El Salvador is a small Central American nation that has suffered from a multitude of hardships over many decades, include civil wars, a brutal military dictatorship, crippling poverty and violent crime. This has led to a large exodus of the population escaping, through both legal and illegal channels, to countries like the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia. In fact Australia is home to the third-largest population of Salvadoreans outside the country itself.

Roque came with his family to settle in northern Tasmania in the early 90s as a result of the civil war that lasted from 1981 to 1992. Australia accepted some 10,000 Salvadoreans during this time as a part of its Humanitarian Resettlement program, and Tasmania received several hundred of those.

Roque chose Australia over USA or other countries because he wanted to be as far away from El Salvador and its problems as he could, but with no English when he came, settling in near the small city of Devonport was quite a challenge at the beginning.

However, as Roque says, he met some angels in Tasmania, almost by chance, who helped him with work and even build a house, and ultimately let him put down roots in Latrobe.