Compilation - Sharechez '79

Tracks

No Tracks

Photos

Videos

No Video

Information/Write-up

This compilation is part of an annual fundraising campaign by Chez FM in Ottawa. What's particularly interesting about this compilation is the recipient of the funds raised.

All proceeds of this record went to PROJECT 4000, an Ottawa initiative in 1979 to help bring 2000 Vietnamese "boat people" to Ottawa.

Here is a section from a 2004 press release to celebrate Project 4000's 25th anniversary:

Following the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, who either worked with or were supporters of the government of the former Republic of Vietnam, or simply did not support the newly imposed Communist regime, were put in concentration camps (officially called “Re-Education Camps”) or sent to the “New Economic Zones” in remote areas. In addition, ethnic Chinese Vietnamese were either forced to relocate or expelled from the country due to the political conflict between China and Vietnam. The flow of refugees from Vietnam reached a critical phase in late 1978 due to the refusal of some neighbouring Asian countries to admit them, then called “the Boat People” because most fled in small, leaky boats in the perilous South China Sea. Thousands were believed to have perished at sea by drowning or starvation, raped or killed by pirates. Dennis McDermott, President of the Canadian Labour Congress at the time, summarized this situation as follows: “It is crystal clear to us that the Vietnamese refugee problem has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis of global proportion and the only human way to react to such a situation is through decisive and immediate action.”

In response to the plight of these refuges, Mayor Marion Dewar of the City of Ottawa called a meeting of community organizations, church groups, and social service agencies in the city in her office in May 1979 to find out how to help them. As a result, Project 4000 was formed with the objective of campaigning for the admission of up to 4000 Boat People to the city of Ottawa through private sponsor groups. Similar community initiatives followed elsewhere in Canada.

Subsequently, the federal government under Prime Minister Joe Clark decided to accept 50,000 Indochinese refugees, mostly Vietnamese, but including also Cambodians and Laotians who fled the new Communist regimes in their countries.

Project 4000 was a historical event, not only to the Vietnamese community, but to all the citizens of Ottawa, since it shows that private citizens can work together to deal effectively with a major humanitarian crisis. It was a model to other cities and set a shining example of grassroots involvement and participation in civic initiatives for future generations.

The good people at Chez FM in Ottawa decided to pitch in and contribute the proceeds from this LP featuring a number of local bands. As you can imagine, it's a mixed bag...but we've got two great tracks on here that really stand out. No idea who any of these people really are, but if they happen to read this, please get in touch!

Comments