Chow, Lily
Lily (Siew San) Chow (née Chye) was born in Malaysia in 1931 and immigrated to Canada in 1967. Growing up in the small Malaysian village of Ampang, she started working odd jobs to earn money for her family at the age of 9. As the eldest child and only girl, Lily was also charged with looking after her younger brothers while her parents worked. Her parents prioritized the education of her younger brothers and didn’t send Lily to school until family finances improved at the end of the Second World War. She started school at age 11, attending Chinese school for several years before switching to an English school when her family moved to a new village. After high school, she received a scholarship to get her teaching degree. She taught for five years in Malaysia before immigrating to Canada. After arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was offered a teaching job in Prince George, British Columbia. A year later, she returned to Vancouver temporarily to study at the University of British Columbia, but eventually settled in Prince George, marrying her husband in 1969 and starting a family. Lily lived in Victoria, British Columbia at the time of the interview.
‘So I thought that, well, there are other parts of the world that would treat people better than Malaysia. But I didn’t realize that the world is round – it’s all the same.’
In this clip, Lily Chow explains why she chose to immigrate to Canada. She was drawn by the prospect of obtaining an overseas degree, as well as the allure of North American democracy. Using several examples, she reflects on how she perceived discrimination both at the time, and in retrospect.
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