Mark's journey to a fair go
Mark remembers his family being expelled from Uganda with a few suitcases and $10.
Born in India, Mark moved to Uganda with his family as a child. As citizens, their lives were stable, peaceful and full of opportunity.
Idi Amin’s regime, however, brought terror into everyday life. Mark remembers, “I saw a mob pick on one guy and stone him to death. People were starting to disappear.”
Then Idi Amin made a shock announcement: all Indians in Uganda had to leave within three months. Mark’s family was forced to relinquish all their wealth and assets and leave, or risk imprisonment.
They arrived in Sydney in 1973, just as Australia was starting to distance itself from the White Australia policy. It was this historic change that gave Mark and his family the fair go they needed to rebuild their lives, among a community who welcomed them.
Mark’s story is one of a million examples of how Australia’s fair go has been transformative for people in need of protection.
This tax-time, you can help elevate the Refugee Council of Australia’s impact in protecting what Australia is known for – a fair go, for everyone.