My name is Anita Chan and I was born in 1956. My husband's name is Stanley and my daughter, Theresa and son Eric. The two of my kids were born in Vancouver, I immigrated to Vancouver in 1977. My older sister who married a Canadian citizen in 1974 obtained citizenship and brought us over. I got married to my husband in 1979 which allowed him to stay and become a citizen here in Canada.
In an environment where family was priority and the goal of increasing your standard of living was prevalent, my family made decisions that would provide a "better life". My grandmother was feeding the family as a farmer and was a single mother after my grandfather passed away in his early 40s. My mother, Anita, had no choice but to work after highschool and find ways in helping to provide money for her and her family. At that time, the education system was not completely free in Hong Kong as there were other associated costs. After highschool, my mother did not have the privilege of any post secondary education and found jobs in the textile factories with her older and younger sister. They made the collective decision that their opportunity cost of making money was more important and it was evident in their improved standard of living.
My aunt, Yvonne, came to Vancouver Canada for vacation in 1974 and ended up meeting and marrying a Canadian citizen. Hearing of this news, my mother and her family had made it their goal to save enough money in order to immigrate to Canada comfortably. Because my mother was a little older than the "ideal sibling-sponsored immigrant age", she was originally not allowed to come to Canada. However, given the circumstances of my family and my grandma being a single mother, they were all allowed to immigrate to Canada in 1977.
After arriving in Canada, my mother met my father who was in vacation from Hong Kong. His vacation visa was due soon but luckily they fell in love. They got married in 1979 and have been married for 30 happy years with two children, my sister Theresa and I.
