Joy of Canadian Words: April 25th

fundraiser for Kogawa House

- Actors read Canadian Literary works

to Astound!

7:30pm
April 25th, 2006
Christ Church Cathedral
Georgia and Burrard

A beaming Joy Kogawa stands between the evening's co-hosts Todd Wong (Save Kogawa House committee) and Bill Turner (The Land Conservancy), following a magical evening of reading performances - photo Deb Martin

The audience listened attentively to literary interpretations of how Coyote played a role in the Japanese internment and confiscation of property, as written through the comical lens of Thomas King.  The short story "Coyote and the Enemy Aliens" was read by Chief Rhonda Larrabee of the Qayqayt First Nations.  It is painted a funny but ugly truth about how Canadians of Japanese descent were deprived of basic citizenship rights, and had their property confiscated for no reason other than possessing Japanese ancestry, even if they were 3rd generation Canadian.  The trickster figure of Coyote is used to create a metaphor for mischief, as the BC and Canadian government found reasons based on racism, to move the Japanese out of Canada, and keep them from reclaiming their wrongfully confiscated property, homes and fishing boats.

This event was to raise money and awareness about the house that author Joy Kogawa grew up in.  When she was 6 years old, her family was forced from the only home she had ever known and forced to live in what she described as shacks for the next 30 years.  The family was interned in Slocan, than sent to work beet farms in Alberta, "to work for nothing and prove their loyalty to Canada," as Coyote said in the Thomas King story.

Actors and cultural celebrities were invited to read some of Canada's most important literary works. Obasan and some of the works read such as Anne of Green Gables are listed on the recent Literary Review of Canada's 100 Most Important Canadian Books Ever Written.  Authors such as Thomas King and Leonard Cohen were also presented, to create a short but incredibly rich and diverse samplng of Canadian literary riches.

Bill Turner, co-host for the evening, executive director of The Land Conservancy - photo Deb Martin

Bill Turner, executive director of The Land Conservancy of BC, opened up the evening explaining how the Land Conservancy became involved  in  leading the fundraising to turn Kogawa's child hood home into a literary and historic land mark for Vancouver.  "It is much more than a house," stated Turner citing the importance and role of Kogawa House in the literary works of Obasan and Naomi's Road, "It is a symbol of what we can create for society, to ensure that such racism never happens again."
 

Sheryl Mackay, reads from Anne of Green Gables - photo Deb Martin

Sheryl Mackay, host of CBC Radio's weekend program "North By Northwest" read from Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  McKay is a native Prince Edward Islander, and told of many people who go to visit "Anne of Green Gables House" telling themselves "This is where she slept."  McKay secretly commented to the audience "She isn't real - she's just a work of fiction."  McKay also pointed out that Kogawa House is real, and that Joy Kogawa actually slept in the bedrooms of Kogawa House, and it would be wonderful to save the house for generations to visit.

Joy Coghill read from Emily Carr's "Klee Wyck" - photo Deb Martin

Joy Coghill, esteemed and legendary actor read from Emily Carr’s "Klee Wyck," a collection of sketches about Carr's experience with First Nations peoples.  The book had won the Governor General's prize for non-fiction
Joy Coghill was amazing to watch.  The timing and delivery was breathtaking as she read from Emily Carr's "Klee-wyck."  As I watched, I knew that we had really hit the jackpot when we decided to ask actors to choose a book to read.


Doris Chilcott read poems by Alden Nowlan - photo Deb Martin

3rd up was actor Doris Chilcott, again amazing to watch as the actor's craft of presentation and speaking unfolded.  Doris read three Alden Nowlan poems, a gifted writer who served many writers in residence programs across the country.


Leora Cashe lifts the musical mood with Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" with Jay Krebs on piano - photo Deb Martin

Next up to hit a home run, was gospel jazz singer Leora Cashe.  How could she not hit a home run while singing Leonard Cohen's song "Dance Me to the End of Love."  Definitely a winner.


Rhonda Larrabee, Chief of Qayqayt First Nations, reads "Coyote and the Enemy Aliens" by Thomas King - photo Deb Martin

Chief Rhonda Larrabee hit another home run, with the insightful and wickedly ironic and humourous Thomas King story titled "Coyote and the Enemy Aliens"?  Imagine the trickster figure of Coyote behind the internment of Japanese Canadians and the confiscation of their property.  It all sounds like a bad dream, and King makes it so!


Bill Dow reads Aron Buchkowsky's "The Promised Land" - photo Deb Martin

I introduced actor Bill Dow, as having recently performed in the play The Diary of Anne Frank, relating how the House of Anne Frank is a major tourist attraction in Amsterdam, and how Kogawa House could be that for Vancouver. Tourist and people making pilgramages could say to each other "This is the house that Joy was taken away from."

Bill gave a dramatic reading of Aron Buchkowsky's "The Promised Land."
I pointed out that Buchowsky, Leora Cashe and Joy Kogawa all had fathers who were ministers.  Rhonda Larrabee's great grandfather had been a minister.


Maiko Yamamoto, Manami Hara, Bill Dow and Hiro Kanagawa read Dorothy Livesay's "Call My People Home" - photo Deb Martin.

Bill next invited to the stage actors, Hiro Kanagawa, Maiko Yamamoto and Manami Hara to read Dorothy Livesay's radio documentary poem "Call My People Home." Written in 1949, it is one of the first written pieces to criticize the internment of Japanese Canadians.  It was a magical group reading, as the voices took turns speaking alone or in unison, each giving voice to different aspects of the internment and the dispersal of Japanese Canadians, away from their homes on the BC West coast.


Marion Quednau spoke about the cultural importance for saving Kogawa House - photo Deb Martin

Marion Quednau of the Writer's Union of Canada, gave a spirited explanation about why Kogawa House is an important landmark for all Canadians, by telling the story of how she convinced the city council of Mission to support Kogawa House, by explaining the historical Japanese connections in the Fraser Valley.



Joy Kogawa was thrilled with both the audience and the evening's performances - photo Deb Martin

I was privileged to introduce Joy Kogawa, and held up the program asking everybody to look at the cover picture of Richmond school children with a smiling white haired lady raising her arms in happiness.  "That's Joy Kogawa..." and I shared some of Joy's accomplishments.

Joy stood at the podium, and stated simply, "This is wonderful.... how could you ask for anything more." She thanked members of The Land Conservancy and the Save Kogawa House committee for helping bring a dream closer to reality.  "I believe in miracles, and these people are miracles," she shared,

Joy then read from the prologue of Obasan, then a section describing the house.  She then read from a section she had never read from before.  It was about the process of how the Canadian government had voted to keep the Japanese Canadians interned up to 1947, and decided to continually exclude them from resettling on the Pacific Coast.  It was all decidely heart-breaking and apalling to learn that this was the Canadian government's doing.

Bill Turner came back and explained how the audience could help support the vision of Kogawa House. 

It was a wonderful evening.  An evening where there were friendly smiles on everybody's faces.  Strangers greeted strangers.  And books were bought and signed.  A six year old girl named Ashashi proudly showed me the copy of Obasan that Joy had signed for her.

Then on the evening CTV news... we saw Bill Turner interviewed at our event, as he made his plea for Canadians to support the Kogawa House project.

Cheers, Todd

To donate for Save Kogawa House - check out www.conservancy.bc.ca
For more information - check www.kogawahouse.com

NEWS RELEASE                   
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 25, 2006

TLC CLOSES IN ON PURCHASE OF HISTORIC JOY KOGAWA HOUSE

VANCOUVER, BC – As TLC The Land Conservancy of British Columbia hits its final week of fundraising to save the historic Joy Kogawa House from demolition, the non-profit land trust is narrowing its sights on the $700,000 purchase price of the house.

“The time frame was tight from the beginning but that’s what we had to work with,” says TLC’s Executive Director, Bill Turner. “We still need to raise funds for the restoration of the house and for an endowment, but they can come later. Right now we need to focus on raising the money needed to purchase the property. If we can get reasonably close by the April 30^th deadline, TLC will take the risk and make the commitment to purchase the house this coming weekend. What we need right now are a couple of substantial donations and as many smaller donations as possible.”

Turner explained that TLC had set a target of $1.25 million to acquire the property. While that amount is still required, the immediate need is to find commitments of $700,000 by this weekend. Requests have been made of the Federal Government, through the Department of Canadian Heritage and of the City of Vancouver, and Turner says that he remains optimistic that both will support the project. 

“This means we are getting close and now we need a strong push this week.” Two fundraising reading events are scheduled for last minute donations and pledges (tonight, April 25, at Christ Cathedral Church, 690 Burrard St., Vancouver, 7:30pm and Chapters bookstore, 1212 Douglas St., Victoria, April 27, 6pm). Donations can also be made at any TLC office or online.

Since negotiating its option to purchase the culturally-significant property four months ago, TLC has raised $225,000 from 420 donors worldwide. There has been public interest and support shown locally, nationally and internationally, but time is running out.

The historic Joy Kogawa House has received strong support from the arts community throughout Canada, and several schools in BC have fundraised to save the home through bake sales, used book sales, twoonie-drives, and special Japanese luncheons. The campaign has also received coverage from several major Canadian television, print and radio media. The story has piqued international media attention, too.

Once purchased and protected, the historic Joy Kogawa House will be used for a writers-in-residence program, enabling new and emerging writers to create new works focusing on human rights issues and Canada’s evolving multicultural and intercultural society. It will also be open for public and school tours to educate people about the Japanese Canadian experience during World War II.

Donations and pledges can be made at (604) 733-2313 and www.conservancy.bc.ca.

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Contacts: TLC - Bill Turner (250) 213-1090; bturner@conservancy.bc.ca; Heather Skydt (604) 733-2313; hskydt@conservancy.bc.ca. Save Kogawa House Committee - Ann-Marie Metten (604) 263-6586; ametten@telus.net; Todd Wong, (604) 240-7090; gunghaggis@yahoo.ca

Highlights for

"Joy of Canadian Words"

- fundraiser event for

"Save Kogawa House"

7:30pm

April 25th, 2006

Christ Church Cathedral

Georgia and Burrard

We have invited actors and cultural celebrities to help us read some of Canada's most important literary works. We started with the Literary Review of Canada's 100 Greatest Canadian Books Ever Written, which included Obasan and we allowed the presenters to find what moved them.

This promises to be an incredible event.  All the pieces just fell into place.  The actors have found some incredible moving literary works.

Sheryl McKay starts things off with "Ann of Green Gables" a beloved Canadian institution with contemporary parallels to Joy Kogawa's "Naomi's Road" in that an opera has now been written and performed, and like Anne's House in PEI, people are now making pilgramages to Kogawa House.

Joy Coghill is a treasured actor and arts advocate.  By choosing to read Emily Carr's Klee-wyck, Joy has found a parallel in that Emily Carr's childhood home has been turned into a heritage site.  Hopefully Kogawa House will be the same.

Doris Chilcott has chosen to read some poems by Alden Nowlan, who had been a writer-in-residence at many places throughout Canada.  We hope to create a Writers-in-Residence program for Kogawa House.

Dorothy Livesay wrote "Call My People Home", for a CBC radio documentary that critized the internment and dispersal of Japanese Canadians in 1949.  This will be read by actors Bill Dow, Manaimi Hara, Hiro Kanagawa, Maiko Bae Yamamoto.

Thomas King wrote an incredible short story about the mythical Coyote playing havoc with the internment of Japanese Canadians and the confiscation of their property in "Coyote and the Enemy Aliens."

Leore Cashe is an incredibly gifted jazz and gospel singer. She has picked two songs by Leonard Cohen to perform.  "Hallelujah" and "Dance Me to the End of Love"

And then there is Joy....

What:   The Joy of Words, An Evening of Readings and Music with Award-Winning Canadian Author Joy Kogawa
When:   Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Time:   7:30 to 9:00 pm
Where:  Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Price:  Admission by donation

TLC The Land Conservancy of British Columbia is pleased to host an evening of readings and music with internationally recognized author Joy Kogawa on Tuesday, April 25, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Kogawa will read from her first novel, Obasan, recently re-released as a Penguin Classic. Along with Joy, special celebrity guests, including well-loved actors Joy Coghill, Doris Chilcott, and Bill Dow, along with CBC Radio One host Sheryl McKay and other special guests, will read favourite selections from BC prose and poetry. Japanese Canadian actors Minami Hara, Hiro Kanagawa and Maiko Yamamoto will read from the libretto for Naomi’s Road, the opera based on Joy Kogawa’s children’s novel. Jazz gospel singer Leore Cashe will also perform.

Kogawa’s Obasan, published in 1981, describes through the eyes of a young girl the life of her family before, during and after the Japanese Canadian internment in 1942 and features Kogawa’s childhood home. Over the years, Kogawa’s childhood home has become a symbol of lost hope and happiness and a central image in her writings. Located at 1450 West 64th Avenue in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, the historic Joy Kogawa House is now threatened with demolition. The owner of the property has given TLC and the Save Kogawa House committee only until April 30 to fundraise the $700,000 needed to purchase the house. So far, more than $220,500 has been raised from 384 donors around the world.

This fundraising event will help TLC reach its fundraising goal and help to save the house as a cultural landmark for all Canadians. Once protected, the house will be a used as a writing retreat, enabling new writers to create works focusing on human rights issues. It will also be open for public and school tours to educate people about the Japanese Canadian experience during World War II.

For more information about this event or to donate, call (604) 733-2313 or visit www.conservancy.bc.ca.

 

Joy Kogawa Reading Tonight

for Canadian Authors Association

see below from the Canadian Authors Association website

http://www.canauthorsvancouver.org/meetings.htm

Wednesday - April 12, 2006

 

Healing Words: a Reading and Talk Joy Kogawa, a member of the Order of Canada, is a prize winning novelist and poet living in Vancouver. Her first novel, Obasan (1981) won the annual novel prize for Canadian Authors Association, and First Novel Award from Books in Canada. She has also written Iksuka (1992), The Rain Ascends (1995), and Naomi's Road for children. Her four poetry books include Woman in the Woods (1985). She has been active with the BC Heritage Foundation to save the demolition of her childhood home on 64th West Avenue. in Vancouver.  This would be a memorial to Japanese-Canadian citizens who lost much in WW II by being sent to interment camps.  Writers across Canada are working and donating " to preserve the house and convert it to  public use as a retreat for writers of conscience whose work focuses on healing and reconciliation." http://www.kogawa.homestead.com/ Admission is free for members, $10 for non-members. Author speaks as the guest of the Canadian Authors Association. April 12, 7 pm, Alliance for the Arts (938 Howe). Admission $10, info 604-948-2654. The doors open at 6:45 p.m. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. and include Vancouver Branch announcements and guest speakers (or events). There will be time for socializing (and book signing) at the end of the evening.

Rafe Mair's Family Secret:

his connection with

Japanese-Canadians

We all have family and personal secrets.  Things we would rather not share with strangers.  But they also help define the kinds of people that we become.  Rafe Mair, the tough talking right wing media commentator who served as a cabinet minister in the former Social Credit provincial governments has recently written to very revealing articles about his personal connections with the internment of Japanese-Canadians.  I admire him for his stance and the courage to make these articles public knowledge.

Rafe Mair was the first person who ever interviewed me on radio.  It was in May 1993, and I had just recieved the Simon Fraser University Terry Fox Gold Medal.  Rafe Mair had a reputation for being a very tough interviewer.  But with me he was very gentle. He has a soft side, and he shared with me his stories of meeting Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. 

Many years later, I heard him speak about the challenges he faces going through depression.  I was going through depression at that time too.  The doctors told me it was normal after cancer survival, to have post-traumatic depression.  A few years ago, I had the opportunity to thank him personally for speaking openly and candidly on his radio show about his depression.

Rafe Mair wrote a letter of support for the Save Kogawa House campaign last week.  In this letter he revealed that his personal reasons for supporting Kogawa House, as well as how his family had a personal connections to Japanese Canadians who were interned in World War II.

Check out Rafe Mair's latest column in The Tyee:

My father 'legally' stole assets from interned Japanese-Canadians.

http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/04/10/MairFamilySecret/
<!-- start contributors and pub date -->

<!-- start /util/contributor_list.mc --> By Rafe Mair
<!-- end /util/contributor_list.mc --> Published: April 10, 2006
  <!-- end contributors and pub date -->

TheTyee.ca

<!-- Start "Page" -->

Two things happened to me this past week that took me into a small corner of my brain that I don't like visiting.

First, there was an email from a sometime editor of mine telling me that efforts were being made to save the childhood home of internationally-acclaimed writer Joy Kogawa, located at 1450 West 64th Avenue. Then, on the weekend, I read a review of the autobiography of Dr. David Suzuki.

Let me first paint a picture of British Columbia in the early months of 1942. On the 7th of December, 1941, the Japanese had attacked the US Naval base in Pearl Harbour, causing large scale damage to capital ships and death to many Americans. This devastating attack drove a stake of fear into Americans and Canadians living on the West Coast. But it was more than just Pearl Harbour. Japanese soldiers had committed atrocities (perhaps too mild a word), in their undeclared war in China. Between December 1937 and March 1938, approximately 400,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war were slaughtered by the invading troops. An estimated 80,000 women and girls were raped; many of them were then mutilated or murdered.

The prejudice against Japanese-Canadians was also part of the prevailing mood and social fabric. "Japs" or "Nips," as they were always called, kept to themselves and were obviously not to be trusted. Long before Pearl Harbour, politicians and newspapers were warning of the "Yellow Peril".

In 1942, I was in my 11th year while David Suzuki, a third generation Japanese-Canadian, was six and Joy Kogawa, who was second generation, was seven. They, along with all Canadians of Japanese origin, were deported to concentration camps, mostly in the interior of BC, where they remained interned until the war ended in August 1945. A little girl in my class at Maple Grove Elementary, Michiko Katayama was amongst them.

My family secret

But there was more to it than that. A "trustee" was set in place to hold all the internee's holdings. He then sold them all for as low as 10 cents on the dollar, with the money going for the upkeep of the prisoners. And here is where I'm forced into the distant recesses of my mind, for my Dad bought a paper box company from the trustee at a 90 percent discount, so it's fair and accurate to say that I was fed, clothed and educated on assets literally stolen from the true owners. It is part of me that I can never be rid of. My dad would have been 100 this July, my mother the same age in November, so I feel I can finally talk about this without opening old wounds.

It must be clearly understood that my dad didn't do anything wrong by the standards of that day. Indeed, this sort of thing was seen as a form of patriotism since it got even with the Japs and kept people working. And that's a key point. With the exception of the Winches, father and son of the CCF (later called the NDP), few expressed any horror at what had been done. Indeed, it was quite the reverse. Government MPs from BC badgered Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who had been told by the commissioner of the RCMP that the Japanese-Canadians posed no threat, to go along with the deportations. The local newspapers egged the politicians on.

In a curious twist, at the conclusion of the war, the federal government offered all the prisoners a one-way passage to Japan, a country few had ever seen. Many came home, however, to start again from nothing and while Joy Kagawa and David Suzuki are shining examples of forgiveness and achievement, they're by no means the only ones who returned to live useful lives.

Read more of:   My father 'legally' stole assets from interned Japanese-Canadians.

Read www.Rafeonline.ca

NEWS RELEASE             
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 10, 2006

Canadian Land Trust Calls for

Global Action in Saving

Author’s Threatened Home

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA – A coalition of friends, writers groups and The Land Conservancy (TLC) are asking global citizens to help save the childhood home of Canadian author Joy Kogawa from demolition.

TLC and the Save Kogawa House Committee have until April 30 to save the historic Joy Kogawa House. The goal is to raise $1.25 million to purchase the house, fund restorations, and establish an endowment for a writer-in-residence program.

Phone calls, letters of support, and donations have been received from across Canada, but a call for help is being asked on an international level. To date, $217,000 has been raised from 340 donors.

“We’re calling on everyone who has been touched by the past treatment of the Japanese community during World War II,” says Bill Turner, Executive Director of TLC. “This house will stand as a symbol of the wrongs that were committed in the past, but also as a symbol of what an international community can achieve when it pulls together.”

The historic Joy Kogawa House is located in Vancouver. Kogawa and her family were removed from the home in 1942 as part of the Government’s policy of internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Over the years, the house has become a symbol of lost hope and happiness and a central image in Kogawa’s award-winning novel Obasan. The home is also featured in the sequel Emily Kato and the children’s story Naomi’s Road.

“This is a story that needs living symbols so people remember this happened in Canada,” says Kogawa. “We need to show the world that we are not afraid to hide from our history, and we can work towards reconciliation among our own citizens.”

The historic Joy Kogawa House first came to TLC’s attention in early 2005 through the Save Kogawa House Committee. On November 30, 2005, the City of Vancouver granted a 120-day delay on the demolition permit for the house. In early December, TLC announced they would spearhead the campaign. On February 8, 2006, the Kogawa House was listed on Heritage Vancouver’s 2006 Top 10 Endangered Sites. Mid March, TLC received a 30-day extension on the option to purchase the home.

Once protected, the historic Joy Kogawa House will be a used as a writing retreat, enabling emerging international writers to create new works focusing on human rights issues. It will also be open for public and school tours.

Donations can be made at www.conservancy.bc.ca or (604) 733-2313.

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For more information, please contact (interviews in English):

TLC The Land Conservancy of BC:  http://www.conservancy.bc.ca
Bill Turner, Executive Director, (250) 479-8053; bturner@conservancy.bc.ca
Heather Skydt, Communications Coordinator, (604) 733-2313; hskydt@conservancy.bc.ca

Save Joy Kogawa House Committee:  http://www.kogawahouse.com  
Anton Wagner, (416) 863-1209; awagner@yorku.ca
Ann-Marie Metten, (604) 263-6586; ametten@telus.net
Todd Wong, (604) 987-7124; gunghaggis@yahoo.ca

 

Rafe Mair endorses and supports

Save Kogawa House campaign

Rafe Mair has offered to publish the following on his rafeonline.com website and suggested that we send it to the Vancouver Sun and other newspapers as a letter to the editor.  Rafe writes:

To whom it may concern

I recently received the following letter, in part

“I am calling on you now, Rafe, to speak out in support of a local project of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (www.conservancy.bc.ca). With a Vancouver coalition of friends and writers groups, The Land Conservancy (TLC) is asking for help to save from demolition the modest former family home of the author Joy Kogawa .

Joy Kogawa house is located at 1450 West 64th Avenue, and Joy and her family were removed from the home in 1942 as part of the Government’s policy of internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Over the years, the house has become a central image in Joy’s award-winning novel Obasan, which has recieved both national and international recognition.

On November 30, 2005, the City of Vancouver granted a 120-day delay on the demolition permit the owner was seeking for the house. On February 8, 2006, the Kogawa House was listed on Heritage Vancouver’s 2006 Top 10 Endangered Sites. Mid March, TLC recieved a 30-day extension on the option to purchase the homes, allowing us to fundraise until April 30.

Once purchased and protected, it is our intention to use Joy Kogawa House as a writing retreat, enabling emerging writers to create new works focusing on human rights issues and Canada's evolving multicultural and intercultural society.  It will also be open for public and school tours to preserve the memory of the violition of the civil rights of an entire cultural minority community during World War II."

I support this effort for a personal reason.

In 1942, when I was 11, I was kind of sweet on a classmate, Michiko Katayama. One day she didn’t show up to school and we learned that she had been shipped, with her family, to the Interior, by cattle car. I was told by my parents that the “Japs” could not be trusted, that they got their orders (or so it was presumed) from the Japanese Emperor and would help any Japanese troops that landed bent on slitting all our throats..

Not long after that, an event occurred that I’ve never really been able to live with – my Dad bought a paper box company at 10 cents on the dollar from the “Trustee” of the assets of Japanese Canadians. I owe my education to this and am ashamed of it.

It must be understood that no one, including my Dad, thought he’d done wrong. With very few exceptions most British Columbians accepted the fact that these “little yellow bastards” in our midst were dangerous. My Dad’s action was seen as one of patriotism. At war’s end, the Canadian government, to avoid Japanese Canadians going back to their homes and raising hell about what had happened, offered the detainees passage to Japan – a place that most had never been.

It was a horrible time but many Japanese Canadians were able not only to forgive but to show what they were made of by great personal achievements. Joy Kogawa is such a person and it's critical, in my view, that we maintain her house not only as a reminder of her success achieved at great odds, but that she is a fine British Columbian and Canadian - and as a reminder to all of us and those to come that great great wrongs were done that must never be repeated.

Sincerely,

Rafe Mair

Mortgage within sight for Kogawa House

- Option to purchase: open letter from Anton Wagner 

 

Dear Friend of the Joy Kogawa House,

The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, which is spearheading the Fundraising drive to save the Joy Kogawa House, has an option to purchase Joy's Childhood home in Vancouver until the end of this month if it can raise sufficient funds for a mortgage on the House.

The 120-day demolition delay unanimously approved by Vancouver City Council in November has expired and there is now nothing to stop the demolition of Joy's childhood home if it is not purchased by the Land Conservancy.

Several hundred donors have already contributed over $215,000 to the Land Conservany of BC towards the purchase of the Joy Kogawa House. A mortgage for the House is in sight with your support.

If you have been moved by reading Joy's Obasan and agree that the "Obasan House" should be preserved as a centre for writers of conscience and as a living memorial to the forced evacuations and imprisonment of over 22,000 Japanese Canadians during World War II, I ask you to make a donation now to the
Land Conservancy via their website http://www.conservancy.bc.ca

Cheques in any amount made payable to "The Land Conservancy" can also be sent to The Land Conservancy, 5655 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5E 2T2. The Land Conservancy telephone number is 604-733 2313. Each contribution, no matter how small, will show the federal, provincial and civic governments that there is public support for the Joy Kogawa House rescue drive and that government levels should also contribute.

If you have already donated, please circulate this message among your friends and ask for their assistance. Additional information about the Joy Kogawa House rescue drive can be found on the website http://www.kogawahouse.com

Thank you very much for your support.

Anton Wagner
Secretary
Save Joy Kogawa House Committee
416-863 1209
fax: 416-863 9973

http://www.conservancy.bc.ca

http://www.kogawahouse.com