Come from Away – Island Origins

Despite its homogeneous appearance, the population of Prince Edward Island is made up of a mixture of cultures from around the globe. Each forms an important part of Island society and Island traditions. Who are these people, where are they from and how did they come to live on Prince Edward Island? Alanna Jankov has explored their experiences and has told their stories through a series of photographs. Each photograph is accompanied by a short narrative that sets the scene, shares the artist’s impressions and chronicles the subject’s experience.

The Show opened in June 2006 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts and remains in their permanent collection

Also featured in the MacLean’s magazine recommended list.

: 2001 – Mohammed Benabid – Morocco Mohammed is likely the only Moroccan in Prince Edward Island. He met his wife Geraldine when she was traveling in North Africa. Mohammed helps other new arrivals to Canada by working as a translator for the PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada. While posing for me we discussed his passion for chess and his love for the PEI beaches.

: 2004 – Dr. Abdul Temor – Afganistan For over 15 years Dr. Temor and his family were refugees in Southern Russia. He is a trained as a neurologist, and views PEI as an opportunity for his family to know peace, religious, and economic freedom for the first time in their lives. Dr. Temor speaks seven languages, delivers pizza and works as a cashier at a gas station. He hopes that someday he will be once again able to practice medicine.

: 1987 – Erick Silva – Nicaragua Erick was the political secretary of the Sandanista National Liberation Front for 12 years. When the government started to crack down on the revolutionaries, Erick escaped to Mexico by swimming the Usumacinta River. Erick waited two years for his wife and two small children to join him in Mexico before leaving for Canada.

: 2003 – Felix Sotomayer – Cuba Felix and three of his crewmates were tired of the poor conditions on the ship “Southern Ice.” They were also afraid that their demands for humane conditions would make things difficult for them when they returned to Cuba. During a layover in Summerside, they left the ship and made their way to Charlottetown to seek refugee status. Felix has started a new life in PEI and works building boats at Hutt Brothers in North Port.

: 1975 – Ole Hammarlund – Denmark Ole came to PEI as an architect to work on the “Ark” in Little Pond. This experiment in sustainable living was a home, greenhouse, and fish farm. His wife Karen came to PEI to find inexpensive land and work on the Ark. Ole and Karen have built themselves a unique summer home not far from the Ark site. Throughout our early evening photo shoot , red wine and dinner, it was easy for me to see their love for each other and their passion for the environment.

: 1974 – John O’Connor – Ireland John’s favorite day of the year is St. Patrick’s Day. On this day in 1973 , while drinking a pint of Guinness, he read an ad for a chefs position in PEI. John and his wife left County Clare and relocated to Charlottetown. John worked as a chef for the Charlottetown Hotel for almost five years before moving on to supervise the kitchen at the provincial jail, which he referred to as the “the Sleepy Hollow Hilton”. During this time he lost his wife to cancer, and spent the next several years bringing up his two daughters on his own. St. Patrick’s Day would once again prove lucky for John, he found love again when he met Bev. Today, John is semi retired and runs a home brew store.

: 1945 – Joyce Paynter – England | 1946 – Mary Oatway – England Both Mary and Joyce were war brides who joined their husbands in PEI after the war. Both raised families in PEI and are now widows. Neither woman had met before this shoot but it didn’t take very long before they were carrying on as old friends. We spent a pleasant afternoon having tea and they told stories of their trip to Canada and thier first impessions of PEI.

: 2000 – Lauren Gaudet – China Lauren was the third child to be adopted from China in PEI. Her parents traveled to China with 11 families in 2000 to meet their new daughter. Lauren gave me a tour of her bedroom and told me all her first year of school .I was impressed with the feeling that Lauren’s new parents selflessly gave love where love was abandoned. It was clear to me that both Lauren and her parents have a special bond that transcends race and nationality.

: 1730’s – Louise Arsenault – Acadia Louise’s ancestors likely came to PEI as part of Acadian migrations caused by the struggle between the British and French over what was known as “Acadie.” Louise is a proud great-grandmother. She has 14 children, 34 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. She lives by herself in St. Gilbert and is known as “Mrs. Claus” by many of the neighbours.

: 1911 – Louise Ravenhill- England Louise owes her presence in PEI to a turn of the century English social program. When her grandfather and grandmother were unable to provide for their children, workhouse officials decided that several, including her father would be sent to Canada as “home children.” Although some were welcome as family members, most were employed as indentured servants on farms. Louise said it was not until near the end of his life that her father would speak of the harrowing experiences that marked his childhood in PEI.

: 1955 – Martin and Annie vandenBroek – Holland Because of their positive impression of Canadians and the Canadian way of life, one week after they were married, Martin and Annie boarded a ship and headed for Canada. Like most of the Dutch who came to PEI in the 1950’s they were attracted by the availability of land to farm. Martin started out as a farm hand but they eventually bought their own farm and feed mill. Annie told me about what is was like to grow up during the Second World War and how her family sheltered both allied soldiers and displaced Dutch children.

: 1803 – Mary Ross – Scotland Mary’s great, great, great grandfather arrived in PEI from Scotland in 1803 on the ship Polly. Mary’s ancestors settled in Belle River and she spent most of her life in this area. Mary is retired from teaching and still enjoys her summers in Belfast. She is proud of her Scottish heritage and spends much of her time tracing her family roots. She entertained me one afternoon telling me stories of her family and her ancestors.

: 1973 – Nabih (Norman) Sahely – Lebanon Norman and his wife arrived in PEI on Christmas Day 1973 and opened a convenience store one month later. This store has become a fixture in Charlottetown’s Brighton Neighbourhood. Norman is a prominent figure in the Island’s vibrant Lebanese community and was instrumental in establishing St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Orthodox Church in Charlottetown. He says that he loves the people and the atmosphere of Prince Edward Island.

: 2002 – Nindiya – India Nindiya came to visit her father who was working at the University of Prince Edward Island. When his term was over, he left and she stayed. She says that she loves the Island, the people and the way of life here. Nindiya came from a high-caste and was accustomed to having servants. She told me that she is not above doing things for herself but had to make some adjustments when she first arrived.

: 1983 – Patricia Diaz – Mexico Patricia came to PEI for Christmas to see her boyfriend and never left. She started a translation company 13 years ago and has been quite successful providing interpreters, translators as well as intercultural communication consulting. Patricia’s passion and excitement for life was refreshing.

: 1974 – Rick Gibbs – United States After years of peaceful activism and protests against the US involvement in the Vietnam War, Rick came to PEI for its democratic freedom and near classless society. Rick still struggles with his decision not to go to Vietnam. For him it was a right not to go, but because he didn’t ,someone else did. Rick says.”that’s the conflicted feelings I will always have about that God-damned war which shaped my generation, killed and maimed tens of thousands of American youths, and millions of Vietnamese…and made a few evil and greedy people very rich”.

: 2000 – Rungrot Saengmeng – Thailand Rote met his Canadian wife, Andrea, while she was traveling in 1998. They were married in 1999 and he immigrated to Canada in 2001. His son Roan was born in 2001. He says that his son is the most important thing in his life and the only thing that matters to him now. I was impressed with the closeness this small family shared.

: 1786 – Joe Ryan – United States Joe’s ancestors came to PEI as slaves of Loyalist Lieutenant Governor Fanning after the American Revolution. Two of the slaves, David Shepard and Kesia Wilson, married and had a son Benjamin who in turn had 9 children. The Black Islanders are direct descendants of 7 of these sisters. Most of the black Islanders lived in a small area in Charlottetown’s west end known as “The Bog.” This community dispersed sometime in the 1920’s. I took Joe’s photo at the memorial dedicated to the PEI blacks buried in unmarked graves.

: 2002 – Steve Mallett – New Zealand Steve was playing Rugby in Toronto when he met his future wife. He followed her back to PEI where they were married. Steve works as a personal trainer and says that he believes strongly in healthy living. Steve coaches rugby and plays on a local team. Despite being a world away from his native country, he has not forgotten his roots.

: 1961 – Susanne Manovill – Germany Fearing for their lives, 11 year old Susanne’s family left Germany in 1938, 6 weeks after Crystal Night. Many of her relatives were not so fortunate and were taken to concentration camps. Her family spent the next 9 months in Sweden before immigrating to the United States and settling in New York. She settled in PEI with her husband in 1971 and has been here since.

: 2002 – Tizita Wonda – Ethiopia Once Tizita became 20, she was able to come to PEI to join her father. She says she was ready to see the world. Although she misses her mother in Addis Ababa, she was very excited about getting reacquainted with her father again. Tizita has recently received her GED and is planning to study at Holland College in the fall. I was privileged to witness the ceremony where Tizita became a Canadian citizen. She was dressed in her traditional Ethiopian dress and was surrounded by her friends.