Escape From Latvia

What is home? What does it mean to be an Australian? Can you call yourself a 'true-blue Aussie' if English is not your first language?

Born to Latvian parents in a displaced persons camp in Germany, Vid's life is one marked by a persistent sense of not belonging.

As a two-year-old boy Vid arrived in Sydney Harbour on the 'Fifth Fleet', his family diverted from their original destination of Canada by the promise of a new life in Australia.

They were part of the 'Beautiful Balts' - the migrants who were some of the first non-English speaking Europeans to emigrate to Australia after World War II.

Their blonde hair and smiling, happy faces boded well for acceptance among Australians, but 1950s regional Australia was an unforgiving place when cultural differences were so visible.

Growing up in the town of Bowral, Vid first had to contend with the flies, and then he had to face the bullies who liked to beat up the foreign boy with the funny accent until blood dripped down his shirt.

For a kid who had never set foot in Latvia, Vid found he was defined by a country he hadn't ever seen and punished for his connection to a language he no longer spoke.

Decades later, a trip to his parents' homeland would see Vid finally start to unite his separate identities and wrestle with what it means to belong to two cultures.

This is a personal and thoughtful memoir at a time when Australia is increasing divided along racial lines. Vid's reflections are a challenging and timely perspective on what it really means to call Australia home.