Mu Lay was 13 when she arrived at a refugee camp on the Thailand, Burma/Myanmar border.
But in this camp, Mu Lay was given the opportunity to receive an education, which was no longer possible in her home village in Burma.
In Mu Lay’s village, the Burmese military had burnt homes, including hers, and forced the villagers to hide in the jungle every time they came back. Mu Lay and her family spent two years hiding in the jungle, living under a haphazard, handmade shelter that barely protected them from the elements.
Their village was attacked because it is part of an ethnic minority group in Burma from the Karen state. Karen people, along with Shan, Mon, Chin, Kachin, Rakhine and Karenni people are part of the main ethnic minority groups in Burma, all of whom, the ruling military party are trying to eradicate from the country.
After two years of moving between the jungle and her devastated village, Mu Lay’s parents told her it was time for her to move to the refugee camp, to live with her relatives and to get an education. That was in 1997.
Fast forward to May 21, 2010. Mu Lay and her parents arrived in Perth on Humanitarian visas.
This was the start of a new life, but with only a couple of connections, Mu Lay and her parents were lonely, and she worried about them.
“The first few weeks I was in Perth I wanted to go back to the camp. I didn’t know enough English, I didn’t know how to catch a bus and I was worried about my parents and how they would cope in this new city”, Mu Lay told us.
“I was motivated to help my parents make connections, so I found a church where we could meet other Karen people, I taught my parents some skills like catching the bus, and I got my driver’s license.”
“My first job was cleaning houses, but after making some connections at church, I was offered a job as a bi-lingual support worker to help newly arrived refugees. Then in 2019 I started working as a caseworker for MercyCare.”
At MercyCare, Mu Lay is part of the Step-by-Step team, which provides support to new humanitarian arrivals and other eligible migrants living in the north metropolitan areas of Perth.
“I help clients with their settlement needs during their first five years here, including providing advice, advocacy and support, and referral. The Step-by-Step team also support clients with their employment journey by providing resume workshops, helping them to get job ready, and assisting them to apply for jobs,” said Mu Lay, “many of the people I help are Karen and have had the same experiences as me”.
“I have always been a person who grabs opportunities whenever I can. My passion is helping refugee people, so I love my job and I feel so grateful to be here in Perth”.
At mid-2022, UNHCR estimates that the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes reached 103 million. Of these, around 53.2 million were displaced within their own country (internally displaced), while 32.5 million are refugees. The top five countries of origin make up 69% of refugees worldwide:
- Syria, with 6.8 million
- Venezuela, with 5.6 million
- Ukraine, with 5.4 million
- Afghanistan, with 2.8 million
- South Sudan, with 2.4 million
- Burma/Myanmar, with 1.2 million
Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to inform the public about refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. To find out more about Refugee Week, visit https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/
