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Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen. My name is Lam Ngo, and I would like to share my story to the many recent refugee arrivals in Australia today. I understand the constant stress and the perpetual challenges they face. The never-ending worries and the difficulties with everyday tasks. I’m here to say I understand. I understand what it is like and let me tell you, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In 1961, I was born in Vietnam. When I was born, we had a house in a very peaceful environment and living a very prosperous life. I had a lovely childhood where I was allowed to frolic and roam wherever I pleased as well as go to school. However, in 1975, my small hometown was attacked and occupied by the Communist Regime of Vietnam. My war-torn country, split between the Communist of The North Vietnamese and the Republic of South Vietnamese which preceded like that of the current The North and South Korea. The Communist Regime controlled everything. The local businesses, land and wealth of people were all stripped away. Many people were forced to move to an economic zone, being a thick forest, which had to be hacked down by hand to form a new farmland plantation. The Saigon government, including of those who supported the Republic movement, were forced to move into these areas along with my family. We laboured in the forest every day, hacking down the forest and doing back breaking work. Working in these conditions gave rise to many illnesses as well as disease. The lack of cleanliness and food caused large famine across the forest. The absent of medical care caused the deaths of many around me. This was no longer my home. I did not recognise this place. I had no other option. I had to flee. In 1985, under the cover of night, my family along with some other households abandoned the country. Using our small fishing boats, we set sail to Hong Kong. We escaped the land, but we weren’t free yet. We had to sneak between the coastal patrol boats under heavy rain and raging water. There was panic onboard, many falling seasick, whilst I, sitting in silence, just praying, for it to all passes. After 5 long days at sea, my prayers came true as our small fishing boat was intercepted and taken to a refugee island. I was so happy to breath the air of freedom. Little did I know, they moved us to a closed detention camp where it was a former jail holding 2000 other refugees. Life inside the camp was rough. We lost our individuality, where we were nothing more than just a number. The basic facilities were atrocious. The communal toilets were revolting, and the showers were eye watering. Every morning started with a roll call, where we had to shout our numbers and we were given food stamps for every meal provided to us by the United Nations’ High Commission of Refugees. Although life was hard, I felt fortunate as I was alive and had a chance to be free. Whilst living at the camp, I self-taught myself English from the few basic books and dictionaries provided to me by the Red Cross and Salvation Army. I would often ask questions and learn from those refugees who have become teachers at the camp after their prolonged stay. After living that life for 3 years, I was accepted for an interview with the Australian embassy in the early mornings of January 1988. Due to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, a United Nations agreement was signed to accept refugees for those who were displaced by war or persecution by the government. Using the English that I have amassed over the 3 years, I tried to seek asylum in Australia due to the political situation in my home country. After 2 anxious months of waiting for a response, we got approved and accepted onto Australian soil. In April 1988, I arrived in Australia, where we stayed in a small hostel in Springvale. We then got moved into a cramped government housing flats in Richmond where I proceeded to look for work. I worked many jobs ranging from farm work to many different factory jobs. I was free to pick whatever job I choose and go wherever I pleased. I able to freely express my opinion on the government without any fear or persecution. I am now retired at the young age of 62 with financial freedom. I now study English at Melbourne Polytechnic and often contribute to local events in the neighbourhood. I have a home with a wife and 2 beautiful boys who are 30 and 23 respectively. My current life is beyond my imagination, from the small, scared boy living under the communist regime to a free young man standing before you all today. Before, I finish I would take this as a token of my gratitude for all Australian’s help. Thanks to Melbourne Polytechnic has given me a chance to share my story to all of you today. Thank you again. Lam Ngo
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Refugee Conversations - Rana Part 1: Talking about ‘before’ The first thing I want to talk about. I had a big family in Syria – 5 siblings. A father, a mother. I have two sisters close in age. We were very close. We loved our father – who gave us an education. At a private school. He was travelling. He was a football coach. This was our first idea of love – he was working hard to send us to a school, where we learnt so much. He encouraged us – pushed us. Spoke about furthering ourselves. After high school, I got married. I had my first daughter – I was a young mum – at the same time I was studying Engineering at university - trying to find balance between being a mother and a student. I would put my daughter in my lap to sleep while I was studying. My daughter has grown up with a love of learning like me. Part 2: Leaving There was war in Syria. Life was horrible during that time. To not have your security. Your country’s security. Your baby’s security. One day I had spoken with my father and after spent the night at home with my husband and daughter. The next day I was trying to reach my father and brother and their phones were both off. My mother called me and said “My heart is uncomfortable” because she hadn’t been able to reach them either. I told her not to worry. Later my husband went to the family home and found it had been torn apart. My father and brother were not there. They had been kidnapped. Even though I have learnt a lot of English, it is hard for me to remember this word – ‘kidnapped’. Maybe because this is a difficult memory for me. This happened in 2013. I stayed there until 2018 and I tried everything – 100 ways to find them. We spent so much time and so much money with no answers. We tried to get help from the police but they were dealing with so many other kidnappings. It was impossible. At the same time that this personal situation was affecting me so much, daily life there was so hard. You didn’t know when there would be another bomb. Or see dead people on the street. There was no ‘normal’ life. Every day was hard – and you couldn’t get away from it. The one thing that kept me going was my daughter. Her and my father had shared a special bond and he had told me to always look after her. This kept me going. I discovered I was pregnant with twins and this was a turning point for me. So I went to Iraq because I was thinking of getting to another country – United States..Australia…anywhere…I wasn’t sure. I sold my belongings, everything I had to get the plane. Life in Iraq at first was very hard – it was a new country. I requested a refugee visa. My daughter was the age to start school but we were still settling so unable to send her and this was causing me stress. I think education is a gun in a lady’s hand so it was important to me. Then my daughter finally started school. After two years I decided to find a job. I worked in a hotel. “You are an amazing woman”, the hotel staff said, they were happy with my work. I worked as a receptionist. Then I took on the marketing. And then became the manager. It was a big experience. I was glad in this work. The Australia gov turned down our request for a Visa four times. With my income I paid rent. I paid school fees. I paid for our ID to live in Iraq. I wanted to give my kids the best. I worked 6 days, full time, 7-5pm. Some weeks I worked 7 days. I came home and would teach my daughters. I enjoyed my work. Iraq hugged me. Syria destroyed everything. But Iraq, I can build up everything in Iraq. Eventually we were granted a visa to Australia so decided to leave. Part 3: First Impressions We spent two days on a plane. We arrived at 4am in the dark. It was August. It was cold. It felt very strange. Everything is new and strange. When you come to a country where there is another language. It was hard to feel happy because everything felt uncertain. Our family became sick. My daughters had a lot of questions. It was confusing. The first night was very difficult. My daughter asked if we were “finished visiting” and it was time to go home. She wanted her own bed. We had jetlag and were sleeping during the day and awake at night for the first few days. We were in shared accommodation and it was winter so we had to stay inside all day and we weren’t allowed visitors. The government took us to the bank on the first day, and taught us about the public transport. We started to look for a house. For about 22 days. No agent helped. It was hard because we didn’t have history. Someone had to help with the rental file. I look for a school for my daughters. The school were very helpful. They didn’t just help us send the girls to school, but did so much more. Part 4: Now and the future I proud of: I am here now. That is from my heart. When I see what happen in other countries in around the world that take in people on refugee visas, I feel lucky to be in Australia. I think when you live in a country where people have a good relationship with the government, this reflects positively on the kids. I love this country for that. They are kind. They are helpful. My qualification is recognised here and that makes me feel very happy. It gives me power and hope for the future. When I look at my kids and see how they have progressed in such a short time, I am proud of my children. They will have a long life and a big future, they have their whole life in front of them. This is the right country for them. For now I feel glad. I feel pleasure. I feel grateful for the help. But I’m not grateful for the parking fines here because they are very expensive (haha). The theme of Refugee Week 2023 is ‘finding freedom’ – what does ‘finding freedom’ mean for you? It is a big field for me. It starts from your house. The people who surround you. And then the government. For example, being in a country like Australia – where women are protected. In my country, we didn’t have that. It has been a turning point for me. In my country, just your family protects. In Australia, the community, the society, the government will protect you – when you ask for help. I like that. The government supports with education here – and this is important for girls especially. It doesn’t matter the age of girls actually – women of all ages study here. This is freedom. You get to think about what you want and make a decision. You have choice
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