Mar 16 2007

Back then, there was just one. One person to help all the immigrants and refugees who flooded into Prince George during the 1970’s, during a time when the federal government opened Canada’s doors wide open and embraced people from other countries.

The Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) held their 30th anniversary Gala Event Saturday at the Prince George Civic Centre. There was a dinner in a beautifully decorated room, door prizes, entertainment with the Alex Cuba band and a silent auction.

Dignitaries like MP Dick Harris, MLA Shirley Bond and Coun. Brian Skakun took to the podium with 30th anniversary congratulations and reminiscences of their own. But it was IMSS executive director Baljit Sethi who perhaps had the best perspective, simply because she’s been there from the onset - and is herself an immigrant.

Sethi traced the early years of trying to get funding "with a staff of one — me." She talked about moving to Canada from Lahore, India (now Pakistan) and moving to Prince George in 1972 with her husband, and how she has dedicated her life since then to the well being of immigrants and refugees to this city. Sethi, who was honoured with the Prince George Citizen of the Year award in 2006, in part for her work with the society, still remembers keeping 24-hour contact with newcomers.

"I was the only one there at that time (in the early 1970’s) to help them," she said. Sethi became known with fondness as "mom" to many immigrants and refugees. Over the years, Sethi said she’s been deeply rewarded with "love and affection" from the people she helped.

Brink Forest Products president and CEO John Brink told the story of how he immigrated from Holland as a young man, leaving his native country with just $150 in his pocket and how he pursued his dream in the "land of his heroes," Canadian soldiers who liberated his countrymen in April 1945 following Nazi occupation in the Second World War.

"The [Canadian] troops would feed us bread and cheese and chocolate, and everybody was called Johnny," Brink said. "I knew someday I would go to the land of my heroes, Canada. That was my dream. I wanted to leave when I was 17, but my parents thought I was too young. My second dream was to own my own lumber company."

Harris was also on hand to congratulate IMSS and to thank the society "for making life better for New Canadians who want to settle here."