Watch two immigrants to Canada share each other's story — and discover common ground
'This country has given us all so many opportunities.'
Two immigrants to Canada who now call Vancouver home — and two very different stories.
Frank Wong was born in Cambodia in 1962. As the Khmer Rouge marched toward Phnom Penh in 1968, his family escaped the country for Vietnam. But in 1975, as the North Vietnamese moved against Saigon, they couldn't stay. After saving up for three years, Wong's father could afford to send his children to Hong Kong where Wong and his sister were registered as refugees and told to apply for asylum in other countries.
Eventually, they were settled in Saskatoon.
I look back and am thankful for the advantages Canada has given me.- Elizabeth "Betty" Bennett
Elizabeth "Betty" Bennett was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her family arrived in Quebec City in 1930 and moved to a home six miles from the nearest town — their mode of transportation? Horse. It took 14 years for her father to obtain full-time work and for life in their new country to improve.
Watch as Wong and Bennett — strangers to each other — share the other's story, revealing what they have in common despite seemingly disparate experiences.