by Jill McPhail After having the privilege to see Defining Diversity, Creating Community at the Powell River Film Festival, I left the theatre feeling a little like I was on cloud nine. I thought, “Yes, the world is really starting to come together to break boundaries and get past our issues with race, religion and defining differences within our own species.”
The film features an amazing blend of people from all walks of life who have come together in our small town to live together. Some would find this a beautiful thing…I sure do. In fact, at first glance, Powell River seems to be the perfect little community where we can all live in a peaceful coexistence. However, the film also brought to light some pretty serious issues of discrimination that are still happening, within our streets, among Powell River’s own people. After talking with a few friends and my husband, I realized that there was more in the film that upset me than what I had first realized.
Dr. Elsie Paul, a Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation Elder, told a story of a time when aboriginal people would walk into town from the reservation to see a movie at the Patricia Theatre. At the time, it was a big deal to plan a day to walk all the way into town, watch a film, and then walk all the way home again. However, when they arrived at the theatre, they would be turned away because the two rows in the balcony would be full, even though there was still space in the rest of the theatre. I thought to myself, upon hearing this story, “Thank goodness we are past this blatant and embarrassing discrimination.” But the real question is “Are we?”
Fast forward to present day. One young fellow from Haiti doesn’t bother to leave his house. He is sick of being yelled at, honked at and spat at. A young lady from Laos is shy and embarrassed to enter the community and leave her restaurant because people are impatient and intolerant of her ability to speak proper English. I wonder, have those who are so impatient ever tried to learn another language?
And for a young lady in high school to be told that her native language of French is stupid by a fellow student?
When are we going to finally take a look at the big picture? We are all in this together, and we are all human beings. That is the plain and simple truth of it all. We all feel the same feelings, hear the same voices in our heads, are scared of the same things. We are all on a strange and miraculous journey of which we have no idea where we are headed. It’s time to start forming bonds with those who are “different.” Reach out, ask someone where they are from, ask them how their day is. I bet you will be well rewarded with the response. It is within these basic forms of communication and by dropping our acts and judgments about each other that we will start to heal the wounds of segregation, and begin to celebrate our diversity, which in turn will create a beautiful community.
Jill McPhail, of Creative Rift Studio and Gallery, is originally from Canmore, Alberta. She moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2002 and to Powell River in 2006.
