LTS: My View Of Virginia, là bài viết của ký giả Adrian Marchsall, một người sinh ra và lớn lên trong vùng Virginia. Ông là chứng nhân của sự thành công, hội nhập và phát triển cộng đồng nông gia Việt Nam trong thời gian qua. Bài viết nầy tác giả ca ngợi nông gia Việt Nam, là một sắc dân thành công nhanh chóng nhất trên lãnh vực Nông Nghiệp.

         Residing in Virginia for all of my 34 years, I have seen many changes occur in the working town of Virginia. I have seen the small TOM'S supermarket change into the big Woolworths complex as it is today, the small church and mechanics shop in the main street disappear and make way for the shopping centre car park. The sports areas have also changed with the large community centre now replacing the much smaller sheds used by the footy club for their Saturday games, bitumen roads slowly begin to outnumber the gravel and the CFS shed is now state of the art compared to the tin shed of yesteryear.
        Going to school and eventually working in Virginia through out the 70' 80' 90's and present, I have seen much of the town change, but the industry and livelihoods of the residents stay the same. I grew up with many European families and many of them becoming good friends through school, sport and play. European settlement had come to Virginia over the 50' and 60's and many of the children from these families were in my classes at the primary school. During my school years through the 80's settlement of the Vietnamese people had become apparent, much the same as the European settlement before them and a few children started to attend the primary school. Many of the parents had come to Virginia to start a better life for them and their families and they soon revived the farming practices that had slowly been abandoned by the settlers before them with the majority taking up the glasshouse aspect of Market Gardening again. As I have got older and farms in my district have been sold many of them have been bought buy these Vietnamese families to grow their produce and have now become my neighbors. Like many of the neighbors' in Virginia we have became friends, being able to share the pleasures of both work and family together.
        With my involvement in the community that I have established over time I have been lucky enough to meet many diverse people and cultures and have spent many times talking and sharing stories with many different people of all ages and have found them to be most interesting.
        With this in mind I would like to share some words I wrote involving two well known and respected members of the Vietnamese community in which I was lucky enough to share their stories as apart of the 30 year celebration of Vietnamese settlement in Virginia.
        I recently spoke with the Vietnamese Farmers Association secretary Thiet Dinh  and Mr Do Tan Hoa., two early pioneers to Virginia which enable me to put these two stories together, giving me an even better understanding of the Vietnamese culture which surrounds Virginia.
        Mr. Do left Vietnam and arrived via Malaysia to Adelaide by boat and then plane first settling in Kilkeny working at the ROH factory in March of 1976 before making his way to Virginia and buying a farm on Maloney road at in 1984.
        Mr Do recalls the days prior to his settlement in Australia leaving school and working for himself and his family managing a Bus company, until the age of 26 were he than joined the South Vietnam Army. He joined the Army in 1968 and was trained as an accountant looking after much of the finance during the war. Mr. Do continued in this roll for nearly 8 years and said much of the money which and support was being given by the Americans and allied forces came to an end in 1973 crippling the army as they now had no finances to by guns or ammunition. Mr. Do stayed in the Army until 1975, he then fled the country to start a better life for himself, his wife and new born daughter. Mr. Do 65,now owns and runs a packing shed on the southern side of Virginia wrapping and packing cucumbers for market both in South Australia and interstate.
Following the initial settlement of the Vietnamese people, a group was formed called the Vietnamese Farmers Association in 1985. This was formed to help the small group of farmers establish links with the government and other such groups to help them communicate and link as a whole group. Mr. Ngau Thach was the first president of the VFA and Mr Do was the Vice president at that time.
        Like many of the settlers before them life was not easy for many in their mother country thus bringing many to look for a better life for themselves and their families. Fifty six year old Thiet Dinh was one man looking for better times after suffering terrible circumstances in his home country. Before the war Thiet was a high school teacher and his family owned a factory producing rice for consumption and was considered quite wealthy. All changed with the civil war which torn apart his country in the late sixties when the communist North Vietnam invaded the Republic of South Vietnam to take control of the entire country. Thiet, his family and many people of his caliber were stripped of there livelihoods. Thiet, his wife O.Huynh, his children K.Dinh and H.Dinh just nine and four at the time, were simply soldiered of their property and sent to vacant land in the jungle to start a life which would be “equal to all others”. “Our family was considered a capitalist and we were hated. Our property, house and land were confiscated. We were sent to vacant land in the jungle” Thiet said “ Many of the soldiers in the war were put into Jail for many years, Just because they were classed as a threat and to make them equal with the everybody else”. When the war finished Thiet had to make an attempt to better his life for his family and children. In 1978 he tried to escape the war communist resigme but was captured by the communist police. After being captured the first time he was jailed for 18 months and during this period Oanh had to work in factory which produced rice, fruit and handbags for export, to gather enough money to help feed her family and  would also have to feed Thiet in jail visiting each fortnight with supplies. Thiet tried to escape on two further occasions, being caught both times and imprisoned for a further two months on both occasions.
      On the fourth time he was finally able to escape with his wife, two young children and 38 other people leaving Vietnam in a small motorized boat late one night. “Boats would leave at night to try and go unnoticed. We wouldn't tell anybody and meet at a point at night time and take off and hopefully escape.” Thiet said. They would be out on the sea for 4 night and 3 days before landing at Malaysia where because of monies supplied through the United Nations they were able to be placed in a refugee camp. “We were one of the lucky one's. Many people before us would sometimes get more fuel in their boats and be turn around and sent away or even shot at. There was simply no money to look after them. Some people after they were turned away were even captured on the seas by Thai prates.” He said. “Because of the Money that UNCHR (United Nations high Commission for Refugees) gave to the Malaysian Government for refugees we were able to stay”.
       The family stayed on a small island called Pulau Bidong for 8 months so they could be interviewed by a person from the Australian immigration department and then transferred to Sungeibesi for health checks before being taken to Australia. Thiet came directly to Virginia and worked in a poultry factory before being able to rent land to start his Market garden business. He saved up enough money and was able to purchase the land he was farming continuing his work enabling him to provide for his children. His children K.Dinh and H.Dinh both attended the Virginia Primary School when they arrived and also the Angle Vale primary School. “We had no money when we arrived, I went direct to the farm to try and provide for my children”. Thiets children have both made the most of the opportunity given to them by their parents with K.Dinh now  becoming a Lawyer and H.Dinh, a Doctor. Comunicating with people was quite difficult when the family arrived in Australia. Thiet could read and write a little English from his earlier days in Vietnam, being an educated man. The difficulty they faced was the speech. O.Huynh said “We would learn to talk by having conversations with people in the factories or watching television, especially SBS. We would try and read many books or the newspapers”.
       Thiet has found Australia a great country to live in. He describes it as a country of freedom and is a good country for business and the Australian people are very open.
        His Market gardening days have now finished and he has set up his self employed business, selling agricultural supplies and seeds to growers. His close family's ties have seen him head back to Vietnam to visit relatives there and he says the country is much better position than when he left.
        These two stories were extremely interesting to me, not only the words that went I could put to print, but also the lengthy conversations I had whilst obtaining it and the hospitality I was shown, once again being invited into their family homes and lives. I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese community on the 30 year celebration. I would like to acknowledge the work they, along with settlers before them have put in to help make Virginia what it is today and together, welcome the next group of immigrants to the working town called Virginia.