BY BAG
布政司署
香港下
舉道
本署檔號 OUR REF:
CR 12/4821/79
*來函棍號 YOUR REF:
Chancery COPENHAGEN
1
RESTRICTED
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HKK 24 BONG
KONG
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO.
RESE 1 23 June 1980
INDEX
✓ ра
Au
**
CARBONETO MEN LE
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: RESETTLEMENT FROM DENMARK
Thank you for your telegram no. 8 of 20 June with the encouraging news of Denmark's offer to take about 150 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong under their 1980 global quota. We should be grateful if you would tell the Danish MFA how grateful we are for this help.
2.
We look forward to seeing the Danish expert in September. It would help if you could warn the Danes that selection for smaller programmes is always more effective if the team can come with a reasonably definite departure date. Otherwise refugees once selected tend to lose heart and interest as months pass and they have no idea when they will be leaving. The result in a number of similar cases in the past can be an embarrassingly high number of drop outs. Any gap of greater than 2 to 3 months between selection and departure is likely to give rise to this problem.
3.
We should be grateful if you could also check on progress in arrangements being made for the remaining refugees which arrived here on the Danish-registered 'Simba' on 19 December 1979. Of the 122 refugees on board, 35 have been accepted for resettlement in other countries in which they have very close family relatives. 49 have already gone. to Denmark and for the remaining 38 there is no prospect of resettlement elsewhere. In this case the Danes gave their usual guarantee of resettlement but there appears to have been some misunderstanding (which has not occurred in other cases involving Danish vessels). It is only where refugees have a good reason through the presence of close family relatives to apply elsewhere that their files are submitted to countries other than that of the flag state. This has been done in all cases on the 'Simba' and we hope that the remainder will be able to leave soon for Denmark.
We are particularly grateful for all your help in persuading the Danes to accept the case for taking more refugees from Hong Kong.
4.
(I C Orr)
cc P J Williamson Esq HK&GD FCO
TCS Stitt Esq SEAD FCO
i DR Snoxell Esq UKMIS GENEVA
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