The cohort of 20 Vietnamese nationals were rejected by Australia because they arrived by boat. More than eight years after 'escaping' Vietnam, the group has finally been resettled in Canada.
In 2017, three mothers and 12 children escaped Vietnam for the second time, having been returned to the country by Australian immigration officials two years earlier.
They were among a cohort of Vietnamese nationals rejected by the Australian government after arriving by boat.
Their second attempt ended when the small boat they were on capsized off Indonesia, where they remained for five years, which included a period of incarceration inside an immigration detention centre.
Finally, in 2022, the 20-strong group found refuge in Canada.
Their arduous journey is the focus of a book by Australian author Shira Sebban, 'Vietnam’s Modern-Day Boat People: Bridging Borders for Freedom’.