Australia: Island of Refuge #5
Chapter 1 Vietnam Previously in State of Affairs: In the mid-morning stillness, my husband’s colleague Truc begins to describe the vague recollections he has of the...
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Australia
Life in Transit
I wanted to write about Joanna after attending the launch of her exhibition titled Departure, Transit, Arrival at the Migration Museum in Adelaide. Joanna had put the...
A Crack in the Immigration System
My home was built in the late 1960s, a federation-style house with amber glass, faux gold fittings and slate floors. For a middle-aged entity, this double-bricked beauty is...
Eyes to See
Carmen grew up in Romania during the Cold War. With her young schoolmates, she used to pay homage to Ceausescu, chanting at rallies: Long live the President who gives us a...
Foreign workers, foreign languages
Each time I return to Malaysia, I eat dim sum, or as it’s known in Australia, yum cha. Pushing trolleys of bamboo steamers and plastic plates, waiters and waitresses...
Graves at sea, graves on land
Today, May the 29th, officials from 17 countries are attending a “Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean.” Myanmar had threatened to boycott...