3
-
Financial Cost to Hong Kong
9.
So far in 1979 the Government has incurred HK$75 million (US$15 m.) in direct expenditure on establishing and running refugee camps, feeding and transporting refugees. The actual cost would be very much higher if a detailed costing were to take account of the diversion of staff and resources from other purposes, the use of valuable land and other hidden costs.
Social Consequences
10.
Approximately 90% of the refugees are in open camps and about 30% of these have found temporary employment in Hong Kong with which to support themselves and their families. This is acceptable at present but a downturn in the economy could easily make refugees the object of considerable resentment if they had jobs at a time when local people were losing theirs. In the meantime the refugees are swelling the numbers using hospitals, public transport, recreational facilities and other services. There have been some instances of friction between refugees and Hong Kong residents mainly as a result of the over-crowded conditions.
Regional Arrivals and Departures
11.
Hong Kong has borne a particularly heavy burden in 1979 since more boat refugees have arrived than anywhere else in the region and the number resettled (up to 31 October) has been only 21% of the combined total of 1979 arrivals and those already here at the end of 1978. The resettlement rate for all other places of first asylum has been more than twice as high, 45% over the same period. As a result of the extremely slow rate of resettlement, roughly 30,000 (52%) of the refugees now in Hong Kong have already spent more than 6 months here.
Regional arrivals and resettlement of boat refugees (UNHCR figures)
Refugee population
at end 1978
+ arrivals
As % of
As %
Refugee
As %
Resettlement
of
Jan-Oct 1979
total Jan-Oct 1979
total
population of 31 Oct
total
Hong Kong
79,121
29.6
16,491
16.1
62,630
37.8
Malaysia
101,888
38.0
59,207
57.9
42,681
25.8
Indonesia
50,396
18.8
9,681
9.5
40,715
24.6
Thailand
14,205
5.3
7,180
7.0
7,025
4.2
Philippines
9.765
3.6
3.506
3.4
6,259
3.8
Singapore
6,054
2.3
4,550
4.4
1,504
0.9
Others
6,476
2.4
1,658
1.6
4,818
2.9
Total
267,905
100%
102,273
100%
165,632
100%
NB The UNHCR's procedures for compiling statistics give numbers in the
above table which differ slightly (but not significantly) from those recorded by the Hong Kong Government. These figures do not take into account the large number of land refugees (from Laos and Cambodia) in Thailand.