Two female Vietnamese victims of persecution and vilification in their own country who are endeavouring to obtain a permanent visa from the Department of Immigration & Citizenship conducted a master class in Vietnamese cooking at Cygnet on Saturday 30 October as part of the TasPride Festival, Tasmania’s arts and cultural celebration for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex community, their friends and supporters.
Van and Oanh, both aged 32, after fleeing Vietnam, had attempted to live in Singapore and Poland but were under constant threat of harassment and persecution by their own family and others in the communities in which they lived. They finally decided to go as far away as possible and ended up in Cygnet, Tasmania, picking fruit, after having spent some time in Sydney where they were defrauded of $20,000 by an unscrupulous “immigration agent”.
As the summer season faded, work was in short supply and money hard to come by. Although the local township has embraced the girls, they have received no government financial support and believe in hard work to get by. Oanh was fishing the Huon River on a daily basis to feed them both. Fortunately Oanh is a competent fisherwoman and they both have an affinity with seafood.
As their Australian visa was due to expire, Oanh & Van went to say farewell to their local parish priest, who persuaded them to stay and immediately contacted the Tasmanian Council for Sexual & Gender Diverse People (TCSGDP).
An appeal with the Department of Immigration & Citizenship is now under way and Van & Oanh are enjoying the support of the Catholic church, the LGBTI community, and the local community. However there are fears that the girls will be forced to find another country to live in or to return to their own country where they can look forward to more persecution.
The Vietnamese masterclass was a free event for GLBTI people, their friends and family, made possible via a community grant from TasPride. 21 people attended the class, where they were shown how to prepare fresh spring rolls with pork, prawns and vegetables, and a main course of steamed salmon and seasonal vegetables in a Vietnamese sauce. The participants and teachers then sat down to dine together.
The event was also a way of showing Van & Oanh’s appreciation for the help they have received so far, joining into the community to which they belong and a celebration of diversity under the TasPride and TCSGDP flags.
More than $400 was generously donated towards Van & Oanh’s legal fees trust by participants at the event. On December 4, the League of Gentlefellows will host the annual Rainbow Dinner at the Mercure Hotel, where awareness of refugees in our community will again be highlighted.
Details can be obtained at:
www.logtas.org
