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I
didn't feel like talk–
ing to anybody.
It
had been a long and
tiring trip. As the
Qantas 747 prepared
to take off at Singapore
Airport,
1
was looking
forward to a mea!, the
movie, perhaps a few
hours sleep ... above all
to get home to my wife
and children. But it was
obvious that the Jittle
man and bis teenage son
in the seats next to me
had not flown before.
They were having diffi–
culty with their seat belts and were
becoming upset and nervous.
l
showed them how to fasten the belts.
1 must admit I was glad to find that
they didn't seem to understand
English. At least l wouldn't have to
talk aJI the way to Sydney.
The plane took off, and the lights
of Singapore fell away behind us.
Suddenly the man began to sob and
shake. Afraid he might be ill,
1
asked, "What is the matter? Shall 1
caJI the stewardess?" The boy leaned
across and said in broken English:
"Piease forgive father. He is upset."
"J
can see that,"
1
replied. "May
1
help?"
"You see, we are refugees from
Vietnam. We are on our way to
Australia."
"Well surely that's not reason to
be upset. Australia is a good country.
You wiJJ be safe there."
"Yes, sir. But we had to Jeave my
18
by
John Halford
mother and nine brothers and sisters
back in Ho Chi Minh city. We don ' t
think we will see them again.' '
For the next few hours, they told
me their story in broken English. The
man had been an official of the South
Vietnamese government in one of the
provinces. As the North Vietnamese
forces advanced, he had fled to Sai–
gon with bis family. He had hidden
for a year or two, fearful that bis
identity would be discovered, and he
would be sent to a reeducation cen–
ter.
But news leaked out and he felt it
best to make bis escape. So one night,
two months before, he and his eldest
son had slipped away from borne,
after saying good-bye to the rest of
the family. They had swum out toa
small fishing boat, already loaded to
overflowing with other refugees.
After a horror-packed three weeks
at sea, they had eventually landed in
t
Malaysia. Because he
~
had known severa! Aus–
~
tralians in Vietnam, he
was allowed to emigrate
to Australia after only a
few weeks in the transit
camp. As for the rest of
the family, they would
have to survive as best
they could in Vietnam.
I did what I could, of
course-what anybody
would have done.
J
helped
them with the emigration
forms and guided them
through customs when we
landed. They had only
the clothes they were wearing, so 1
gave them what money
1
had.
During the next few months, I was
able to visit them again a few times. I
gave them the spare television set,
introduced them to sorne friends who
had adopted a Vietnam War orphan.
They were grateful; refugees are
grateful for the smaJlest gesture. But
we sensed that nothing we could do
could replace what they had lost- a
home, a country, a way of life and
their loved ones.
This man and ·bis son are just two
of the thousands--no, rnake that
hundreds of thousands-of refugees
who had fled in leaky boats from
Vietnam or staggered · out of poor
ravaged Karnpuchea (Cambodia).
At first, nobody wanted them .. . and
that, as Mother Theresa of Calcutta
so eloquently puts it, is the worst
poverty of all.
As the trickle becarne a ftood, the
The
PLAIN TRUTH