The Happiest Refugee (Memoir by Anh Do)

Australia has a long history of welcoming people who have lost their homes and livelihoods, especially through the devastation of war and harsh political regimes. People have had to flee their homes because they fear for their lives, often because they belong to a political, religious or cultural group that is being persecuted in their country of origin.

Australia’s permanent migration program is divided into two main categories:
• ‘migration’, which is for skilled migrants, migrants joining family members already in Australia, and a small group of special eligibility migrants
• ‘humanitarian’, which is for refugees and others in humanitarian need.

One of the largest waves of migrants to Australia was immediately after World War II. Many people in Europe were displaced by the conflict and found themselves in temporary
accommodation in displaced persons camps. The displaced included people freed from Nazi concentration camps and people who had fled the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Australia needed workers and actively encouraged migrants to come here, often by offering to pay the migrants’ passage. Between 1947 and 1954, 170 000 displaced persons were resettled in Australia. Since World War II, Australia has welcomed more than 700 000 refugees and people in humanitarian need.

The huge number of refugees in the period immediately after World War II caused the international community to define refugees. The United Nations’ 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as a person who has a:

well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.

In Australia today, there are ongoing debates about our migration policies, including Australia’s capacity and desire to accept refugees.

• Melbourne’s [Immigration Museum] has an excellent site dedicated to immigration in Australia.

• The Refugee Council of Australia’s [website]  provides insights into the myths that surround the refugee debate in Australia today and detailed information about the numbers of refugees who have come to Australia.