Item MM 148690 Digital Photograph - Cuc Lam Walking Along Street, Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), Vietnam, circa 1972

Summary

Digital photograph of Cuc Lam walking along a main street in Saigon (now Ho Chi Min City), Vietnam, about 1972. This photograph was taken six years before Cuc fled Vietnam in 1978 as part of a massive emigration after the end of the Vietnam War.

Description of Content

Young woman walking on street.

Physical Description

Digital photograph

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This collection demonstrates the risk and desperation involved in the refugee experience. It is extremely rare to acquire objects from refugees, as by the very nature of the experience, people carry little if anything with them, and what they do is usually lost or thrown away. It helps tell the story of Vietnamese immigration, which has played a significant part in the history of immigration to Australia, and assists in representing the period post 1975, when Australia's new political and social policies of multiculturalism were being implemented. This collection also provides further insights into life in one of Melbourne's principal migrant hostels - Midway in Maribyrnong.