(Transcript from World News Radio)
A Vietnamese refugee who arrived in Australia during the 1980s has completed a 35-day trek from Melbourne to Canberra -- pulling a boat behind him.
Tri Nguyen says he set out on the journey to say thanks to Australia for welcoming him -- and to ask for greater compassion for asylum seekers today.
Naomi Selvaratnam reports.
As the old saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Today, Tri Nguyen took the final step in his journey to Canberra to raise awareness of refugee issues.
"It's just overwhelming with joy. It's fantastic. I felt like dancing (laughs)."
It was a trek unlike most.
Tri Nguyen walked for 35 days -- over 670 kilometres -- pulling a boat, as a pilgrimage of thanks to the country that welcomed him.
Accompanied by three Iranian asylum seekers, Linda, Daniel and Majid, he stopped at country towns throughout the journey, staying as guests in people's homes.
Mr Nguyen says their hosts were very welcoming.
"The hosts just embraced each of us, particularly the three asylum seekers. To see Australia embodying the welcome and hospitality that I received 32 years ago gives me great hope."
Mr Nguyen says his own journey to Australia inspired the trek.
He and his family fled Vietnam in the aftermath of the war in 1982, arriving in Australia by boat.
Mr Nguyen says it was a very different journey to the one he took to Canberra.
"We were captured by pirates who would torture and harm for four days and cage us. It was a traumatic time."
Today, he dragged a replica of the same boat that brought him to Australia through the streets of Canberra to Parliament House, where he donated the vessel as a token of appreciation.
Now, Mr Nguyen says he wants to see the conversation around asylum seekers change.
"We are at our best when we welcome the stranger. We are at our best as Australians when we care for the most vulnerable in our community. And we are at our best when we work for justice for those who have lost everything in life and have gone through so much suffering. That's Australia at its best."
