Home to Biloela

The dramatic inside story of the Tamil refugee family which became a cause célèbre all around Australia, and the epic fight by a small rural community to set them free.

It was dawn in the small rural town of Biloela. Loud thumps on the front door signalled the start of a four-year odyssey that would catapult Priya and her family into the heart of a national debate.

For the first time, Priya shares the story of her childhood in war-torn Sri Lanka and her perilous escape across the Indian Ocean on an overcrowded fishing boat. Alone in a strange country, she had to make a new life without family or friends. She married Nades, another refugee, and settled with him in Biloela, where they had two daughters, Kopica and Tharnicaa.

The shocking dawn raid in 2018 was the first of multiple attempts by the Australian government to deport the family. But the people of Biloela wouldn't have it. A small group swung into action and built an extraordinarily powerful social media campaign that gathered support from hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians around the country.

Journalist Rebekah Holt first met the family in detention, and recounts the dramatic behind-the-scenes efforts to prevent the family from being deported. After a change of government, Priya, Nades and the girls were granted the permanent visas they needed, and were able to return home to Biloela—the happy ending they always wanted.

About the Authors

Priya Nadesalingam was born in Sri Lanka and arrived in Australia as an asylum seeker. She now lives with her husband Nades and daughters Kopika and Tharnicaa in Biloela, Queensland.

Rebekah Holt is a journalist and writer. For five years, she was the only journalist to gain regular access to the country's onshore detention centres. Her reporting has appeared in Crikey, SBS, The Age, The Guardian, Radio NZ and The Saturday Paper.