Exhibition commemorating Southeast Asian refugees in Canada now at York

The Hearts of Freedom exhibition and Passage to Freedom documentary spotlight first-hand accounts of those who fled wars, and the Canadians who helped them

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2024 – During the tumultuous war-torn period of the Vietnam War, the Cambodian Genocide, and the Laotian Civil War, millions fled their countries to seek asylum abroad. A new exhibition at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, “Hearts of Freedom – Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees” (HOF), and documentary, Passage to Freedom, commemorates the lives of those who resettled in Canada.

Running Sept. 13 through Oct. 14, the HOF exhibition is on display at the main entrance of Osgoode Hall Law School Library. Passage to Freedom, by director Sheila Petzold, will be screened during the official opening of the exhibition on Sept. 24 at Helliwell Centre in Osgoode Hall Law School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The free event is open to the public.

“It is remarkable that all those Southeast Asian refugees who arrived in Canada during the 1970s and 1980s quickly adapted to their new country and have made outstanding contributions to Canadian society. Many Canadians are unaware of their individual stories of resilience and how they enriched Canadian society in so many ways. Our exhibition and documentary film help to educate Canadians about this very important period in their country’s history,” says Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe, creator and curator of the HOF exhibition as well as researcher for the broader Hearts of Freedom project, and Passage to Freedom documentary.

In 1979 and 1980 alone, some 60,000 Southeast Asian refugees arrived in Canada, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. In total, over 200,000 Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees landed here. Canada welcomed the highest rate per capita among all countries accepting such refugees. It was the single largest resettlement of refugees in Canadian history. This period has been described as a turning point in our country’s immigration policy and the positive humanitarian response by Canadians reflected a change in attitude towards refugees. In 1986, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) awarded the people of Canada the Nansen Medal for their exceptional contribution to refugee protection. It’s the only time that the Nansen Medal has been awarded to citizens of any country.

As a young child, Stobbe was one of those refugees who resettled in Canada with her family. Like many other Southeast Asian refugees, she attained a distinguished and successful career. President of the Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS) and a professor of conflict resolution studies at the Canadian Mennonite University’s Redekop School of Business in Winnipeg, Stobbe is a highly regarded and respected academic and researcher in the field of peace and conflict studies. She will be one of the principal guest speakers at the opening event on Sept. 24, taking attendees on a guided tour of the exhibition and leading discussion on the documentary film.

Passage to Freedom weaves together archival news stories, wartime footage and interviews with former refugees and Canadian immigration officials. The documentary is the result of years of work and 173 interviews conducted by the Hearts of Freedom Canadian Southeast Asian Historical Research Project. Three interview teams and four community coordinators spoke with people who, between 1975 and 1985, escaped the horrors of war and made their way, first, to refugee camps in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines before Canada, as well as those who assisted them.

HOF has been touring across the country, making stops at the Senate of Canada in Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21 in Halifax and the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, as well as at university campuses and other venues.

“It is wonderful to see how well our exhibition and film have been received and celebrated right across Canada,” says Stobbe.

Ties to York University

A distinguished philosopher from York, the late Professor Howard Adelman was an early pioneer in the new discipline of refugee studies and one of its most influential scholars, activists, and policymakers. The founder and head of Operation Lifeline, he helped bring thousands of Southeast Asians to Canada through the Canadian Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program in the 1970s and ’80s.

Adelman also established the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) at York University, one of the world’s leading research centers of its kind. Each year the CRS holds its annual Howard Adelman Lecture in honour of its founding director. There will be an opportunity to recognize Professor Adelman’s contributions to York and Canada at the opening of the exhibition.

For more information, see the Hearts of Freedom website. To reserve your free ticket, visit https://bit.ly/3AFVr9c.