COMPASS: A SENSE OF PLACE

A 2008 episode of the ABC television program Compass (which we watched in class) entitled ‘A sense of place’ follows the lives of four Australians and examines the importance of culture, heritage, upbringing and place in determining who they are (their identity). All four are of Vietnamese background with three of them arriving as refugees at varying stages of their lives and one being born shortly after her refugee mother had arrived in Australia. As the presenter of the program says ‘all of them have struggled for identity and meaning’ and a written quote during the program acknowledges that ‘Migrants are always in some sense out of place and they almost always attempt to create a space of being at home in a new place.’

Alistair Trung is a fashion designer who arrived in Australia as a young boy. Having lived the majority of his life in Australia he feels that he knows how this has contributed to his understanding of his identity. He says ‘I know my Australian side but there’s something else I need to search for before I’m complete.’ Meeting a Vietnamese friend encouraged Alistair to further investigate the contribution that Vietnamese culture and his heritage have made on his personal and professional identity. Alistair also says ‘I feel like I’m on the borderline of cultures’ and ‘I’m a sum of two cultures.’

Dominic Golding, an orphan, was flown to Australia as part of ‘Operation Babylift’ at the fall of Saigon to the communist north. He was adopted into an Australian family. Dominic says ‘I am constantly negotiating my Australian upbringing’ and questions ‘what does being Vietnamese mean?’ Dominic also grapples with the fact that he is an UFO; unidentified family origin, as he does not know of his parentage. Dominic explores the nature of his identity through a play that he wrote and performed but acknowledges that he has still not reached a stage where he is comfortable or fully understanding of who he really is.

Sister Hue Can differs from the other migrants in the program insofar as she arrived in Australia as an adult with a more fully realised personal and professional identity in her native Vietnam. Hue Can struggles with the change that she undergoes in her life stating ‘in a way I feel empty. I don’t know who I am. I feel very, very empty.’ Hue Can, or Emily as she is known in Australia, reveals that she is anxious about who she is and her place in her adopted homeland stating ‘ I want to find my identity. My true identity. Who I am.’ The program explores the role of Sister Hue Can’s religion Buddhism in defining who she is and Hue Can reveals that she believes her religion is ‘an education to bring us back to our true self.’

Finally, Margaret Nguyen, although born in Australia also feels somewhat between cultures. Her mother, a Vietnamese refugee, gave birth to her shortly after arriving in Australia. Margaret seeks to give back to the country that has given opportunities to her mother and helps recently arrived refugee families form Sudan and Afghanistan. She sees numerous similarities between these recent arrivals and her mother and seeks to gain a greater understanding of her mother and herself through the similarity of their experiences. Margaret understands the importance of culture and heritage in contributing to who she is and affirms that while her values may differ somewhat to those of her mother, it is important for her to recognise and maintain a connection to her mother’s culture and her own heritage.

Overall, the program highlights the challenges that all of us face as we mature in determining our own identity and sense of place and belonging in the world. Some of these stories may help you to develop ideas to write about your own experiences and remember that you can refer to additional sources, such as this program, to augment your writing and to demonstrate your greater engagement with ideas and issues related to the context study Identity and Belonging.