“The journey we made from Vietnam to Hong Kong took eleven days in a small boat at sea. There were 43 people on the boat with us. On the boat all we ate were dry fish and rice. After being interviewed by UNHCR in Hong Kong our family was approved but the rest were turned back. Once we were approved by UNHCR we continued on to the Philippines where we stayed for 9 months while we waited for arrangements for us to resettle in Australia.
We received sponsorship to be resettled in Alice Springs. When we arrived, our sponsor left for a six-month holiday. We didn’t know anybody and we were grateful that we could go to Migrant Resource Centre (now MCSCA) for help.”
Tin got a job quite quickly, and Lan supported a neighbour to farm his land. “At the time we only could see Chinese restaurants around and no Vietnamese. In 1999 after years of supporting our friends on their farm we were able to buy it. We grew veggies and sold them at the markets and from the farm. From there we explored opening our own restaurant. We built the restaurant at our farm to be a taste and slice of Vietnam in the heart of Australia.
Our business has positively contributed to tourism in this town and we receive feedback from the community that they love our food. People in Alice are very kind, and we have received a lot of support.”
