From sleeping on the floor to nursing and scholarships: The Appathurai Family

When the Appathurai family fled the Sri Lankan war in August 2008, they did so with only one suitcase apiece. They drove through the night from their home to the airport, a journey of 350km stretched out across ten tense hours and as many security checkpoints.

The war in Sri Lanka had come to their home. Opposite the school where Annete taught English lay a playground and park which the Sri Lankan military had assumed control of and used as a base for helicopter transport. Often, Annete recalls, she had to curl up with her students on the floor, as militants in the hills targeted the military base with artillery. As a banker Vinojit was no less endangered, being targeted for the position he held and information he was privy to by those who sought to extort, blackmail, and steal. “Fearful nights,” Annete says of the danger from which they could not protect their children.

Thankfully, Vinojit’s sister resides in Australia, and was able to sponsor a visa for the family, allowing them to escape the country and the many sounds of war.

Safer though they were, life did not become any easier for the Appathurai family on arrival in Australia. For the two parents and three sons, there was only one spare room in the house. Vinojit’s sister assisted them as much as she was able, but with a disabled child of her own requiring her care, the family had to rely on themselves in those initial months.

“Within one month, they want to go back,” Annete says of her children, and not without a chuckle. There was only one bed. In winter, three of them slept on the floor, with the youngest only two years old at the time; they were safe, but had nothing.

Soon after arriving they discovered the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, receiving recommendations from aid organisations and charities, and from those who also sought asylum. After being assigned a case worker and relating their situation, they were members of the ASRC within a month of leaving Sri Lanka.

This began a steady climb toward finding a home of their own and standing on their own two feet. The centre provided immediate material aid, giving them necessary food stuffs from the Foodbank as well as nappies and international phone cards, and providing them all with Myki balances to facilitate their ability to visit the Fitzroy branch.

Once they received Permanent Residency, Annete and Vinojit found vital support afforded them by the Employment Services Program. Although university educated and having extensive careers, those documents had been left behind. They were dropping advertising in letterboxes in an effort to scratch together any income. Through the program they were coached on the job application processes practiced here and given advice on the presentation of their resumes to the Melbourne market. Annete was found a placement working in childcare, which gave them that most important first foothold.

When the boys began school the centre provided them with all the textbooks and stationary they needed, and kept them busy on the weekends when hosting Kids Zone. Adriel in particular enjoyed an excursion to ACMI, where they made a film with their own hand-crafted sock puppets. The eldest son, Enoch, has gone on to victory in his school’s debating team, and received multiple awards for academic excellence.

“There’s more extracurricular opportunities in Australia than Sri Lanka,” says Enoch. “Which means that we keep entertained, and pushing our borders, challenging ourselves.”

Earlier in the year the Appathurai family visited Sri Lanka for the first time since fleeing in 2008. “Going back,” Enoch says, “There were places that were familiar, but it looked and felt different. Almost foreign. Because we don’t remember too much, but we feel like we have a connection to there, but we don’t exactly know everything about it. And then, coming back, we didn’t want to leave our grandparents.”
Annete’s parents remained in Sri Lanka when the family fled, and thankfully survived the war. Her father however is partially blind, meeting his grandchildren again after many years apart.

“He couldn’t see them, only he could hear their voices. But he couldn’t see them, how they have grown.” These are years that will never be returned.

It took some time, but they no longer live with the constant fear of war. With the help of friends, family, and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, the Appathurai family have built a new home in Melbourne, one in which they feel safe. The sound of helicopters reminds them of bombs, but no longer frightens them.

“Looking back, considering our personal experience with Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, they have actually helped us a lot, in every way. Not only like materially but emotionally.”

Annete has since gained a Diploma in Nursing, and now works at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Enoch has won a scholarship to attend Melbourne High in the coming school year. From the scared family that slept cramped in a single room, they have relaxed, grown, and flourished, and the happiness they’ve found in their new home can be heard in their voices and the ease of their laughter.