'Boat people' were lucky ones says eye surgeon

The Hurstville eye surgeon was among the flood of Vietnamese and Chinese people who fled persecution by communists in war-ravaged Vietnam in 1978.

Her family journeyed on board a small fishing boat to Malaysia where they lived in a refugee camp.

They asked to be considered for asylum by whichever country had the shortest waiting time. That was Australia.

"We didn't feel like we had a right or an entitlement to anything," Dr Huynh said.

"We just knew we were in a new land and we had to start again.

"I don't consider myself different from anyone but I remember people helping us . . . giving us old furniture.

"My parents worked at two jobs each so we grew up taking care of ourselves."

The term "boat people" entered the Australian vernacular in the 1970s with the arrival of the first wave of boats carrying people seeking asylum from the aftermath of the Vietnam War which ended in 1975.

While the first wave of "boat people" (1976-81) was initially received by the Australian public with sympathy, public discussion soon focused on such issues as rising unemployment and the effect of people "jumping" the immigration queue.

"Sometimes when I see angry outbursts [by asylum seekers] and things that happen, I wonder if it's a cultural thing, because we were never like that.

"We just accepted what we got and worked on that, whereas I feel sometimes people feel entitled."

Dr Huynh said that as a Christian "I think our lives are mapped out for us already, and I feel like I didn't get here by mistake".

"Every time I come back from overseas I feel like I can breathe again," she said.

Dr Huynh is a corneal specialist and opthamologist at the Vision Eye Institute Hurstville (Southline).

She is going to Vietnam in July to help the Fred Hollows Foundation and Vietnam Vision Project perform vital cataract surgery.

A fund-raiser is being held at Canley Heights on Saturday, May 23 to raise money for the project.

Tickets: Pat Mlynarj, 0408 979 304.