In August 1986 a group of asylum seekers were found floating in life boats, adrift off the coast of Newfoundland. Two decades later, 492 refugees arrived in a cargo ship that docked in British Columbia. Comparing Canada’s very different reactions to these two maritime arrivals and reflecting on the capriciousness of the refugee system, Sharon Bala will explore the power of words and the role of stories as bridges that carry readers from ignorance to empathy.