Leon is proud of his refugee heritage. For Refugee Week 2023, he tells the remarkable story of his family’s journey, passing on a message of compassion for the refugees of today.
My Dad was a refugee and so was his family. Now I realise what they had to go through.
There was a genocide in Cambodia, led by the Khmer Rouge. All of my grandma’s side of the family who stayed were murdered.
My grandad met a gangster who said he could take them out of Cambodia, to Vietnam. It was a tough journey, and when they arrived in Vietnam, they realised the gangster was a people trafficker. They had gone from being slaves in one country to being slaves in another.
My family ended up on a fishing boat that was going to go to Hong Kong. My dad was only a baby.
A packed boat being rescued by British sailors of the SS Sibonga on 21 May 1979
The boats were very crowded, and on the journey, people started dying. There was barely any oxygen and very little to eat or drink. They sent an SOS signal and luckily there was a British cargo ship passing by, called the Sibonga. The captain stopped to help and brought them on board. Only two boats had survived and a thousand people were still alive.
A lot of people are really unwelcoming, and think refugees are taking our jobs, they’re not good for our country. But there’s nothing wrong with them, they just want a safe place to live.
Once they reached the UK, they lived in a refugee camp for two years in the New Forest, at a place called Sopley near Christchurch. Most of the other families were Vietnamese. That’s where my dad lived from the age of two until four. We went there for a reunion, it was very emotional.
The Ung family in the Sopley refugee camp
A lot of people are really unwelcoming, and think refugees are taking our jobs, they’re not good for our country. But there’s nothing wrong with them, they just want a safe place to live.
For the refugees I’d say: just keep on having hope. Hope was the main thing my family had, that was the main thing that kept them going. I’m proud of my family—it shows how hard they’ve had to work to get where we are now!
My message is always be welcoming and be kind to refugees—you don’t know the journey they’ve been on—and for refugees, always have hope. ■
Leon Ung is a young actor and dancer. His latest film is Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, and he is also dancing in an upcoming Disney film set to be released in 2024.
