In the year 1990 because of persecution, my parents left Bhutan voluntarily. We went through India to save our lives and sought asylum in the eastern part of Nepal, and lived in a Bhutanese refugee camp for more than two decades. 

I was only 15 years old when I came to Nepal with my parents.

With big hope of returning to our country we were living under thatched roofs, plastic huts and sometimes on the open ground with 35-40 degrees Celsius conditions in summer and minus five degrees Celsius weather conditions in winter, with limited facilities.

Among the 125,000 Bhutanese refugees, not a single refugee was successful in returning to their home country.

However, in 2007 UNHCR announced an option for resettling interested refugees in western countries such as the USA, the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia.

I thought it was a great opportunity so I, along with my three family members, declared our interest in the process.

After five long years, we were called for the interview by the Australian mission in 2013 and six months later, we were granted Special Humanitarian Visas by the Australian government.

When we first came to Tasmania, we faced challenges in many different aspects such as law, family life, culture, education, transport and languages; to learn a new culture for me was like living in a different world.

We did not know anyone in our new country Australia, and although we were supported and provided services by the federal government we did not know how to link to services. 

When we first came to Launceston in 2013, the Migrant Resource Centre helped us link to different services and now when needed we access services through the organisation.

In my personal feeling, when I compare those past years and now, there are lots of changes, as I can do many things by myself.

Not only that, sometimes I also do volunteer work in my community group such as driving, mentoring, running citizenship classes, helping with appointments and organising cultural events. However, currently I am struggling to develop skills and look for jobs so I can support my family

As we all know, human beings are social animals which cannot live isolated from its group or society and I hope the problems do not remain the same for future generations of immigrants.

Lastly on behalf of my family, I would like to thank the Australian government for accepting our application and granting us the Special Humanitarian Visa.