Refugee family find peace

Mark Irving, The West Australian Updated June 21,

Ngin and Lian and their children Mosie, Peter and Ester Neakngen. Picture: Sharon Smith/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 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.