文/Chris Muise 译/Christine Yang
CBANS Chairman Eric Yeung, showcasing the poster for the 60th Anniversary Banquet.
中华会馆会长杨力维先生在展示会馆60周年庆典海报。
六十年前, 新斯高沙省中华会馆于哈法成立，其宗旨及目的在于：“对内联络感情，排难解纷，办理华侨公益事业，加强华裔族人的团结；对外促进邦交沟通及与其他族裔居民的交流，争取正当权益和公平待遇。” 今天，这个为当地上千华人作出贡献的新斯高沙省中华会馆迎来了它的钻禧纪念。
新斯高沙省中华会馆的会长杨力维先生介绍道，实际上，中华会馆的历史不止六十年。
杨会长于1994年加入中华会馆，他说：“中华会馆的渊源远不止六十年。老一辈告诉我，早在十九世纪三、四十年代，当地华人组成了社区，但可能人数不是很多。”
1953年，成员名单以及捐赠详情开始被记载。因此，会馆决定将这一年确立为成立日期，今年恰逢其成立第60周年。早期，由于加拿大严苛的移民政策，哈利法克斯的华人移民寥寥可数。那时候，是中华会馆凝聚起华人的力量，让大家在这片异国他乡的土地上互助互爱。
“他们希望所有的华人都能团结在一起。” 杨会长谈道：“几乎所有华人都非常支持，他们每人捐献五十分、一元、两元，一点一滴支持着会馆。即使他们有些生活拮据，有的只是在洗衣店或者餐馆打工，他们仍尽力为会馆献上自己的一份力量。”
前新省交通工程部门主管也是中华会馆创始人之一的Fred Lee先生回忆道：“会馆成立初期，大多数会员都是来到这里的第一代移民。由于英文水平有限，他们处理事情时常碰壁。所以，我会常常帮助他们。之后，移民政策有所改变，这里慢慢出现较多的华裔移民。他们之中首先出现了学术类移民，后来各类移民逐渐变多。”
随着中华会馆不断地成长壮大，会馆成员有机会接触到很多的新移民，随而帮助他们解决住房、教育、求职等问题。华人移民从事的行业也从早期的干洗店和餐饮业拓展到医学、科研、工程及政府职务等众多领域。
在传统中华文化里，六十周岁也称作甲子，是一个重要的里程碑。为了庆祝这个属于中华会馆的特殊日子，杨会长特别组织筹办了一场盛大的周年庆典。庆典邀请了那些共同谱写中华会馆历史的新老会员们，借此机会来表达会馆对创始成员的敬意。
杨会长激情澎湃地介绍道：“我一直跟我身边人这么说：每个人的人生只有一个60年，这是我们此生仅有的一次机会。”
本次中华会馆周年庆典于新斯科舍省Casino举行。本次庆典迎来了三百多名来宾，其中特邀嘉宾包括哈利法克斯副市长Darren Fisher先生，司法及移民厅长Lena Diab女士，区议员Geoff Regan先生，新斯科舍省省督J.J. Grant，以及曼尼托巴省省督Philip S. Lee。
新斯科舍省督Grant在开场致辞中肯定了中华会馆对当地多元文化社区做出的巨大贡献。他说：“我要赞美中华会馆的成员们，他们贡献了时间和精力，促进了新斯科舍省与中国在商业、社会、文化等方面的交流与往来。你们的不懈努力，使我们的社区变得更繁荣、更温馨、更有活力。”
本次活动中，来宾们都获得了一套具有纪念意义的相册，其中，记载着中华会馆60年来的重要瞬间。当晚，来宾们在享用完晚餐之后还观看了精彩的文艺演出。演出用歌唱、曲艺、传统文化艺术表演等丰富的表现形式重现了华人赴加的移民故事。
庆典现场还为中华会馆的四位成员颁发了“杰出成就奖”，以表彰他们对协会做出的贡献。
作为“杰出成就奖”获奖者之一，Fred Lee先生表示：“我感到很欣慰，你知道，这真的让我非常开心。”
这是中华会馆的第一个六十周年纪念典礼，杨会长和其他成员已经开始展望下一个六十年了。
杨会长分享道：“经历了这六十年，我希望我们能进步，能够更好地推广我们现在居住的这个城市，我也希望能帮助到更多的人。” 他正在准备一个$5000奖学金计划，他说：“这是中华会馆下一阶段的任务。” (完）
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Celebrating 60 Years of Benevolence
Sixty years ago, an association was formed in Halifax with the meagre goal of helping members of the local Chinese community get by. Today, the Chinese Benevolent Association of Nova Scotia celebrates its diamond jubilee of making Nova Scotia a more welcoming home for thousands of Chinese Nova Scotians across the province.
Well, it’s actually slightly older than 60 years, according to the current CBANS Chairman, Eric Yeung.
“They started a long, long time ago. Even more than 60,” says Yeung, who’s been a member of CBANS since 1994. “The seniors, the old members, they told me that in the 1930s or 1940s, the Chinese already had a group running. Maybe not many people, maybe only a few people for that.”
Instead, CBANS is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first written records of the association, which catalogued a list of members and their donations to keep the association afloat, that went back as far as 1953. Back then, when there were few Chinese immigrants in Halifax due to restrictive immigration laws, the Chinese Benevolent Association was a way for the Chinese community in the city to help each other out.
“They hoped the group could join together,” says Yeung. “Everybody, when they got paid, they donated fifty cents, one dollar, two dollars. Make it keep running. They only worked in laundry and restaurants, and they still can make a donation for the group.”
“In the beginning, a lot of people here – the older generation – they did not have the education or background to deal with a whole bunch of problems, because of the lack of English,” says Fred Lee, former Director of Traffic Engineering for the province, and one of the founding members of CBANS. “So I used to help them. Then later, after more changes in the immigration laws, more people come over, so on and so forth. First, the scholars, then general immigration.”
As the association expanded, it reached out to new Chinese immigrants, and helped them find housing, education, and careers. Since its genesis, members of the association have grown from being mostly in the laundry and restaurant business, to boasting doctors, scientists, engineers, and public servants.
In Chinese culture, a 60th anniversary, or Jai-Zi, is a noteworthy milestone. To celebrate this milestone in the history of CBANS, Yeung proposed and organized a special anniversary banquet, to invite members young and old to reflect on the history of their community in Nova Scotia, and show appreciation to the pioneering members who started it all.
“I tell everybody, this is only once in your whole life, because nobody can make it twice,” says Yeung.
The anniversary banquet, held at Casino Nova Scotia, hosted nearly 300 attendees, including distinguished guests such as Deputy Mayor Darren Fisher, Minister of Justice and Immigration Lena Diab, M.P. Geoff Regan, and the Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia and Manitoba, J.J. Grant and Philip S. Lee.
“I commend the dedicated members of the Chinese Benevolent Association, who give their time and energy to strengthen the business, the social, and the cultural connections between Nova Scotia and the People’s Republic of China,” says Grant. “Our communities are more prosperous, more caring, and more dynamic places to live because of your endeavours.”
Attendees were treated to a photo gallery of important CBANS milestones throughout the years, a delicious three-course meal, and a special opera that tells the history of Chinese immigration to Canada through dramatizations, song, and traditional performance art.
Outstanding Contribution Awards were also presented, to four individuals in the community that went above and beyond in the history of the association.
“I feel great, you know,” says Lee, who received an Outstanding Contribution Award. “Really elated.”
With the first 60 years celebrated, Yeung and other members of CBANS are already looking ahead to the next 60.
“After these 60 years, I hope that I can get better, and promote my city, Halifax, and keep helping people,” says Yeung, who is working on creating a $5000 scholarship fund through CBANS. “Our next step is this one.” （End)
