By Bronwyn McGrath
In Communist-controlled and war-ravaged Laos during the late 1970s, the parents of Helensburgh pharmacist Bounphet Daravong made a courageous but dangerous decision.
Confronted with the prospect of re-education camps and conscription for their six children, Bounphet’s parents left everything behind and escaped the oppressive regime.
“It was only when I grew older and looked back on these events that I realised their impact,” Bounphet said. “My parents did everything to protect us from harm so I had no comprehension of danger or fear when I was growing up.
“We were just told one morning that we were leaving and to be very quiet.”
The family left all possessions, including photographs, and escaped with just the clothes they were wearing.
They walked to a designated area of long grasses and hid for more than 12 hours before they were led to the site where they were to cross the Mekong River into Thailand.
“Our parents told us to rest and not stand up,” Bounphet said. “We could hear patrols moving around and my mother said later that we were lucky it was raining as there were fewer patrols and any noise we made was masked by the sound of the driving rain on the metal roofs of the farmhouses around us.”
At midnight Bounphet’s family was led to a long boat some distance away which was submerged to avoid detection. The water was emptied and out of the darkness came many other families who would join them on the river crossing.
“I remember thinking the boat was over-loaded as it was very low in the water,” Bounphet said. “I could feel the water up to the rail I was holding - any sudden movement would have been disastrous.”
It was at this time Bounphet’s mother was told to keep his one-year-old baby brother silent. If this could not be done, the child would have to be left behind or cast overboard.
“When we arrived on the bank we were directed by a Thai Coast Watch to a safe house and then spent a year in a camp for illegal immigrants which consisted of rows of bamboo dormitories on stilts with a bamboo screen between each family.
“Our family was sponsored by my Aunt and Uncle who lived in Australia at the time and, when the paperwork was completed in August 1980, we arrived in Australia at the East Hills Refugee Centre.”
It was the wish of Bounphet’s father, who has since passed away, that he work in medicine and so he completed a degree in pharmacy at Sydney University in 1992. After working in Shellharbour and Wollongong hospitals he came to Helensburgh in 1995 and, in Decemer 2001, bought the Helensburgh pharmacy from Gavin Lowcock.
Bounphet has been working in Helensburgh for more than 10 years and has quietly established himself as an important part of the community. He simply loves his work. As a pharmacist he is genuinely interested in helping others and has introduced services such as packaging and delivering medicines to the elderly.
“It has always been my ambition to run my own business and I have met lots of wonderful people in Helensburgh,” he said.
The chemist is open seven days a week and the work hours are long however Bounphet believes that the secret to a happy life is balance.
“I do not want to be consumed by work and in my spare time I love doing sociable things and play golf when I can,” he said.
“I recently travelled through Europe for the first time with my partner who is living in England. She is a pharmacist too and was born in Wollongong and plans to return in August.”
Bounphet is proud of his business and says its good reputation is due to the efforts of the team of people who work with him, including pharmacists Teresa Djurovic, Robyn Hunt and Susie Fosnaugh as well as Gail Moxey, Lynn Gorman, Margaret Pointon, Jodie Smoley and Julie Martiensen plus seven junior casuals.