Ming Sun
Ming Sun says it’s almost impossible to describe what he felt when his application for permanent residency in Australia was finally accepted.
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The 46-year-old is so polished and articulate it’s almost hard to believe when he arrived in Warrnambool in 2007 he could not understand or speak English at all.
The former chef, who now does office work at Warrnambool’s Midfield Meat, has not had an easy time.
Since deciding to leave his home city in China – Taizhou, home to seven million people – Ming has worked long hours, studied tirelessly and even appealed to high-up politicians in his bid to make Warrnambool, Australia, his home.
He was eligible to apply for permanent residency two years after arriving, but it took him four years to bring his English language skills up to the required level.
The quietly spoken man described the long hours he spent poring over his studies.
After three years, he still struggled with conversation.
“I got some textbooks from China and I would study every day,” Ming said.
“I’d use my time after work, and every night I just slept usually four to five hours.
“All the rest of the hours I was sitting in the kitchen and studying.
“I tried to communicate more with the local people, but it was still hard. I studied but I didn’t have much experience talking to people in this language.”
Increasingly, immigrants initially drawn to Warrnambool and the wider south-west for work are determined to make it home.
Between long working hours, language is often the strongest barrier for people trying to make a life, for everyday communication and also to qualify for citizenship or permanent residency.
Formal English training is available through South West TAFE, and churches offer some language classes. Some individual tutors have also stepped up and offered their English-teaching skills.
Ming had classes with English tutor Doreen Risbey, a figure well known in Warrnambool’s migrant worker and immigrant community for her kindness and teaching skills. He described Doreen as a good person, and one of the people he most admired in Australia.
After four years of rigorous study and work, and with proficient English speaking and writing skills, Ming applied for permanent residency, but he was knocked back based on his profession.
No one could help him, so he appealed to Wannon MP Dan Tehan to help him stay.
“Dan Tehan came to the restaurant and had a look at everything and talked to me,” Ming said.
“He said ‘I think you’re good to Australia and we need you’.
“I think I have proved that he was right.”
Mr Tehan did step in to help Ming stay – something he has also done for other south-west immigrants.
“When I got it I was crying,” Ming said.
Ming has a staunch determination to do the right thing by the country he worked so hard to stay in.
He shifted to a new office-based role he loves at meat processing business Midfield Meat, saved up money to buy a house in Warrnambool and applied for – and got – citizenship 12 months after he was granted permanent residency.
Ming still rings home once a week to check in with his brother, but he says Australia is his country now.
"I’m very proud of it,” he said.
As for his future, Ming says he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore the way he did in China.
In the short term he wants to work towards getting a higher position at work, beyond that, he’s not sure.
“I always want to live a better life in Australia though,” Ming said.
Zeng (Li Guangzeng) and Dong (Dong Guoyun)
Zeng (Li Guangzeng) and Dong (Dong Guoyun) were older than Ming when they decided to make the move to Australia.
With two children in tow – James, then aged 11, and Rui, then aged 17 – the couple left their city in Henan province.
Both Zeng and his wife Dong, both now 53, struggled to pick up English after arriving almost 11 years ago. They both do physically challenging work at Midfield Meat, processing meat, but they enjoy the lifestyle in Warrnambool.
Their son did very well in high school, and is studying economics at university in Melbourne. He strongly identifies as Australian.
Four years ago, the couple bought a house. The backyard of the spotless, comfortable home features garden beds abundant with Chinese vegetables and herbs.
When she’s not working Dong likes to get out in the garden. The soil is different to her home in China, but she has still managed to grow many of the same plants.
The couple was also part of a group of workers who received help from Mr Tehan to stay.
Jet (Zhang Juntao) and Yan (Zhang Yan)
Jet (Zhang Juntao) came to Warrnambool from the same place as Zeng and Dong a couple of years before his wife Yan (Zhang Yan).
Their daughter Evelyn, two-and-a-half, is going to pre-school and is learning Mandarin from her parents as well as English.
Jet works at Midfield and Yan is learning English at South-West TAFE, and they say they were drawn to the lifestyle offered in Warrnambool.
“We’re living very well here,” Jet said.
“We want to stay here for our future.”
When they were interviewed, Jet had nervously been waiting months to sit his citizenship test.
At the time of publication, the young father had received news he had passed.
Mr Tehan said some of the immigrants he had helped stay over the years still called into his office and sent Christmas cards.
“It’s wonderful to see them making such a positive contribution to the local community,” Mr Tehan said.
“They showed a clear commitment to want to work in the local community and contribute and to me that’s exactly the type of residents we want to welcome in to the south-west.
“The Chinese have integrated extremely well into the community through their work ethic and their community ethic and I think have made a very good contribution to diversity in the south-west.
“Obviously we need population – that’s one of the keys to continuing local economic success.”