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employed?).
5.
CONFIDENTIAL
A
where they
are
defarved of their
liberty
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...
Initially the rate of resettlement in Western countries in
response to the crisis was high; average stays in Hong Kong were
months. In 1982, however, when resettlement levels fell sharply,
Hong Kong's refugee population rose accordingly (see table ...).
The Hong Kong Government introduced the closed centre policy in July
of that year. Since that date, under a further special provision of
the Hong Kong Immigration Ordinance, all newly arriving refugees
have been placed in closed centres
and are not permitted to seek
outside employment. The aim of this policy is to deter would-be
refugees from setting out from Vietnam, The Hong Kong Government
have attempted to ensure that news of the policy reaches those still
in Vietnam by enclosing a warning notice with letters sent by closed
centre inhabitants to their relatives in Vietnam. The centres are
run by the Correctional Services Department, who are also
responsible for running Hong Kong's prisons and other correctional
institutions. The UNHCR pay one third of the cost (HK$ 20 million
out of a total of HK$ 60 million in 1984).
CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLOSED CENTRE POLICY
6. Effect on arrivals figures
The policy has been partially successful in that it appears to have
helped to reduce the number of refugee arrivals: 1983 arrivals were
50% down on 1982, 1984 were 39% down on 1983, (compared with
reductions of
.% in 1983, and 17% in 1984 in the South East Asian
region as a whole). However against this success must be offset the
following negative points:
(a)
Social/psychological consequences
Average length of stay in the camps is now 17 months; longest
stayers have been there 2 years. There is already considerable
concern that the isolation and confinement are making refugees more
difficult to
to settle elsewhere and prone to violence. There have
been sporadic outbreaks of violence and a 3 day hunger strike. Such
manifestations seem certain to increase and worsen unless prospects
for resettlement improve markedly.
(b)
Public criticism
CONFIDENTIAL