Chinee Girl

Chinee Girl (2011)
By Natalie Wei


Is a great piece that I feel fits the mold of race and inclusion.

My first introduction to the concept or idea of Asian and Caribbean history was a man I meet in Korea who's last name was Wong who identifies as Black American, who's Grandfather immigrated the the Bahamas, meet a black woman and cultivated a family of men and women who looked one way but were so much more.


I feel stories like these and those of the women depicted in this documentary speak to a reality that many of us don't realize and there for often discount because of unawareness and the lives and stories of these men and women who walk in their culture of being Chinese, or Asian and being raised in a tradition, culture and custom that they are considered outsiders in is very much a topic for any English, Geography or History class that needs to be explored and talked about.

Also the idea of something that is so mainstream one-sided is worth an introduction to when it comes to making connections and building bridges for young learners. This is a lesson that impacts and travels across most Caribbean islands as well as in the Pacific realm and affects other Asian groups outside of the Chinese. The story, history and awareness is something that creates a global citizenship.

I recall spending a winter in Fiji, and I knew there were people who looked like me there, where I had learned of this place, i am not sure, possible a place I had heard spoken about on TV, but I wanted to do and I did, but what I learned was that Fijians were a multicultural society built around different people of color, those who were natives and occupied village spaces on islands and in the mountains as well as Indian who were brought as slaves to help build and create there.


This story, documentary for me was enlightening and represented more than the Chinese presence in Trinidad but the history of Asia on the world at large and the impact, changes and history of a people form a particular continent.


The 40 minute documentary, attached.
https://vimeo.com/28971743