Up-Date
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Argyle 4
July 9, 198
At present there are 2,657 refugees living in Argyle 4. Since Argyle-4 became an Intensive English Language Centre for these refugees going to the USA, the population of the camp varies. We can accommodate 4,500 but our population depends on how many refugees meet the criteria for resettlement in USA. It is very difficult for us to be able to estimate when the oper- ation here will cease. In Hong Kong at present there are 16,627 refugees. This includes approximately 3,000 from mainland China, who will be repatriated to China. A great deal will depend on the number of new arrivals during July- August. If there is a large influx then Argyle 4 could well be closed by December, but at the moment this is all speculation. The UNHCR here are very reluctant to make any decisions concerning the closure of the camps. In the meantime we continue to serve the Vietnamese refugees by providing an education programme for the children between 6-16 years of age. At the moment we have 12 classes with approx. 30-35 students who attend for 2 hours five days a week. The task of teaching these children is very difficult, because the majority of them have never gone to school.
Current refugee population in Hong Kong :
Argyle 3
Argyle 4
Kai Tak East
Kai Tak North
Jubilee Reception
Centre
1,431
2,656
3,521
4,873
4,073 (includes 3,000 China cases)
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