E.R.
E
the Conference at Geneva last July to co-ordinate the response of the
was in response to this
ships "Sibonga" and "Roachbank".
international community./that the Government took the major decision to accept
an additional 10,000 refugees to be taken from Hong Kong over a period to
be agreed with the Governor of the colony. This decision to accept a further 10,000 refugees. These refugees were, of course, to be in addition to the large numbers
over a thousand rescued a few weeks earlier by the British
These decisions called for immediate
practical action by the Government and the voluntary refugee agencies. To
accommodate the "Sibonga" and "Roachbank" refugees the Government arranged
for the opening of the former RAF station at Sopley and the use of the Home
Office property at Morton Hall. The voluntary agencies for their part also
responded immediately by agreeing to staff and run these reception centres,
with their costs being met from Government funds.
In
I pay full tribute to the part played by BCAR in this developing situation. Successive Governments have been accustomed to look to BOAR not only for
help in looking after the refugees themselves but also for assistance in
co-ordinating the approach of the voluntary agencies to refugee situations
generally. On BCAR therefore fell the initial burden of carrying these two
roles during the early stages of the Vietnamese refugee programme.
addition to its co-ordinating task, ECAR began to specialise in operating large
reception centres for the boat people'. It opened the first of the large
reception centres at Kensington Barracks. It later took responsibility for
other large centres at Sopley and Thorney Island. As the numbers grew, Save the
Children Fund and the Ockenden Venture also became involved in the reception
and resettlement arrangements. BCAR, under the leadership of Kenneth Lee, took
the initiative in setting up an ad hoc committee to co-ordinate these arrangements.
In this way, foundations were laid on which, later in the summer,
it was
possible for the Home Office, with the agreement of the voluntary agencies, to
build an even stronger structure for co-ordinating the expanded Vietnamese
programme. This was provided in the shape of the Joint Committee for Refugees from Vietnam and its associated Advisory Council. I was very glad indeed that
Sir Arthur Peterson was able to accept the Home Secretary's invitation to become Chairman of the Committee. We were also very pleased to be able to make available Home Office staff to service the Joint Committee and to provide
the necessary practical facilities to enable it to function. In this new
machinery, the voluntary agencies can each preserve their own identity and
personality but at the same time contribute to and benefit from a common
fund of experience.
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