 G'day I'm David Williams from CFA. Today I'm going to speak to two authors Neil Grant and Adrian Highland Neil Grant is a local author who spent time with the students at a local high school after Black Saturday His book From King Lake to Kabul contains a number of harrowing accounts of survival Me and Thway Nguyen's story The Black Saturday in the book From King Lake to Kabul is a dramatic story of survival Me's family only moved to King Lake less than 12 months before Black Saturday The story shows the power of community and how those in the community rallied around to save them from the fires and also assist in their recovery. I was writer-in-residence at a local high school in the sort of King Lake area and We were we were going to do a project that was unrelated to the fires and And then of course on 7th of February the fires hit King Lake in the surrounding areas and a lot of a lot of students were fire affected So we had to reframe the project a little bit Which we did and a lot of students came to us and we're keen to Relate their fire stories and their experiences and share them and one of those students was a young Vietnamese girl Called me Nguyen and I'd actually met her father the previous year when he'd been enrolling his kids into my daughter's school. I was doing the same sort of thing and It was it was amazing to me that a Guide come out from Vietnam to to be a baker in King Lake It was it was a revelation and I'd see him sometimes riding his bike around the streets And it was just it was it was quite surreal almost and Anyway, so me me I knew me had the story and I'd asked her if she would if she would write it And she's a very shy sort of girl But she she actually said yes, you could try and do something and I I said to her, please don't feel that you have to write it I Didn't want her to feel compelled to write it But she actually brought up a story that her mother had her mother had written I think initially as part of an English project She was learning to speak and write English and me had had taken that story and and crafted a little bit and brought this story to me and it was it was a pretty a Pretty heart-rending account of a family who had no experience of fire whatsoever and suddenly thrust into this this small semi-rural community and Basically having to to cope with this fire situation and the interesting thing about it was was the way in which they did that and the way that they The people around them took care of them and it was a very important part of that sort of process so me was home with her brother and her sister and her mum and They were very hot that went outside and saw this big cloud and they didn't really know what was going on and then very quickly the fire sort of bore down on them and they the Vans boss Carol who ran the baker up there quickly came and said and what are you going to do? you need to prepare for the fire coming and They managed they got inside and got all everything, you know, it's all the doors shut and Basically sheltered in their house the black Saturday me and we knew him My family came to Australia with a skilled migrant work visa My dad came on 8 January 2008 then my mum brother sister and I came on 27 February We entered into a strange new land with a different language. We did not know English and it was hard That was what was worse was that we did not know any other families neighbors relatives or friends Except my dad's teacher and his family whom we met in Vietnam Jenny Lindsay and their family supported us for our spirit as well as other matters But there were still a lot of difficult things for our family The reason we left our country to come to Australia was because we wanted a better life and especially a good future for us three kids a Few days before the firestorm the sun was shining brightly and it was very hot everyone just felt exhausted and frustrated In the morning on Saturday 7 February my mum went to the cafe to prepare the first Vietnamese dish there There were very few customers at the cafe today mum said after she got home from work in the afternoon It was unusual because on Saturday and Sunday the cafe was usually packed. I Was about to turn on the TV but mum said it's hot so you shouldn't turn the TV on you should go outside And play I went out and saw a big smoke, but I thought it was dark clouds About one o'clock Wayne Carol's husband came He usually takes my dad for a drive because dad only has an L plate, but this time he said He and my dad couldn't go because they were bushfires and Kilmore and st. Andrews We were not very surprised when we heard that news because we've been told they were bushfires every year in Australia So we thought not to worry at all a Few moments later. I could see the Sun bright red like a ball of flame the air was extremely hot Then Dean our next-door neighbor asked are you all staying here? Or are you going to leave? My dad wasn't sure so he said we're staying here At that time Carol came came and said everyone should pack up the necessary belongings and be ready to leave quickly when it's dangerous I will let you know I Started to feel scared, but I still didn't know what was going to happen I went to the bathroom to have a quick shower I could hear mom telling dad and the kids they should come and get every necessary personal document ready and have something to eat Just in case we had to leave My family hurried inside and grabbed all the necessary papers that we brought from Vietnam My brother gave my mum his school bag and asked her whether he needs to get his clothes and his toys Before mom could answer him. We heard our dad shout hurry get out of the house. I Looked through the window and everything was black Our house filled with smoke and became pitch black My mom just grabbed whatever papers you get her hands on my brother's school bag She had no time to put the papers in Then they ran to the back door Mom wait for me. I screamed hurry. She shouted back. I quickly got my clothes on and ran out Luckily, I could see my shoes and grab them my sister hadn't had time to put on her shoes She just quickly slipped her feet into the pair of slippers that mum had placed at the doorstep for gardening It was still daylight and there was no sign of a fire and we were standing in the backyard However in less than 10 minutes since Carol given us the warning the fire quickly rushed in Our family left the house and went onto the street, but we did not know where to run to On the right of our house were bushes that had not seen any fire yet on the left-hand side was the shopping area with flames everywhere At that time we could only see cars speeding away from the flames My family had to run on foot because although we had a car my dad just had a learner's permit and he did not try In regards to the new ends sort of lack of knowledge within the fire sort of situation was Van at the time was on his learners and he was he was scared to drive because And to us that just seems Incredible that you wouldn't just take the car and get out sort of thing probably wouldn't be a good idea And under those circumstances anyway, but it was it was Yeah, that they would they were so respected those road rules that they wouldn't wouldn't carry that plan out was quite Reading that story was quite quite incredible, but the way that they they're friends and I Guess they're surrogate family in a lot of ways their employees It certainly was sort of viewed in those terms. They took care of them They they ferried them around places that didn't have a car and they looked after them and when they actually managed to get out of their house and Escaped to a neighbor's house and the neighbors shielded them in there And then I think they escaped from there to a shed and eventually the fire passed through But it was it was it was due to their friends and their Neighbours and people they knew taking care of them. So I think that's an important important thing that sense of community I think the lesson we can learn as a as a broader community from the new ends Situation is that we do need to connect with people. I think it's important as individuals to to know our neighbors quite well Especially when we move into an area It could also We'd also we also need to make ourselves aware of what our surroundings are like and what the dangers and Things are surrounding that but I think definitely getting to know your community is is a pretty essential one Because basically human beings we do tend to look after one another