Storms

Growing up in East Java, That T. Ngo, known in Mandarin as Wu Da Ying, a Hakka Chinese Indonesian experiences blatant racial discrimination and also witnesses shocking human rights violations in his native country of Indonesia. His Chinese education was unacceptable for entry to any state-run university in Indonesia. His struggle to obtain a higher education in Canada, and his reverence to the True North are passionately and poignantly chronicled in this collection of poems and essays. Exposure to different cultures strengthens his belief that no culture is superior to another, they are simply different. His poems praise the beauty of Indonesia and her gentle but often exploited people. The poems also advocate forcefully for the oppressed and innocent. The poems show deep appreciation to his high schools and the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. The poems illustrate his appreciation to the mutually nurturing influences of his classmates, as well as his gratefulness to his teachers and professors. His cherished memories of his journey from Indonesia through Canada and finally to United States of America, of his family, colleagues and friends are vividly, generously, eloquently and elegantly expressed.