Anh Do came to Australia as a refugee when he was 3 years old. His family fled Vietnam after the Vietnam War ended because they were on the losing side of the war and life in Vietnam had become very difficult. They escaped on a small, overcrowded fishing boat packed with 40 to 47 Vietnamese refugees, surviving pirate attacks, engine failures, dehydration, and hardship at sea. Eventually they were rescued by a German cargo ship and then spent time in a Malaysian refugee camp before finally settling in Australia. Anh Do and his family sought refuge in Australia to find safety and a better life away from the persecution and hardship they faced in Vietnam.