WHEN Say Htoo Eh Moero was a girl, summer days were spent hiding in a bunker as bombs blasted her village in the Thai-Burma border guerrilla zone.
She’ll never forget the years she spent hiding from police as a teenager, huddling with her family of five in a musty single-room apartment in Bangkok after fleeing the rubble that was left of their village.
On September 25, 1999 Say Htoo arrived in Australia as a refugee. “I was no longer illegal and I became a human being,” she says.
“I don’t have to worry any more. Australia gives me hope as well as security and a life without fear.”
The 35-year-old has since learned English, studied at TAFE, become an Australian citizen, and is married with two children. The settlement worker at Wyndham Community and Education Centre [WCEC] has also been appointed as a Refugee Week ambassador for 2013.
About 90 per cent of Say Htoo’s clients are refugees in Wyndham, and many are from the city’s growing Karen community. She guides them through forms, bills and language barriers, helping them overcome the hurdles of resettlement she knows so well.
“When I came here, my English was not that good. I struggled with a lot of things.”
Supported by City West Water and Wyndham council, WCEC will host a Refugee Week celebration this Thursday at Werribee Baptist Church in Hoppers Crossing. More than 300 people are expected to attend.
“Refugee Week is to remember the refugees who are still struggling and facing persecution and hard times,” Say Htoo says.
The theme is “restoring hope”.
A Refugee Council of Australia spokesman says while a refugee’s journey begins with danger, it includes hope.
“Refugees flee their homelands not only because they fear persecution, but also because they have hope. They hope to find freedom from persecution, and safety and security for themselves and their families; they hope to be given a chance to start a new life and recover from past trauma.”
