One millionth refugee milestone in Australia on horizon
Mahamed Hussein Abdelhag Omer recently celebrated his first year in Australia. (Supplied: Settlement Services International)
Australia is set to issue its one millionth refugee visa since 1947 in the coming weeks, in a humanitarian program that grew directly out of the ashes of World War II.
In 1947, then-immigration minister Arthur Calwell signed an agreement with the International Refugee Organisation in Geneva to accept people from war-ravaged countries.
The initial agreement was for 4,000 refugees and decades later Australia's humanitarian visa program is about to hit a new milestone.
Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, said millions of Australians had a direct link to the program.
"People's parents or grandparents might be refugees who came to Australia to escape persecution and have contributed greatly to national life," Mr Power said.
These are three of their stories.
Tan
Tan Le remembers the perilous journey she made as a four-year-old girl on a tiny, crowded fishing boat with her family, trying to escape Vietnam six years after the war ended in 1975.
Ms Le said her family made the journey in a bid for freedom, even with the threat of pirates and starvation.
"We spent months in a refugee camp in Malaysia, living under conditions of immense uncertainty," Ms Le said.
"The moment we got the [Australian] visas we knew the immense sacrifices and the terror of the sea journey were not in vain."
Ms Le said her family worked hard after arriving in Victoria, and were embraced by a "welcoming and diverse" community.
"My mother immediately started working on farms, picking vegetables, then she took on a job at the Holden factory in Port Melbourne," Ms Le said.
"She also had an unwavering commitment to our education; she eventually earned her own master's degree and was later elected Mayor of Maribyrnong.".
She said the "biggest impact" of the humanitarian program was the "infusion of resilience, drive and diverse perspectives".
"It's not simply an act of charity, it's an enrichment of Australia's destiny."
Mahamed
The day Mahamed Hussien Abdelhag Omer and his family were accepted as refugees to Australia was one of the best days of his life.
He said when the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) called with the news, he felt like the "happiest person in the world".
The 30-year-old is originally from Sudan's Darfur region, and went to India to escape violence in 2015.
"Many students were getting arrested … so my father advised me to study abroad," he said.
He said he later lost contact with his family, but when he went back to check on them, he found they were having issues with the Arab Janjaweed militia.
"Then I had to escape to avoid being detained," he said.
Mr Omer arrived in Sydney in September 2024 with his mother and most of his siblings.
His father and one of his brothers were unable to leave while they waited for visas after fleeing to neighbouring countries separately.
Mr Omer said it was worth the near 10-year wait for an Australian visa.
"It was my dream to come here, [Australia] was a land of opportunity and safety,"Mr Omer said.
Mr Omer said his family recently celebrated their first year in Australia, based in Western Sydney.
"You can see a big change in the way my siblings talk and how they view our futures. There is no need to worry about safety or gunshots."
Elena
Elena Gartner, originally from Brno in former Czechoslovakia, was forced to flee as a 20-year-old with her family as Soviet tanks rolled into town.
"I still get a bit emotional nearly 60 years later talking about our escape across the iron curtain," Ms Gartner said.
In early 1968, the country experienced a brief period of political liberalisation, crushed months later with an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops.
"Because we were supporters of [leader Alexander] Dubček, we knew ...that we were likely to be arrested and persecuted soon."
Her family packed a small bag each and left behind their belongings, before driving to the borders to Vienna before they closed.
Ms Gartner said it was difficult leaving extended family, who suffered persecution afterwards.
"This was something that we found difficult to live with."
She said her family was able to build a new life in Australia, including her tertiary studies and work as a translator.
"We made many friends here. By the time we moved to Canberra in 1974, we felt pretty much at home," Ms Gartner said.
"We thought Australia was heaven on earth after our experience of life in a communist country where the slightest attempt for political reform was met with a forceful end."
Looking to the future
University of Sydney professor of public law, Mary Crock, said Australia's endorsement of post-war migration was seen as an "opportunity particularly in the context of 'populate or perish'."
"What it said from the get-go was that Australia was very committed to the idea of trying to do something," she said.
The Department of Home Affairs said the precise timing of the granting and location of the one millionth humanitarian visa will not be known in the short term.
A spokesperson said the Australian government was committed to "generous and flexible humanitarian and settlement programs that meet Australia's international protection obligations".
"As refugee situations around the world increase in scope, scale and complexity, Australia is committed to finding sustainable global solutions for refugees," they said.
Shadow Immigration Minister Paul Scarr said it was important to celebrate refugee contributions.
"Our humanitarian visa settlement program is part of the Australian story, it's part of who we are as an Australian people."
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