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Despite a declining rate of departures from Vietnam, the refugee population in Hong Kong has increased since April 1982; those living in the various kinds of transit centre now number about 11,000. Half are accommodated in the "closed" centres which were opened in July 1982 for new arrivals. The aim of this policy is to discourage Vietnamese from leaving Vietnam for Hong Kong. Refugees living in such camps are barred from seeking outside employment. Because of the declining rate of resettlement from Hong Kong, refugees are having to remain in camps for increasingly long periods.
The resettlement rate 17,800 in 1981 had fallen by 1984 to 3,700, partly due to the rising proportion of Northerners in the camps. (currently about 50 per cent). Refugees from North Vietnam are less likely to have family ties overseas than those from the South and tend to be less skilled. In addition, some host countries are reluctant to accept Northerners who have spent up to 30 years in a Communist society as genuine refugees entitled to permanent resettlement.
P
Recognising the problems of enforced confinement in the closed camps, the Hong Kong Government has embarked on a vocational training programme for the Vietnamese; a special training centre is due to open in mid-1985. As well as being responsible for running the open camps, in cooperation with voluntary agencies, the UNHCR helps to finance the closed camps, despite its view that the policy of trying to deter refugees from coming in the first place is "at variance with the principles of international protection".
Britain's
concern
In late 1984 and early 1985, the Sub-Committee (of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee) on Race Relations and Immigration conducted an enquiry into the question of Refugees and Asylum with Special Reference to the Vietnamese. In its written evidence to the Sub-Committee, the British Government endorsed the UNHCR view that the third "durable solution" resettlement in Western countries like Britain - was the least acceptable long-term solution. But it reaffirmed Britain's continuing international commitment to resettle ship rescue cases and refugees eligible to join relatives already in Britain. The Government had decided in 1978 that refugees rescued by ships registered in Britain would normally be accepted for resettlement if no other country had agreed to take them within 90 days of the rescue. In July 1984, Britain agreed to join the UNHCR Rescue at Sea Resettlement Offers (RASRO) scheme for a trial period. The aim is to encourage ship rescues of boat people and to spread refugees evenly between resettlement countries. When the scheme began on 1 May 1985, 14 Western countries had pledged more than 2,500 places, including a quota of 150 provided by Britain. Under family reunion provisions, Britain applies the same criteria to Vietnamese as to other refugees; only the spouse and minor children of a Vietnamese refugee already in Britain can be admitted, except in exceptional cases. Referring to the special problem of refugees in Hong Kong, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Memorandum of evidence to the Sub-Committee said that Britain was working with the UNHCR and with other countries to find practical solutions as soon as possible.