Viniththa

AGE 15

My name is Viniththa and this is the story of my journey to Australia. I was born in Valaichchenai, Sri Lanka. Our house had three rooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom where my parents, my five sisters and I slept. My mother stayed at home, working hard for the family. My dad was a fisherman. One night, while my dad was fishing, army soldiers arrested him and tortured him. When they let him go he fled Sri Lanka. The soldiers came to our home looking for him but Mum didn’t know where he was. After that, they left us alone. When my dad returned, the soldiers were still looking for him so he had to hide. Eventually they captured my dad again and tortured him. Dad went to hospital and was advised not to say that the soldiers tortured him. After this my dad disappeared for several years. Once again, he returned home, this time for about six months and, once again, the army came for him. Dad went into hiding once more before escaping again.

After several more years, Dad returned to Sri Lanka with a plan to escape with me. He took me from my mum and my sisters and we moved from house to house so that he could not be traced by the army. Dad eventually arranged for us to get a seat on a boat to Australia. We got on to a small boat that took us to a larger boat that took us all the way to Australia. We were at sea for twenty-one days. There were thirty-one people on the boat and I was the only girl. I slept two nights below the decks and the rest of the time out in the open. As a result I often got wet at night and found it very difficult to sleep. Sometimes it was cold and raining and at other times it was really hot. Even worse, I was seasick for several days. We were always hungry. We had tea to drink in the morning. At four o’clock in the afternoon, we ate rice and fish that we had caught along the way. My dad went without food for five days, and at the end of that he was very tired and weak. We were only allowed a small amount of water each day, so I was always very thirsty. Another problem was with the boat. It leaked. We all used buckets to keep the water level down and the men had to continually plug the leaks. Everyone thought they were going to die.

When we saw an island we were relieved; everyone was happy. The boat crew, however, were crying because they knew that they would be in trouble. A navy boat guided us to an Island. There was also a helicopter flying overhead taking photos. When we got ashore, doctors checked us. We were so dehydrated they couldn’t take blood samples.

We were put into a family camp for fourteen days and then we were taken to Adelaide where we lived for two months in a house in a camp. When we first came to Sydney we shared a house with other refugees. My dad and I now live in our own house in Sydney. I talk to my mum once a week by phone. I really miss her. I hope that one day she can come to Australia to be with me.

When I finish school I want to go to university. Australia has given me this opportunity, which I would not have in Sri Lanka. I’m not sure what I want to do; my mum and my sister want me to be a doctor.