A few years ago, I posted on YouTube a video as a way to preserve a family keepsake. Fast forward to last night, a friend on Facebook coincidentally stumbled across this video on YouTube and shared it as an example of a time when Australia welcomed refugees with open and caring arms. It was a pleasant surprise and made me think that this is a little piece of Australias immigration history. In the early 1980s, my mum and dad were invited by Qantas to be presenters of a welcome/how-to video for arriving refugees from camps across Asia on specially charted Qantas flights. Some bits are amusing now, like how to use the in-seat ashtray, and other bits fascinating, like reassuring refugees that thered be plenty of food and nappies onboard the flight. These were people who had never flown before and were new to Western customs. To this day, my mum still gets stopped in the street by migrants who recognise her from the video as one of their first memories of coming to Australia. Im really proud of my mum and dad and the small role they played in our history. This video is a timely contrast to todays national conversation about refugees, which is often antagonistic, narrow and uncharitable. Nevertheless I think most Australians are compassionate and acknowledge the contribution that all of us have made to the success of this country. Lets hope we can change the political discourse .. (The video is entirely in Vietnamese. Press the subtitles button on the video to get the English translation )
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 22:51:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015