As thousands of refugees pour into the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta the first Vietnamese community in Australia is born. But it’s not long before problems arise. The family structure so important in Vietnamese culture has been obliterated by the War. The security of this life gone, young refugees find a sense of belonging through criminal gangs. A lost generation is born onto the streets of Cabramatta. Australia is simply not ready to cope with this huge influx of refugees and the problems that arrive with them. And as the cracks begin to show on the streets there is a fracturing of political support for multiculturalism at a national level. The future of Cabramatta and the Vietnamese community in Australia appears precarious.
The first political assassination in the history of Australia leaves the Vietnamese people of Cabramatta demonised and vilified – the community and the ideals of multiculturalism itself are in tatters.
As a new millennium beckons, the streets of Cabramatta remain in the dark ages, infested by drugs and crime but slowly the Vietnamese community, so quiet for so long, find their voice.
