When Chairak (Jai) Miles first stepped foot on Australian soil, she knew she was home. For 48 years she had been what you might call an undocumented Australian.
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To Jai, receiving her citizenship has given her a sense of completion, creating a connection with her heritage and regaining her identity.
Originally from Thailand, Jai arrived in Australia in 1969 at the age of four, adopted by her Australian stepfather.
“My Mother and I came out during the Vietnam War, we were what you would describe as displaced. I was so young at the time I really didn’t get the chance to experience my own culture,” Jai explained.
The Australian transition was a result of war, brought about due to the conflict by the Thai military. During the Vietnam War, Northern Thailand, where Jai’s village was located amongst the Northern Hill tribe, was struck by political conflict which forced complete evacuation resulting in hundreds of displaced people.
“In some ways my journey wouldn't have happened if it wasn’t for this political chaos. My village was just caught in the conflict and bombs were placed everywhere. We didn’t have a choice but to leave the village.”
Jai’s Australian stepfather adopted her and brought her to Australia.
“I had grown up in a hut, with a monkey as a pet. I had no toys or possessions. Early development was just finding things to amuse myself. Dad prepared me for the west. I learnt about birthdays and Christmas, he took me to a toy shop and I pointed at a camera and a small fridge with items in it, because we didn't have a fridge. It’s strange looking back at that now.”
“I was put through the school system, this of course was back when milk was handed out on the street and ‘God save the Queen’ was sung to the Queens portrait,” she said.
“I'm grateful for the start in Australia. Because of my stepfather’s family I was surrounded by educated people and I came to understand and learn what was happening in Thailand.”
Jai’s uncle is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and his, and her stepfathers guidance, kept her on the straight path.
“Honestly I never knew where I stood culturally, I got exposed to what was happening globally but felt as though I didn’t fit anywhere.”
Jai grew up in Canberra and for her tertiary education attended Arts School, majoring in photography.
“I recently went back to my village in Thailand. Going back somehow felt as though it completed a circle. It is amazing at how displacement can throw you off.”
Jai was in a rock climbing accident ten years ago, suffering serious injuries that doctors feared would leave her permanently immobile.
“I just kept thinking I didn't come so far just to end now. Instead I came to know about disability.”
Jai now works for disabilities ACT and has been doing so since her recovery from her accident.
“It has given me a sense of value and purpose. I would like to take these skills and go back to Thailand to work with the disabled, to give back so much that Australia has given me.”
Jai’s father was the founder of a School in Thailand, educating many Yao children, and by returning she believes she will help to complete her father's legacy.
Although her mother remains alive, Jai’s stepfather passed away in 2013.
In response to a question about how she feels about Australia, she said, “It is home, without the paperwork, I am an Australian, but by doing the paperwork, I feel more complete.”
She describes Australia as her journey, that it is overwhelming to be pulled in one direction then the other, that this citizenship has stopped this feeling.
“I'm so very excited I will finally be an Australian and returning to Thailand as an Australian.”
For now, Jai is enjoying the Yass community, having made a home in Wee Jasper for two years and Yass since 2012, she is grateful to the friends that she has and the great people she has encountered throughout her journey.