-Canadians in 1947.
His fight didn't stop there.
Mah became a union organizer when he took a job with the International Woodworkers of America where he worked fighting for Chinese-Canadians' rights.
In 1953, he started the country's first Chinese-Canadian English-language news magazine, The Chinatown News. During the 40 years he operated the News, he also founded the B.C. Ethnic Press Association.
Mar said the publication even caught the eye of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who invited Mah to accompany him on a trip to China .
"He wanted to build strength and have people be proud of their lives here," said Mar.
In an interview with The Vancouver Sun in May, Mah said that throughout his life, he wanted to help transform Canada into a multilingual and multicultural society. Looking back on it all, he said: "Now we're equal."
ceustace@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
