Golden wheat seeded in rich humus soil
Gave Ukrainian farmers great success
Feeding the world after back breaking toil;
A skill Canada eagerly addressed
And as the world slowly advanced forward
The needs drew new breadth with expanded range;
Recruiters sought doctors living northward
Their words forecast US medical change
So to my children, I say ardently:
Each person on earth owns precious value
Despite placement in life’s hierarchy;
History marks these truths---man can’t undo
A PERSON’S VALUE - SYNOPSIS
In 1905, my great grandfather immigrated to Canada from what is now known as Ukraine. Although poor and uneducated, these rural farmers were very successful in growing crops, particularly wheat. Canada, young and geographically expansive, actively recruited my ancestors to come farm the land with the promise of land ownership.
Nearly a century later, I was part of a phenomenon termed “the brain drain” as US recruiters came to Manitoba and offered assisted emigration anticipating a change in the US medical system and forecasting a shortage of US doctors.
My poem in an inspirational message to my grandchildren and generations to follow: “Every human being has purpose and value no matter where you fall on the social scale.” It is also an affirmation that upward movement on the scale is possible. It is history that cements this truth.
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