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The
U.S. resettlement opportunities are declining for domestic political
reasons but also because the pool of "eligible" cases has gotten smaller.
United States does not resettle refugees from Hong Kong unless they have prior
ties to this country. Presently, fewer and fewer refugees arrive in Hong Kong
who have any U.S. connection, except for one important group. Former inmates
or escapees of re-education camps continue to turn up in Hong Kong. Many of
these refugees suffered the indignities and brutal treatment of these camps
precisely because of their U.S. ties. Therefore, the United States bears a
special responsibility to see that these unfortunate individuals receive
opportunities for resettlement.
Refugees without prior U.S. ties are not "eligible" for U.S. resettlement
because of a State Department administrative decision which excludes those
Southeast Asian refugees in Priority Six (P-6) from U.S. processing. The P-6
category is a U.S. government classification for refugees who do not have U.S.
ties. Such people are perfectly legitimate refugees who, for whatever reason
Currently, some 3,400 of the refugees in
they left Vietnam, cannot return.
Hong Kong fall into that category.
Each country has its own resettlement criteria, none of which makes it
easy for boat refugees to find new homes elsewhere. Canada, unlike the United
States, has an open quota system, but family/group sponsorships play a key
role in determining, and thus limiting, eligibility. In Australia, criteria
for resettlement include a minimum of education and English speaking ability.
Macao's Ka Ho Refugee Camp
On the southern coast of Coloane island in the Portuguese territory of
Macao, about fifty miles from Hong Kong, 679 boat refugees from Vietnam live
in Ka Ho Refugee Camp. Most (90 percent) are ethnic Chinese, and many spent