BSSC student, Si Blu, is enjoying her time at Bendigo Senior. However, Bendigo is a long way from where she was born—a village in Burma/Myanmar.
Si Blu holds lovely memories of her early years in the village surrounded by family and friends. Like most little kids she was interested in the creatures that surrounded her—monkeys, lizards, frogs and the occasional snake—as well as domestic animals such as chickens, ducks and pigs.
However, Burma/Myanmar is the setting for the world’s longest civil war—a war running since the British withdrew from the country in the late 1940s.
The Karen people are one of nine indigenous peoples who have comprised Burma/Myanmar for untold generations.
When Si Blu was around ten years old her family realised they were in danger due to the ongoing oppression of Karen people by the Myanmar government. They fled to the Mae Ra Moe Refugee Camp on the Thai/Burma border.
Nestled beside a tributary of the Yuam River in lush mountainous terrain, one Canadian visitor to the camp in 2015, Andrew Paul, described the beauty of the area and admired the comfortable traditional homes built in the style Karen have always constructed their homes.
But he says someone pointed out to him; “… refugees are like a frog in a well—once they jump in, they must stay there …” awaiting a freedom that could be years coming.
Mae Ra Moe provided relative safety for Si Blu’s family and many other Karen people trying to escape the war. But it was a long wait. Here Si Blu received her first wheelchair—one that had to be pushed by someone else.
The family finally arrived in Bendigo in 2017 when Si Blu was 14 years old, leaving grandparents and some of her aunts and uncles in Burma/Myanmar.
Her first impressions of Australia were of the weather—how very cold she found it. She was also confronted with tall buildings and busy roads she had never seen before.
The sadness about leaving the beauty and familiarity of village life has perhaps been compensated a little by some of the benefits Si Blu is now able to access—such as the NDIS.
Si Blu attended Eaglehawk Secondary College during Years 7-10 and says she has also found supportive staff and friendly students at BSSC.
Translators and ES Support Staff, Tha Lan and Mu Soe, help ease her way as she learns English and negotiates the college in her fabulously compact electric wheelchair.
Si Blu says she finds the college quite easy to get around and is enjoying all her subjects. However, she admits learning English has been a real challenge.
Her favourite teacher is her English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher, Jenni Shelton, who Si Blu says has taught her a lot and who she insists is not only a great teacher, but cares for her and helps her beyond what she ever expected.
From Jenni’s perspective, she sees Si Blu face everyday challenges most students will never have to deal with.
“Si Blu copes so well with her disability—even on excursions—and puts in such great effort in class. She’s also one of those people happy to take advice or constructive criticism.”
Jenni is aware many of BSSC’s Karen students have stories similar to Si Blu—stories of being completely uprooted from all that is familiar and ‘home’. It’s made her realise some of our ‘first world problems’ are insignificant by comparison.
While Jenni might be Si Blu’s favourite teacher, Art is her favourite subject. Si Blu loves painting and is especially drawn to creating beautiful flowers.
As she looks to her future, Si Blu is planning to continue her studies in Art at Bendigo TAFE—working with textiles and paint are both possibilities—and she’s interested in beauty and fashion too.
Asked who impresses her, Si Blu names Paw Paw, a Karen woman who works tirelessly with new arrivals to the Karen community.
When Si Blu is not at school she enjoys relaxing with a Karen movie—she’s a big fan of comedy—and loves Tik Tok. She also enjoys photography and music, and she loves hanging out with her friends—and there are lots of those!
