Anh Do nearly didn't make it to Australia. His entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat. But nothing - not murderous pirates, nor the imminent threat of death by hunger, disease or dehydration as they drifted for days - could quench their desire to make a better life in the country they had dreamed about. Life in Australia was hard, an endless succession of back-breaking work, crowded rooms, ruthless landlords and make-do everything. But there was a loving extended family, and always friends and play and something to laugh about for Anh, his brother Khoa and their sister Tram. Things got harder when their father left home when Anh was only nine - they felt his loss very deeply and their mother struggled to support the family on her own. His mother's sacrifice was an inspiration to Anh and he worked hard during his teenage years to help her make ends meet, also managing to graduate high school and then university. Another inspiration was the comedian Anh met when he was about to sign on for a 60-hour a week corporate job. Anh asked how many hours he worked. 'Four,' the answer came back, and that was it. He was going to be a comedian! The Happiest Refugee tells the incredible, uplifting and inspiring life story of one of our favourite personalities. Tragedy, humour, heartache and unswerving determination - a big life with big dreams. Anh's story will move and amuse all who read it
The Happiest Refugee, Anh Do
Every now and then along comes a book which just restores your faith in life. Anh Do's THE HAPPIEST REFUGEE is one such book. Mind you, it will make you feel good, it will make you cry in a few places, it will really make you think about what it is to be a "refugee" and how we treat / react to current day boat people. Mostly though, this was a book that restores a bit of your faith in humanity.
Anh and his family escaped war torn Vietnam as boat people. They took a dangerous and harrowing journey including multiple raids by pirates (including death threats), dehydration, deaths on the boat and extreme circumstances before finally making it to Australia. They were grateful for their lives, and grateful for the kindness of people when they settled here (including the gift of clothes, even though Anh's brother Khoa spent time dressed as a little girl (and a very pretty little girl he made too). The book talks about the struggle to make a life and get ahead in a country that was so substantially different from where they came, a struggle complicated further by the breakdown in Anh's parents marriage. What really shines through in this book though is the sense of family and the care for family, extended family and friends that all members of Anh's circle showed for each other. Behind his family's generosity to others there's the ongoing struggle to survive with only his mother's work in a home based sewing job to support them.
What also shines through is the indomitable spirit, kindness, good humour and basic goodness of Anh himself. This is just a genuinely nice bloke, a quintessentially Aussie sort of a bloke in the end, that looks after his mother and his brother and sister, loves his wife and kids and has made a life in a country that took him in as a child refugee.
Anh's story means so very very much in these troubling times, when demonising and degrading refugees seems to be our default setting. Anh's emotional, uplifting, funny and very very touching memoir reminds us that doing the right thing can pay off in spades.