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A
Monash social work graduate has spent three months in Bali on a
humanitarian mission to assist with the identification and tracing of
Indonesian nationals following the October 2002 bombings.
Hang Vo
(BSocWk, BA), an Australian tracing delegate with the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Coordinator of Tracing and
Refugee Services in Victoria, was assigned to coordinate local and
international tracing inquiries with the Indonesian Red Cross,
Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI). Her
tasks involved the co-ordination of local staff and volunteers of
the Indonesian Red Cross in collecting ante-mortem data from the
families of the victims, making home visits to known addresses and
supporting families during the identification process.
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Monash social work/arts graduate, Hang Vo
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Of
the 96 cases investigated, 44 people were found alive and put
in touch with their families, 25 were identified as deceased and the
remainder were closed or cancelled at the request of families or
because of lack of information.
Arriving
in Australia with her family as one of the first wave of
Vietnamese boat people in 1978, Ms Vo says it was her own
experiences as a refugee that inspired her to humanitarian work.
"I knew as a child I wanted to work with the Red Cross. I hope
that my work [in Indonesia] will bring peace and comfort to the
families in the same way Red Cross helped our family years
ago."
For
information on postgraduate social work degrees visit www.med.monash.edu.au/socialwork/postgraduate/
or email social_work@med.monash.edu.au.
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