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Abbotsford, B.C.
Goossen recalls living on border of Afghanistan

Angelika Dawson

Irene Goossen of Abbotsford, B.C. watches the news from wartorn Afghanistan as more than an interested observer. The images of Afghanistan bring back memories of her childhood because she was born on the border of Afghanistan,

Irene Goossen in raspberry field, 1948, Yarrow, B.C.

in China, and grew up in Sin Kiang, a city made up of various ethnic groups, including Turks, Taranchi, Uzbeks, Tatarins, Russians and Chinese. Many of these were Muslim.

Goossen’s Mennonite family had fled Russia hoping to go through China, over the mountains into India, and from there to Canada. But they didn’t make it out of China and lived as virtual prisoners in the city for 18 years. They were unable to own property and couldn’t leave the city. Police checked on them constantly, and they had to report regularly to police. Into this context, Goossen was born – in 1932.

Goossen’s first language was German. At school, she was taught by military leaders who had also fled Russia, and so she learned Russian. Playing with neighbours, she learned an Arabic dialect, some words of which she can still understand when she watches the news reports from Afghanistan. She still remembers hearing their prayers.

The group that fled into China numbered 22. Immediately most of the men were taken by Chinese authorities. Goossen’s father was arrested in 1939, sent back to Russia and executed. Her grandfather and brother were arrested and jailed in China. Her grandfather died, but her brother returned to them after five years.

Her mother, being the eldest woman, became the leader of the group, making decisions and doing everything from performing marriages to preparing bodies for burial and leading the funerals.

John Friesen, MCC Voluntary Service Worker in Kaifang. Friesen was the only worker who understood German and became instrumental in helping the group get from China to Canada.

Initially, the group worshipped in their homes, led by the men in the group, but when the men were taken and the Bibles and song books were confiscated, they were left on their own. Eventually, they worshipped with Russian Baptists in the village.

Life was very difficult. Goossen’s mother, a cleaning woman for a bank, was jailed for a week when she asked her boss for a raise. The group lived with fear. But hardships didn’t deter Goossen’s mother from holding on to her dream of coming to Canada.

In 1946 war broke out between the communists and the nationalists, and a window of opportunity opened. When Afghanis gained control of their area for a time, Goossen’s mother went to the police station and asked officials for visas. The documents were denied but permission to leave was given to the whole group. Packing what belongings they had into 10 wagons, the group began the dangerous journey. Goossen was 13.

“ ‘You’ll never make it’ some said to us,” Goossen recalls. “ ‘You’ll be attacked by bandits.’ We slept outside in freezing weather. How did we survive? I don’t know, but Mom made it clear that God would take care of us, and He did. We were aware of it. We weren’t attacked by bandits or anything. God must have had many angels watching us!”

Their journey began on the western border of China at Sin Kiang and took two years, travelling 400 kilometres by wagon, truck, foot and in the coal car of a train. The group travelled through the Gobi Desert to Lanchow and then to Kaifang, where there was a Mennonite Central Committee office. Here they met John Friesen, a young MCC worker who was the only person who understood German and could communicate with the group. They spent some time recuperating from their journey, attending school or working, and always concerned that the Chinese government would prevent them from going to Canada.

Farming in Sin Kiang, China

In 1948 they arrived at Shanghai where they were to board a ship bound for the US. Three days before they were to depart, the briefcase containing their visas and medical papers was stolen. Goossen’s mother called a prayer meeting. Friesen called every official he knew and had people working overtime to make duplicates of all the papers that had been stolen. On the day of departure, they got everything they needed; half an hour before the boat was to sail, they boarded. On April 20, they arrived in San Francisco, where they were immediately escorted to the train station and sent on to Vancouver. They arrived at midnight, were greeted by their sponsors and made their way to Yarrow, B.C. After over 20 years, thousands of kilometres, hardship and struggle, their dream had come true.

Today, Goossen lives in Abbotsford. She attends Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church and volunteers at the MCC thrift store. As Goossen reflects on her journey, she is grateful for her life here in Canada.

“It makes me thankful that we are here,” she says, adding that it still makes her emotional to think about it. “If we had stayed, I think they would have killed us.”

And as she watches the news, she is moved with compassion.

“I feel like I should go there and help those people!” she says, but knows that is not realistic. For now, by supporting MCC, she knows she is doing what she can to make a difference in the lives of Afghanis and others in the world that are in need. It is her way of expressing her gratefulness.

 – Angelika Dawson, MCC B.C.

1938 portrait of the Mennonite group in China. Irene Goossen is in the front row, second from the right.

The group in Kaifang all wearing “new” clothing donated by MCC.

The China Mennonite group at a 1997 reunion in Kansas.

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Last modified October 25, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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