After 1975 the Communists came to South Vietnam.

Because my family has Chinese background, Chinese born in Vietnam. So my father decides we have to leave the country because the communists rule is no good for us. So my father was scared. Because most of my father's friends, already the communist government put them in gaol.

So my father asks, 'We have to get out of the country.'

[Intertitle:Lam's family spent 6 months secretly preparing their small fishing boat for the voyage.]

Our family's first family to leave, run out of a country from that city first ones after the communists took over the country. So we had to be very quiet because during that time, when you run, the soldiers, the Navy ships, they open fire at you. That's a rule. So we knew, very dangerous for our family so we didn't get anyone involved. 

We leave late afternoon, at night time we turned off all the lights on the boat and I told all my sisters and brother, stay inside the bunker, inside the boat. On the round side, we had the sandbags, around the side, so when they shoot, we're still more safe.

[Intertitle: Lam's family set off on their voyage aided only by a compass, a school map and a U.S Navy handbook.]

Everyone was frightened, scared. No one knew what would happen. But only for 10 hours, that 10 hours was dangerous, in that 10 hours. But after that, we go, next morning we were already in international waters, so we were safe already.

[Intertitle: After a day at sea most of the family, including Lam's parents, got off in Thailand.]

[Intertitle:Lam sailed on with 4 other men, but they were turned away at gunpoint by several other countries.]

After we arrived at Sarawak, in east Malaysia, in Kuching, we could feel comfortable. The government, really helpful people, really friendly. But the government said, 'I can't accept you to stay here, because it's a government rule. We don't accept refugees. But we can help you with what you need.' because my boat was leaking water, we needed somebody to fix the boat. They said, 'No problem, we'll fix it for you for free. No charge to you.'

There was a ship, an Australian ship there too. We docked together, next to each other and my brother was always talking with the captain. So the captain told my brother, he said, 'Where do you want to go?' My brother said, 'We want to go to Guam.' He said, 'No, you can't make it. You'd sink, you'd die on the sea, the Pacific Ocean.' So my brother said, 'What can I do?' and he said, 'Go to Australia!'

So the ship captain explained to my brother that because of the Commonwealth rule, the maritime (rule), the old maritime, Australia has to accept any ship, any boat that arrives in the country. They have to accept them. So we changed our minds because of that and we went to Australia. The ship captain gave out the real ... real map. But the map showed to Timor, East Timor only, that's it. 'After that.' he said, 'Good luck to you!' But the ship captain said, 'After Timor, to Darwin it's not far though. So, not many islands, not many rocks, so it'll be ok for you.'

[Intertitle:For 16 days they motored 24 hours a day until they reached Darwin.]

First, because we arrived in Darwin in the evening ... It was sunset already, the start of sunset. So, when we moved closer it was dark, at night, and we could only see the street lights. So all we saw seemed so big. Darwin's a small city, but in a wide area. It looked like a big city. We thought, 'Oh, it's a big city!', but in the morning, when the sun rose again, we said, 'Oh, nothing!'

We're driving around, can't see any boats, nobody on the harbour, no one. So we're driving around for 2 hours, looking for the wharf. So after we saw it, it was lunchtime already. So first thing, we're docking the boat next to a prawn trawler, a fishing boat. So we asked them where we could phone the police, or someone.

They said, 'Where are you from?' We said, 'We're from Vietnam.' 'Oh!' They didn't believe us, the fishermen. So I said, 'Where can we... we're looking for the police to report we've arrived in Australia.' So they said, 'No you have to make a phone call to call the police.' So we asked, 'Can you call for us?', and 'No.' So, I said 'How do we do it?' They said, 'Public phone. There.' We said, 'We have no money. We can't do it.' So they gave me a coin, a 10 cent coin.

My brother goes to make the phone call and my friend he's… I'm watching my friend, he's a smoker. He did over a month no smoking. So he sees the fisherman smoking so he asked him to give him one cigarette. The fisherman gave him one first, and afterwards he threw the whole pack to him. 'Here, you have it.'

Friendly country, friendly people. We've come to the right country now. We stayed in the boat for the first 2 nights. Because when we arrived it was one year after Cyclone Tracy. There weren't many houses or much accommodation in Darwin.

The first place we went to was St. Vincent de Paul. It's owned by the Catholic Church. (The Department of) Immigration phoned them, and asked them to help us find somewhere to live. They had accommodation there. A room for us 5 to stay in, and a kitchen. And they brought all the food. They got chicken, vegies, potatoes, cooking gear. Everything was in the room for us already. There was enough for us to eat for 3 days. But after 3 days we went back to the boat to get more food.

The church asked us, 'If you need something, just keep note, so we can bring you some more.'But we didn't want to disturb, people had helped us so much already. We didn't want to be trouble all the time so we tried to keep calm, we looked after ourselves.

After about a week, everyone got a job. So we get money, we can go and live by ourselves, can look after ourselves. But we needed them to give us accommodation there for the first 3 months. We stayed there for 3 months.

After we came, about 4 months, a second refugee boat came in. Our boat was 20 metres (long) for 5 people. The second boat was 18 metres (long) for ...I think about 34  people. 18 metres, smaller, with more people. And the government was... 'Oooh.'And the third one, another month later, was 18 metres for 54 people. After that, they kept coming, more boat people coming in.

For my first job I worked in building and construction. Because in building and construction they don't need you to speak much English. There was a shortage of labour in Darwin during that time. So every time you changed a job you got more money. Change the job, in the new job you get more money.

On the construction site, a lot of people see you work hard or something, and they come and ask you but when they ask you, they can't speak much English too, because they speak Greek or Korean. They can't speak much English so they only point at us, point at their watch. One round is one hour. Then, 'How much?' and we say, 'One hour, two dollars.' Then he says, 'Three dollars.' 'OK, OK!' So all done by body language.

In March 1977 I started at the ... my friend told me to get a job in the prawn factory. So I went there. During that time at the prawn factory 70 per cent of the workers there were from East Timor, Chinese East Timor. So we can speak the same language inside and I was more happy there. Less money, but a better job. So I worked there for nearly 9 years.

I met my wife through a friend of mine. He was Timorese too. We worked in the prawn factory together. We'd go out to eat and make friends together. We'd go to see movies and go out together in a big group all the time, every day.

At the time there was no Vietnamese community in Darwin. There were only Timorese who came to work in Darwin, so we met with the Timorese people, because they speak Chinese and I can speak Chinese with them. So I made friends with them and we worked together.

I'm proud because in 1979 I got Australian citizenship already. 3 years after my arrival I got Australian citizenship and I got a passport and I went back to Thailand straight away to see my family. So I go in the refugee camp to see my mother, my family in the refugee camp. A lot of the Vietnamese said, 'Oh, how can you get an Australian passport already? We are still in the refugee camp. No future yet but you are already an Australian citizen.' I said, 'Yeah, because we are lucky. I went really early.'

It was completely different. A new life for us. The first thing for us: the language. Because we can't speak English. We go everywhere, but can't do it. Like, we have money, but I can't go on the bus because I can't speak to the bus driver, ask 'Where do you go?' How would I know where I was going? And while walking on the street side, a lot of cars pulled up and asked to give us a lift. But we can't, we're afraid to go in the car because we can't say where we're going, because we can't speak English. So a lot of problems for us.

The first thing for us, we see lots of white people in the country. That never happened before. So, language, culture, food. All different for us. Like when I came here to Darwin, if you want to buy one bottle of fish sauce, you can't buy it. No way, no one can sell that one. Soy sauce, hard to buy soy sauce too.

[Intertitle:In 1991 a Vietnamese government official came to the Thai restaurant that Lam owned.]

So he asked me, 'Do you go back to Vietnam yet?' I said, 'No.' They said that Vietnam started to open up in 1988. 'You should go back there. A lot has changed for you to go back.' I said, 'No, I can't go back, I'm a refugee. If I go back, they might put me in gaol.' 'No, the government won't do it.' So when he got back to Vietnam he sent me a letter, to invite me back to Vietnam. He said, 'If you take the letter, no one will give you trouble, I guarantee you.' So OK.

So the first time I go back to Vietnam I go to Hanoi first and he picked me up at the airport and dropped me off. I stayed in a government guest house and he said 'See! Look, I said I guaranteed you no worry.'

During '91 Vietnam was still really poor. All bicycles, not many motorbikes like now. All bicycles. So I see we should do something to make a good life for them. So the government says, 'First thing: tourists.' 'We need some tourists back.' So they asked me to be a travel agent, to do tourism. So the government says, 'I can help you for Vietnam, in touring Vietnam.' 'So you go back to Australia and open a travel agency.'

Why not help the country? I want Vietnam, the country... like people we talk to say, 'Where do you come from?' 'Vietnamese.' 'Oh, refugee.' It's not good for us. Always thinking it's a poor refugee country. Boat people.

I wanted people to think of Vietnam as a good country, people like it, like now. So they say, 'Where do you come from?' 'Vietnam.' 'Oh good, I like, I like Vietnam.' So it's good for us too. So I think it's better I come back to Vietnam to do what I can, what I can to help. What I can get done for the country.

I've stayed in Australia longer than I've stayed in Vietnam.  But Australia, I've lived in Australia for 38 years. This is where I grew up, everything. In Australia. So Australia is my home now.

Australia is a multicultural country. We are mixed together. So, like my family now. I am Chinese, born in Vietnam. I've got a Vietnamese background. My wife is Chinese, born in East Timor. My kids were born here in Australia. I teach all my kids – your background is Vietnamese – Chinese. But everything Australia first. Australia is your country.