The Exiles
Armed with only their grandmother’s maiden name, Singaporean siblings Samson Zee and Lela Zainal had always wondered about her mysterious family she’d left behind in Australia nearly 75 years ago. When they started to search for answers in earnest, they discovered that their grandfather, Jacob Abdullah, was a mariner who had served the Australian navy during World War II - but was deported shortly after under the racist ‘White Australia Policy’. His Australian wife and children followed him to Singapore.
The Exiles - Singaporeans find long-lost family, 75 years after ‘White Australia’ policy tore them apart
Armed with only their grandmother’s maiden name, Singaporean siblings Samson Zee and Lela Zainal had always wondered about her mysterious family she’d left behind in Australia nearly 75 years ago. When they started to search for answers in earnest, they discovered that their grandfather, Jacob Abdullah, was a mariner who had served the Australian navy during World War II - but was deported shortly after under the racist ‘White Australia Policy’. His Australian wife and children followed him to Singapore.