Wednesday 22 February 2017

A refuge for refugees

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Two words that frequently appear in much of what we read in these troubled times are refugee and racism. Both words appear to be inextricably linked.

The world is overwhelmed with refugees. Many countries are wary of welcoming them fearing outcomes that can be tacitly linked to racism. Some of this will be justified, but most not. Its where to find the happy medium that is concerning for most societies and in the meantime refugees languish in atrocious camps which are a blot on our collective consciences.

I’ve written about this before, but I will endeavour to canvass a new angle. In 1980 our Rotary Club sponsored a refugee family from Vietnam. Hoa (pronounced Wah) Van Nguyen and his wife My (pronounced Me) and their nine month old baby girl named Dyung (Yoong) had left their war torn country in a leaky boat in which half the passengers perished.

They spoke little English which made their employment prospects challenging, so I employed them myself in our meat company. My altruism was well rewarded. They were outstanding employees, intelligent, hard-working and scrupulously honest. They worked for me for twelve years. They saved hard and bought a two-bedroomed home in Hillcrest Street and then a modern three-bedroomed home in High Street to allow for a growing family. Three more children, another girl and then two boys were born in Masterton and educated at St Patrick’s school. Dyung went on to Chanel College.

As far as I am aware they encountered no racism in Masterton; in fact quite the opposite. They were universally admired by our staff and customers and I’m sure were made welcome at school.

But refugees crave mixing with their own kind. When Hoa and My arrived there were a number of Vietnamese families in Masterton, but they moved off; some to Wellington, others to Auckland.

The family decided to resettle in a predominantly Vietnamese suburb in Melbourne. My wife and I visited them there, but sensed that they weren’t happy, despite the cultural environment.

They eventually moved to Austin in Texas.

Hoa and My came back to see us a few years ago and to some extent their life has been a success story, particularly as far as their children are concerned. Dyung is a lawyer and her sister is a doctor. One of the boys is an engineering graduate and the other has a degree in biotech consulting.


Hoa and My have bought a modest home in Austin and Hoa works in an engineering shop where he is paid $18 an hour. He had endeavoured to find employment in the meat industry using my well-deserved reference, but had always been turned down.

He hinted there was a touch of racism in the rejections.

Just one families story, but it tells us a lot.

Asian people are incredibly passionate about ensuring their children are well-educated and subsequently procure well-paying jobs. Hoa and My would have liked their own talents to have been better-recognised, but it was heartening to hear that of the four countries they have lived in, New Zealand, they opined, was where they were the happiest.

"The evil of modern society isn't that it creates racism, but that it creates conditions in which people who don't suffer from injustice seem incapable of caring very much about people who do."  - Louis Menand




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