Boat People

 

My wife was going through our old albums and she found these two old pictures. Who are these people? She asked.

 

 

They were taken in 1988 just after dawn somewhere at Kemaman, Terengganu, a Malaysian state facing the South China Sea. I was holidaying with some friends there and we decided to take a morning walk along one of the beaches. A boat appeared on the horizon and no sooner, it was before us. There were more than a hundred of them on the deck on alone. They must be the lucky lot; all appeared cheerful and healthy.

 

I have spoken to a few former boat people in Sydney and Melbourne. Many of them are doing well in Australia. Good on them!