BURMESE Karen, including Kwee Lar Htoo and her six siblings
who moved to Australia as orphaned refugees in 2009, will have plenty to
celebrate during Refugee Week.
The Htoo family are an important part of Monday’s celebrations at Villawood Senior Citizens Centre from 4.30pm to 6pm.
During the event there will be a refugee story told by Karen youth, traditional dances, a short documentary. Speeches will also be given by Aboriginal elder Uncle Greg Simms and guest speaker Mallam Sankoh.
With the help of an interpreter, Ms Htoo, the eldest and carer of her siblings at 21, said the Villawood event was a good way to highlight the refugee issue.
In 2000 Ms Htoo’s father died and 18 months later she moved into the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp in Thailand near the Burmese border, along with her mum, three sisters and three brothers.
For seven years the camp was their home.
Often the family were forced to flee from the Burmese army.
They had to hide in the jungle for days with little or no food. Ms Htoo’s mother died in 2008.
She and her six siblings survived as orphans for a year in the camp.
Late in 2009, they were sponsored by the Australian government as refugees.
While she and her siblings miss their parents every day, Ms Htoo said she was grateful for the opportunity she and her siblings have been given.
The Htoo family are an important part of Monday’s celebrations at Villawood Senior Citizens Centre from 4.30pm to 6pm.
During the event there will be a refugee story told by Karen youth, traditional dances, a short documentary. Speeches will also be given by Aboriginal elder Uncle Greg Simms and guest speaker Mallam Sankoh.
With the help of an interpreter, Ms Htoo, the eldest and carer of her siblings at 21, said the Villawood event was a good way to highlight the refugee issue.
In 2000 Ms Htoo’s father died and 18 months later she moved into the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp in Thailand near the Burmese border, along with her mum, three sisters and three brothers.
For seven years the camp was their home.
Often the family were forced to flee from the Burmese army.
They had to hide in the jungle for days with little or no food. Ms Htoo’s mother died in 2008.
She and her six siblings survived as orphans for a year in the camp.
Late in 2009, they were sponsored by the Australian government as refugees.
While she and her siblings miss their parents every day, Ms Htoo said she was grateful for the opportunity she and her siblings have been given.
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