Vietnamese Boat People in Australia

By: Tran Ngo An Nhien 

In April 1975, the North Vietnam Communist Government invaded South Vietnam. The Southern Vietnamese people could not live under the Communist regime so they later found their way for freedom. Since then, the number of Vietnamese people, who was leaving their country by boat has been increasing. Millions of people left their own country after the war to find a safe place and freedom. Despite knowing the difficulties and dangers waiting for them ahead on the journey across the sea, it still could not stop them from finding freedom.

Nowadays, there are no clear statistics on the number of Vietnamese people, who have died in the sea as well as how many boats were permanently submerged in the vast ocean. Particularly, my father’s family had 3 people permanently gone and could not find their bodies, which is 3 of my Uncles and Aunt.

The stories about the journey across the sea are rarely recounted, mostly because they want to forget their painful memories and want to rebuild a better life. But I was lucky enough for being able to know and heard about this arduous journey from a living witness, my aunt.

My aunt is the 4th daughter in my father’s family, who decided to find freedom, after the disappearance of the previous 3 members in the family. At the time, my aunt was 22-year-old, she told me that to get out of Vietnam, it was really difficult and contain many problems, because she was arrested about 7 or 8 times. But she was not discouraged and eventually succeeded, but she knew it was only the beginning of a difficult journey still ahead.

The transport that my aunt and many other people used for the journey was a small wooden boat. On the boat besides my aunt, there were more than a hundred other people, with different ages and genders, but all of them were brave and determined, despite the danger and desire for a free and better future for themselves and their loved ones.

The boat had been floating on the sea for about 6 days. What they ate was just simply packs of dry noodles and condensed milk.  People still be able to swallow the food on the first day, but in the next few days because of lack of water, the noodles become dry and difficult to swallow. The few last bottles of water were left for some weaker people, like the elderly or children. There were also days of bad weather like storms, making the small ship with many lives on it as if it wanted to be swallowed by the vast ocean, but like a miracle, the boat on the 7th day safely drift on an island of Thailand.

After reaching the island in Thailand, everyone got off the boat and walked slowly on land, everyone was extremely tired and seemed exhausted. The Thai people there provided foods and waters to everyone, and they confiscated the gold and silver of the people on the boat. On my aunt’s boat, there was a man who had an infection of his leg wound by being cut by a propeller on a boat. The man then wrote a SOS letter for help and asked a Thai’s doctor, who had treated him, to send it to the United Nations  High Commissioner for Refugees.

After the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees received the letter, they sent Thai police to transfer people to another refugee camp in Thailand under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The purpose is for them to review the settlement files in the third country.

My aunt had been at this refugee camp for about a year, where she met many survivors in very miserable circumstances, as their relatives on board with them all had died on the journey to find for freedom. At the refugee camp, there were many memories still haunting her, as she witnessed the victims of being murdered, raped, and beaten by pirate ships. When night falls, these people have nightmares and become scared, they were desperately screaming, those around them must hug and reassure them. Therefore this place has a lot of sad memories with my Aunt.

After being in the Thailand refugee camp for about 1 year, my aunt has been accepted and settled in South Australia by the Australian delegation to date. Here, my aunt lived and built a peaceful and happy family life. Not long after that, she sponsored all of my aunties and uncles from my father’s family to come and live in Adelaide.

In addition to the daily work to live, my aunt also helps some charity organizations in Australia on the weekend to express her gratitude to Australia for saving and giving her a peaceful life.

Now everyone in my family has a settle life in a new country. I am very grateful for the sacrifices of my uncles and aunties, who have persevered through difficulties, dangers, or even sacrificed their lives just to find freedom for their children and grandchildren in the future.

Thank you, Australia. My aunt said that all the time and I would solve to say the same to my small family in the future.

Tran Ngo An Nhien