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The Decline of Vancouver's Old Chinatown
I just saw an interesting movie called “The Life”, a stark portrayal of life on Skid Row in the infamous East End of Vancouver. Having worked just next door to that forsaken neigbourhood for a couple of years, I sat riveted to the TV screen as Hollywood did its take on the lives of its inhabitants, a motley collection of pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, junkies, struggling businesses, social workers, and the city police that tries to keep a lid on things. With some of warmest winters in Canada and very liberal government policies, it has become a haven over the years for the addicted and downtrodden from all over the country.
Just over a few blocks from this semi-contained chaos is Chinatown, also a very historic and culturally significant part of what is otherwise one of the most visually stunning and culturally diverse cities on the continent. With over 130 years in the country, the Chinese have contributed so much in making Vancouver what it is today, and continue to lead in developing its economy and populating its streets with new immigrants. Unfortunately, the new businesses have moved out to the suburbs of Richmond and Surrey, leaving the old Chinatown to wither alongside the weary bodies of the helpless addicts a few alleyways down. Various organizations like the Chinese Merchants Association, the Chinese Benevolent Society, Chinese Cultural Centre, and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden are all dismayed by the continuing deterioration of the neighbourhood, and lobby the government to adopt stricter measures in cleaning up the mean streets.
It is painfully obvious to everyone that something more needs to be done, but what exactly, and how? Many locals point their fingers at the three levels of government for not cooperating enough over the years, and basically sweeping the problem under the carpet. I have personally heard city officials complain about the lack of effort made by federal departments, and vice versa. The Chinese community is especially vociferous in its objection to the double standards that exist for that area where crimes of delinquency, loitering, drug abuse, vandalism, and prostitution receive a mere slap on the wrist whereas the same behaviour would receive much stiffer penalties on the West Side. Plans to set up “Safe Houses” and needle exchange programs in the area to prevent infectious diseases like HIV have met with strong opposition among the Chinese. They maintain that this would encourage drug abuse and attract even more users and pushers to the area. While the government has thrown money into rehab programs and social welfare institutions, people on the streets have seen little benefit, partially from a lack of willingness to get better by the individuals, but also from the lining of the pockets of the direct recipients.
In Asia, there is little in the way of such a “Bleeding Hearts” mentality, and very severe sentences are dispensed for drug related offences. In British Columbia, many immigrants feel the Canadian government is simply too soft on the problem. Those people lying in the alleys made their own choices, so why should the rest of society end up paying for their mistakes? The cost of treatment is so high and the rate of success in rehabilitation so low that other ways to combat the problem need considering. Is there no way under the sun that the city can get them to stop congregating in that area? For Chinatown and neigbouring Gastown, that is the crux of the matter.
What should be the proud, colourful, and historic heart of the city, has now become a dilapidated eye-sore and a source of fear, shame, and embarrassment for many Vancouverites. Without some drastic rethinking of government policy, I fear that this wound will just continue to fester.
last modified Sep 8, 2004 at 2:46
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