It has been 25 years since Gay Htoo Paw fled his home in Myanmar but he now calls Australia the land of opportunity for education and work, one that is free of conflict.
The 54-year-old was the first Myanmar refugee to move to Albany 13 years ago on Western Australia's south coast, where more than 170 of his people now call home.
Mr Paw said it was a hard decision to leave Myanmar but he had no choice.
"It is hard to see our children grow up in the conflict country," he said.
"There is no freedom and abuse of human rights.
"That's why we try to bring as much as we can over here."
Mr Paw is of the Karen people, an ethnic group that lived in Myanmar — mostly in the country's east — but which were persecuted by the ruling military.
In 1997, after losing his land and village, Mr Paw and his wife settled in a refugee camp in Thailand.
They raised their four children, who were all born at the camp, over the next decade.
He said he was worried every day.
They lived in a hut that measured 3 metres by 3 metres with tarpaulin stretched across the top as a roof.
The family of six ate the food that was provided at the camp, which was usually rice, beans, fish paste and chilli paste, and sometimes they would get vegetables.
They were not allowed to find jobs or food outside the camp.
When they had extra rice, the family would sell it to purchase other goods.
Mr Paw said there were people who still lived like that today and had been for the past 25 years.
A decade in a refugee camp
After 10 years Mr Paw was given the opportunity to move to Australia.
The family of six first landed in Sydney in 2007 but struggled to find work and settle.
"It is a big challenge because you live in a jungle style and then to a city style," Mr Paw said.
After three years a friend encouraged Mr Paw to move to Albany.
So he used all the money he had to buy a plane ticket to Australia.
After he landed in Western Australia, he spent a very short time in Perth before moving to Albany.
He then got a job with a local abattoir and was able to rent a home through the company.
He eventually saved enough money to purchase his own home.
Mr Paw says he enjoys the peaceful life he has been able to give his family and community.
Civil war sparks humanitarian crisis
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has faced decades of civil war since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission estimates there are 1.1 million Myanmar refugees in nearby countries such as Thailand, Bandgladesh and Malaysia awaiting relocation.
Daniel Zu, another member of the local refugee community, has lived in Albany since 2020.
Mr Zu frequently returns to the refugee camps in Thailand to support people still living there, focusing on education and religious study.
He usually returns to Thailand every few months for about five weeks at a time, but is currently on a trip that will last 10 months.
Mr Zu said he left Myanmar in 1987, fleeing into the jungle.
"At the time I was 30 in the Rangoon University [now known as University of Yangon], involved in student politics," he said.
"A young student talking about democracy, freedoms and human rights, that attracts the military.
"I had to leave to escape being arrested."
Mr Zu joined a resistance movement led by the Karen Nation Union (KNU) and spent the next decade living in the jungle, educating children in the KNU's liberated areas.
In 1997, because of increased conflict, Mr Zu left the jungle and headed to the Thai border to find refuge at the camps, where he spent another decade.
Mr Zu said he had known Mr Paw for more than 30 years but it was in the camp that they became better acquainted.
"When we were in the refugee camp we would meet every day," he said.
"It's about 7 hectares of land with about 10,000 people packed into that area."
Landing in Sydney
Like Mr Paw and many other Myanmar migrants moving to Australia at that time, Mr Zu landed in Sydney.
He spent about 13 years in New South Wales before relocating to Albany, to be with his children and the rest of the Karen community.
"I thought I needed to go and enjoy life in Albany with my sons," he said.
"Most of the Albany Karen community members are from Sydney, who are from the same camp where I lived.
"The community in Albany is like my family."
Mr Paw said while he enjoyed the peaceful life in Albany, he had not forgotten those still living through war.
"They fight and they die every day," he said.
"I would like to bring more community here … if we are growing up here then we have more strength to bring more refugees from Thailand."
'They need help'
Mr Paw says every day is a challenge knowing what those who are still living in Myanmar go through daily.
"My mum, my siblings and friends are still in the jungle, and they look up to me," he said.
"They need help. If, one day, everything is peaceful, I would like to go back and support them."
He said it was very difficult to see them living in a jungle "without a home, without land, and without rights".
"They move from place to place, every day. Every month there is no permanent place for them to settle down," Mr Paw said.
He tried to return to his home country as much as he could but said it was difficult with so much war and conflict.
Mr Paw was hopeful that one day there would be peace.
"I still want to go back and help build the education there and build the community," he said.
But while he would never forget his home, Mr Paw said Albany was where he wanted to be.
"I think I am going to be here forever."
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Founder of Albany's Karen population reflects on finding a home far from Myanmar and conflict - ABC News
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