Following
World Refugee Day 2012, a Chin family, who sought refuge in Australia,
speak out about the abuse they were subjected to in Burma as a result of
the government’s persecution of minorities and religious groups.
Below is an article published by The West Australian:
The army stole his possessions and his
land but Lian Neakngen, one of Burma's Chin minority, feels safe - and
grateful to have escaped persecution.
"More safety, more secure and peace," was his description in halting English of life in Perth.
His 12-year-old daughter Ester had her say: "We all like it here. We find the life is easy."
That was no so in Kalaymyo, in Burma's north-west.
Most of the 1.5 million Chin are
Christians, mainly Baptists like the Neakngens, and up to 100,000 are
reported to have fled to India.
Mr Neakngen said persecution drove him from Burma to Malaysia, where he spent six years. His family joined him later.
In 2007, four years after applying, he arrived in Australia with pregnant wife Ngin and their two children.
Lian and Ngin were among 18 refugees
from nine countries who pledged allegiance yesterday [20 June 2012] to
the country that gave them a home in a citizenship ceremony in Perth on
World Refuge Day.
They came from Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Sudan and other war-scarred regions and arrived under Australia's humanitarian program.
Many dressed proudly in national costume for yesterday's ceremony.
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