Om Dhungel

Thank you, Professor Glenn, for the warm introduction. Wow. Life is beautiful. Twenty-six years ago, I left my home country, Bhutan, leaving behind my wife [name], and our three-year-old daughter, Sriti, never knowing I would ever see them again. Here I am today, a proud father-in-law, having recently married off our little girl to the most gentle and loving son-in-law. I’m very pleased that both my wife and my daughter, who is now an interior architect, could join me here today. Thank you, Australia. 

I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. Pro Chancellor; Deputy Vice Chancellor; Pro Vice Chancellor; Director, Dean of the UTS Business School, Faculty of Engineering and IT, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; members of the university’s Council and Academic Board; staff, family, friends; and most importantly, the 180 stars who are graduating today. I’m truly honoured to have this opportunity to share some of my life experiences in this centre of excellence, which has not only given me a new life with an MBA degree, but has been my home away from home while I studied and lived here. Teachers borrowed books for me from the library, because I couldn’t afford to buy. I was allowed to pay my tuition fees in instalments, and considering my extreme hardship, I even received a 5000-dollar scholarship in my final semester. How good is that? Thank you UTS. 

First to flee my country and my near and dear ones, life as a refugee wasn’t easy, to say the least, but it has taught me significant life lessons that have greatly broadened my horizon, helped me go beyond myself and reach out to the world. Firstly, I’ve learned that life isn’t always fair, but it’s still beautiful if we make it so. When one-seventh of the country’s population was evicted from Bhutan, and we became refugees in Nepal, we had two choices. The most obvious was to react with anger, hatred and revenge. We quickly found that this approach was like carrying burning charcoal in your hand with a view to throw it to your enemy – it burns you before it can hurt anybody else. The other option was to acknowledge the situation and respond with a view to create a future that you really want. 

While meeting our basic needs such as food and shelter was paramount, we also took into account the future and a long-term view. One of the first things that the community did, besides looking for food and shelter, was to start schools in the camps to be sure that we didn’t wind up with a generation of illiterate children. Since we had no infrastructure, we first started running classes under trees. Whichever class could run the fastest got the biggest tree and the biggest shed. Secondly, it was important for us to focus on what we had and build on our strength, rather than worrying about what we didn’t have. 

We found that thinking in terms of needs, problems and deficiencies positions people as passive, powerless and dependent on outside help. On the other hand, we can start on the premise that people are resourceful and gifted and will be more likely to draw on their local skills to address issues and solve problems from within, while at the same time collaboratively working with external providers, if any. Now resettled in eight different countries, after 17-20 years life in the refugee camps, the Bhutanese refugee settlements, including in Australia, is considered one of the most successful settlement, mainly due to those schools under trees early on, and having adopted a strength-based approach to resettlement process. 

One of the important, very important, learning that I want to share is that every individual has inherent strengths and assets. Over my extended time volunteering in the community, including six years in the refugee camps in Nepal, I’ve observed that every individual, whatever the situation may be, is endowed with inherent strengths and assets. As a community and as a society, we need to help create an environment where everyone can be engaged and contribute by utilising these assets. I have experienced this firsthand, over and over again, and I urge you not to underestimate the power of dreaming, as well as the power of helping to notice someone else’s dream. When I was living the life of a refugee in Nepal, I had the fortune of meeting a young boy who has inspired me to do what I do today, and that’s really changed my life. Also a refugee from Bhutan, this young boy had just finished year 12, and wanted help to be a medical doctor so that he could serve his fellow countrymen suffering in the refugee camps and beyond. As refugees, we didn’t have any financial or other resources to help, but with these excellent results in our hands, I, along with some colleagues, set out to assist this ambitious young boy achieve his dream. 

After over six months of doorknocking and navigating the corridors of power in the Nepalese Government, we were finally able to admit him to a medical school in Kathmandu, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Two decades later, this inspiring man, along with his wife and two young sons, visited us here in Sydney earlier this year. With due permission, his name is Dr Prakash [inaudible]. He’s now an emergency physician in the United Kingdom. In his quest to empower the less fortunate, Dr [name] has already expanded his wings internationally, having developed remote emergency and primary care services in Nepal. Dr Prakash [name] and other similar stories inspire me every day to look for gems, help polish them and let them shine. 

This takes me to the final point that I want to talk about today – the importance of inter-dependence, since all that I’ve achieved so far is the result of collaboration and working together. As the Pro Chancellor said earlier, today’s graduation is a major milestone in your lives, but you may also realise that it is a milestone shared by your parents, your siblings and friends, as well as teachers and staff who contributed to your achievements. While we strive to be independent, which is very important, but we need to recognise that life is very much inter-dependent and move from a paradigm of ‘I’ to a paradigm of ‘we’. In my experience, UTS gives you a more professional degree, embedded with social conscience, and that’s what’s most needed in today’s environment. Always remember that what you have learned is important; what you’re going to do with it is all the more important. Life is truly beautiful. As you graduate today, go out and explore the world while always keeping in mind the legacy that you want to leave and the world that you want for generations to come. Thank you all for your attention. Thank you.