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Insight

A refugee camp showed me we are all the same .

Dr Robert Richardson Part-time GP , Brisbane , Queensland , who has worked in numerous overseas crisis areas .

References : 1 . Spikevax Bivalent Original / Omicron BA . 4-5 Product Information , February 2023 . 2 . Chalkias S et al . A bivalent Omicron-containing booster vaccine against COVID-19 . Available at : https :// www . medrxiv . org / content / 10.1101 / 2022.06.24.22276703v1 . Accessed April 2023 . 3 . Andersson NW , et al . Comparative effectiveness of the bivalent BA . 4-5 and BA . 1 mRNA-booster vaccines in the Nordic countries . medRxiv . Published online 2023:2023-01 . 4 . Link-Gelles R et al . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 ; 71:1526 – 30 .

Moderna Australia Pty Ltd . Level 6 , 60 Martin Place , Sydney , NSW 2000 . © Copyright 2023 . Prepared : April 2023 . AU-COV-2300027 . MOD0210 _ AD _ A4 .

They helped the Americans in the Vietnam War , and when that conflict ended and the communists took over , they were forced to flee Laos and cross the Mekong

River into Thailand .

They were housed in prison-like camps of thousands of people .

The camp clinic I worked in was made of bamboo , and there was a bunk room for me to sleep in , with rats running around in the rafters . They were also a food source .

It wasn ’ t uncommon to see some of the young patients playing around in the dirt with IV drips tied to their backs , not far from sewer drains .

Young Hmong Lao medics staffed the clinic and , at night , slept in a big round bed .

They handled drips , diarrhoea , blood , massive worm infections , meningitis and falciparum malaria .

Some were as young as 16 , and as per their cultural beliefs , all were male . Quite a few had lived most of their lives in this camp .

After having worked there a few weeks , I started to notice the people emerging from the anonymous faces and the sense of mutual respect growing between us .

Sometimes , though , I felt like a parasite drawing on their resilience and energy .

After one particularly gruelling week with some dead children and dying adults , the medics were tired and run-down , and ghosts and spirits began to look at them through windows .

The medics asked me one night to come and sit with them ; we agreed we could talk about anything .

They discussed coming back after death and what would happen .

One young medic wanted to come back as a dragon , which brought a burst of laughter .

Another thought for a while and decided he wanted to come back as a bird and fly away free .

Then one medic said he had a question for me : “ If you have sex with your wife using a condom , can you wash it out and use it again with your second wife ?”

The main concern among the group was how to roll it up again .

When I went back to my bunk room , I heard them laughing and teasing each other . The spirits and ghosts had departed .

Working in that Laotian camp in Chiang Kham , Thailand , I came to admire and love the Hmong people .

They helped confirm to me that people are the same the world over .

They all worry about feeding and clothing their kids , helping them to grow and get an education , and what to do with their elderly as they decline .

It confirmed to me that patriotism , religion , racism , culture and corruption are all designed to separate us .

About 10 years after working in that camp , I was driving up northern Queensland , and at Innisfail , I noticed a Lao grandma and her two grandchildren fishing on the riverbank . Many Lao refugees had come to Australia .

I introduced myself and found that the grandmother had come from the same refugee camp in which I had worked .

We chatted about the camp and the situation of her people . Grandma was very happy to talk . The kids , however , were bored . When I asked them what they felt about all these events , they replied that it was all “ old stuff ”, and in a broad northern Australian accent , the oldest kid — about 11 — said : “ Hey , mister . You wanna see us jump our bikes ?” I laughed and said sure . Soon after , I drove away , feeling happy . It was nice to have played a small part in their long journey .