THIS IS HOME: Burmese refugees Nu Nu Hpau Da and Tushan Labang with sons Sut Jat Aung and Mung Dang Awng are happy to have made their home in Biloela. 
IF escaping a dangerous country full of violence and persecution wasn't a hard enough task, imagine spending seven years in limbo.
That is what happened to Tushan Labang and Nu Nu Hpau Da, who escaped military-ruled Burma to Thailand, where they spent two years.
They then spent five years in Malaysia – waiting, after applying through the United Nations High Commission to settle in Australia as refugees.
During their time in limbo, two of the Lebangs' three children were born.
They have lived in Australia for three years, the first two at Logan, with the past year spent living in Biloela.
They moved to the Callide Valley via the Rural Employment Assistance Project (REAP) funded by the Federal Government and implemented by non-profit organisation Access.
Tushan works at the Biloela meatworks and Nuna works part-time at the Dragon Garden Chinese Restaurant.
“It was hard to wait for so long,” Nu Nu admits.
But it was worth it to escape the horror in Burma, Tushan says.
“We didn't have democracy,” Tushan said.
“There was lots of fighting.”
The Labangs say they love Australia's sense of community.
Burma is ruled by a military regime called the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
Power is centralised within the SPDC, which maintains strict, authoritarian rule over the people through intimidation by security forces, censorship, suppression of individual rights and repression of ethnic minority groups.
Another of the Burmese refugees who now calls Biloela home, Salai Robin Sang Lang Le, said he could not go back to Burma to see his parents, who still live there, while the regime remained in control.
The 27-year-old spent two-and-a-half years in a refugee camp in Malaysia, waiting to get to Australia.
His sister, Lal Rin Mawi, 25, spent four years in limbo in India.
The siblings say they love living in Biloela, as there are opportunities for them to work.
“We hope to stay in Biloela for a long time.
“We have freedom,” Salai, who works at the meatworks, said.
REAP settled 35 Burmese refuges in Biloela.
A report that evaluated the program deemed it a success due to the selection process of participants, the well-planned service model which has involved securing accommodation and employment and co-ordinating relevant services and agencies and the commitment and involvement of key staff from Access.
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