During the visit, students learned about the journey of more than 270,000 Vietnamese refugees who stayed on Galang Island between 1979 and 1996 while waiting to be relocated to countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States. Through artefacts, identification cards, photographs, and historical documents, students discovered how the Indonesian government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) worked together to support refugees during this period.

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​Walking through the abandoned buildings and former facilities allowed students to imagine the lives, hopes, and challenges experienced by the refugees. The experience encouraged students to reflect on resilience, empathy, and the importance of understanding different human experiences and perspectives.

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This field trip deepened students’ understanding of their inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme Where We Are in Place and Time, with the central idea:
“Human migration is a response to challenges, risks, and opportunities.”

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​By engaging directly with historical evidence and stories from the past, students developed a greater appreciation of how migration shapes communities, identities, and global connections.