1. The Chronicle, Saturday, August 21, 2010 ThisWeekend 3COVER STORY
“I was put in a plane with 100 other
refugees. I remember feeling sick from
nervousness and malnutrition.
“I arrived in Sydney in September that year
and all I could do was stare at the buildings.
“I had everything going through my mind
at once.”
Mr Duong’s first taste of Australian life
was, ironically enough, a trip to McDonald’s.
“It was the first thing I was taken to but I
couldn’t eat it,” he said.
“It took me a few months to really adjust to
Australian life.”
From then on, things were looking up for
Mr Duong.
While his polio was getting steadily worse,
an operation in July 1983 meant he could
finally walk again, albeit with a slight limp.
“It felt like I was born again and I knew I
could do anything,” Mr Duong said about the
operation.
“I wasn’t going to hold back”.
In 2000 Mr Duong said goodbye to the Ways
and started a new life in the Lockyer Valley
town of Gatton and after working in a string
of hospitality jobs, including a stint in
Toowoomba, he opened the Thai and More
Cuisine restaurant.
“I’m very, very happy with how life has
worked out,” Mr Duong said.
“I love Gatton and people know me here.
“I could have ended up on the side of the
road, struggling just to make a living.
“But in my heart I owe my life to the
Australian people who helped me get where I
am today.”
Cambodia to a refugee camp in Thailand on
foot, especially considering his polio made it
very difficult to walk.
“The sound of a bullet still scares me,” Mr
Duong admitted.
“A group of around 15 to 20 of us walked
through jungles and past roaming groups of
bandits.
“If a group of bandits caught you they
could rob you of everything you had, rape
any women in the group or just kill you
because they could.”
Even when the surviving members made it
to Thailand, they weren’t off the hook yet.
“We had to crawl under barbed wire to
make it through the border,” Mr Duong said.
“One of us stuck their head up and was
killed by a bullet from one of the border
guards.
“I was 14 when I finally got to Thailand.”
While crime was common in the refugee
camp, Mr Duong felt the safest he had in a
long time.
“We were living day to day on the edge of
our lives,” Mr Duong said.
“But finally we were safe from the Khmer
Rouge and had daily rations of fish and rice.”
It was in 1982 when Mr Duong heard the
news that would change his life for the better.
He was moving to Australia.
“I was fortunate enough to be adopted by a
couple from Sydney, Mrs and Mrs Way,” Mr
Duong said.
scars of escape from terror
◗Ken Duong still has souvenirs and reminders of his home country at his Gatton restaurant.
● FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
WHILE Ken Duong has been lucky enough
to lead a productive, safe and happy life,
there are still millions of Cambodians still
living in poverty.
Toowoomba woman Lyn Hotchin has
founded the local charity group known as
“Singing Kites” which aims to help
alleviate poverty and suffering among the
Cambodian people.
“It has been an enormous struggle to
date, and many communities are bogged
down in abject poverty with little chance of
a hopeful future,” the official website says.
Current projects include helping the
people in the impoverished village of
Tanop, establishing micro-businesses and
building an educational centre to teach
English, agricultural and health practices.
A recent fund-raising dinner at Thai and
More Cuisine, hosted by Mr Duong, packed
out the restaurant and raised $3085 for
Singing Kites.
Ms Hotchin said, “Everyone seemed to
have a great time and I couldn’t have
really asked for more.”
To learn more about Cambodia, Singing
Kites or to make a donation, visit
www.singingkites.org
Singing Kites raises
funds for Cambodians
By CALLUM JOHNSON
callum.johnson@thechronicle.com.au