Once upon a time there was a girl born in the Kingdom of Purplaya. A land that promised so much to its inhabitants. A land of peace, harmony and beauty for all. She grew up as a child sharing within the wealth of cultures that lived in this warm and sunny land.

The seeds of disharmony however, had been planted a little time ago by the colonialist powers. In their guilt and shame, they sought to undo any damage they had wrought on the Venice of the East. The colonialists brought with them notions of race and racial divide.

Their efforts to preserve harmony amongst the inhabitants have created a widening divide, a chasm that appears to be impossible to surmount. I will examine with further blog posts why the notion of race and culture is flawed, and the disastrous consequences of mummification of culture and race.

This tiny citizen of the Kingdom of Purplaya witnessed a shocking turn of events before her twelfth birthday that caused her to turn blind in one eye. Operation Lalang transformed the land into one of intolerance and fear, where leading community figures disappeared without a trace in the middle of night, as if snatched by a supernatural entity and transported to another dimension.

Her parents decided to send her and her sisters to a new and promising land, Canada. There she discovered hope again, and discussed ideas with some of the smartest youth of Canada, in Montreal. However all was not well. The 1995 referendum in Montreal brought her back psychologically and paralyzed her to being a scared child of 12. The verbage used by the politicians in their desire of special rights and privileges for the 'pur laine' terrified her. Thankfully the referendum was not won, but the closing remarks of Parizeau echoed in her consciousness for years to come, as he blamed "l'argent puis des votes ethniques" for his defeat.