ON the global stage, many people might not have heard of Nhill. But the town is leading the world in one of the globe's most serious issues refugee settlement.
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The United Nations refugee agency estimates that at the start of 2013 there were 10.4 million refugees world-wide.
The feeling at the Nhill Memorial Community Centre on Wednesday, where more than 200 people celebrated the naturalisation of 37 new Australians, was incredible.
To see whole families who had escaped long-running persecution and suffering, living happy and safe lives in the welcoming community of Nhill was a joy.
When the Australian-Karen choir sung a verse of I Am Australian in Karen, the musical illustration of integration was not lost on anyone in the room.
But symbolism aside, the Karen settlement has had wide-ranging practical implications for Nhill.
Declining population has been arrested, industry has been saved and strengthened and the town has been culturally enriched.
It is clear that the Karen refugees, once victims of unthinkable persecution, are happy and safe in their adopted community.
A couple recently became the first Karen people to buy a house in Nhill, five promising footballers are plying their trade at the Nhill and District Sporting Club and many Karen people go to work every day across many industries.
It is a blueprint that many regional towns and cities could adopt for long-term survival and growth.
Much praise must go to John and Marg Millington, the people of Nhill, Hindmarsh Shire Council and the Karen community for creating this unique and remarkable story.
