The Missing Years

Gratitude is something of high importance to the Vietnamese people.

My father says ‘If someone does right by you, show your gratitude, give thanks, never forget the gesture and return it tenfold.’ The Vietnamese community has much to be grateful for. We are grateful to the Australian government for giving us an opportunity we would never have had — the opportunity to make a better life for our children, our children’s children and ourselves. Given that our entire history is one of oppression and turbulence, we are grateful to the country that took us in, and allows us to retain our cultural heritage and identity. As my father says, ‘When you have been to where most refugees and Vietnam veterans have been, you feel gratitude.’ In turn, the Vietnamese have given a great deal back to Australia, further enriching this multicultural society.