Celebrating the ethnic business owner

• Marguerite McKinnon
• 2 April 2009

Few give it a second thought, but the stories behind how many migrants arrived, established themselves and prospered are compelling, and those efforts are recognised every year with the Ethnic Business Awards.

In 2008, the ceremony was televised on SBS and international networks with an estimated 60 million viewers in more than 50 countries.

This year there were three winners, all with against-the-odds life stories. Luke Nguyen was one winner for his restaurant Red Lantern in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

Luke’s family escaped as boat people from Vietnam in 1978 and landed on the shores of Thailand where Luke was born. Luke’s parents owned a restaurant, infusing it with a desire to master the preparation and presentation of fine food. Today, Luke is a celebrated chef, author and restaurateur with a string of awards, including Best Sydney Restaurant two years running.

Philippo Casella of Casella Wines is another winner. The Casella family has been making wines since 1820. Philippo and his wife Maria emigrated to Australia in the 1950s, bought a Riverina farm in Yenda, NSNSW, and opened a winery in 1969. Today, the [yellow tail ] brand of wines is an outstanding success. Casella Wines is now the number one exporter of wine to the US and Italy. It is the most imported wine in Sicily, Philippo’s birthplace.

John Du from the educational consultancy company Hima Group was the third winner. When John arrived in Australia as a Chinese university student, he couldn’t speak English, knew no-one, had no money and had nowhere to stay. He overcame the language barrier, completed his degree and embarked on a successful business career. He is now the founder of a global migration and education consultancy group with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and six cities in China.

All winners have a story, as does Joseph Assaf, the founder of the Ethnic Business Awards.

Joseph left Beirut to start a new life in Australia 40 years ago. The young Lebanese didn’t even tell his parents he was going to Australia. When he arrived at the airport , he discovered he needed a new pair of clean shoes to pass Australian Customs and Quarantine. He bought new shoes and returned to the airport, but was still refused because they were dusty. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took up the story at the Awards night:

“In the great spirit of Australia and probably us being the convict colony, [a nameless Austraian Customs official] resorted to sub-forms of felony instead to help the young Joseph out. He procured another pair of shoes. I didn’t say ‘nicked’, he ‘procured’. ‘Obtained’ is the neutral word. And having done so, provided the young Joseph with a new pair of shoes. Twice the size of his normal shoes. Then he was allowed to board the aircraft and begin his new life in Australia.”

Joseph’s story will be told in the book In Someone Else’s Shoes.

“Multiculturalism is not a passing fancy,” he says. “It is not a hobby. It is not a government policy. It is not a nice thing to do, or a marketing opportunity.

“Equally, diversity is not a choice, it is not an option. It is not a public relations exercise or an employee relations program. In Australia diversity is a fact of life and multiculturalism is a way of life. May it ever be so.”