The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Charge de Mission in Hong Kong, Fazlul Karim, has dismissed the idea that the closed camp policy has been responsible for the fall in arrivals. He said many factors determined the departure of refugees, ranging from political to economic
(SCMP March 4 1986).
Mr Woodhouse accepted a suggestion that if the rate of resettlement from closed camps was dramatically stepped up, more people would leave Vietnam, because it would be worth spending a year or two in a closed centre in order to be resettled overseas.
When Britain agreed last year to take another 500 refugees, the Hong Kong government asked that they be taken in small batches. It did not want a message to get back to Vietnam that resettlement was being speeded up.
Clearly, lack of resettlement prospects is the most effective deterrent.
The only possible evidence that the closed camp policy is acting as a successful deterrent lies in the number of refugees who arrive in Hong Kong waters but decide not to come ashore. In 1985, 52 vessels carrying refugees arrived and 27 of them decided to accept supplies and sail on. So far this year, 15 have arrived of which two decided to sail
on.
However, there are two points to consider here. Firstly, when a refugee arrives in Hong Kong waters he or she is handed a notice which states:
"All former residents of Vietnam seeking to enter
Hong Kong since 2 July 1982 are detained in special centres.
If you do not leave Hong Kong now, you will be taken to a closed centre and detained there indefinitely. You will not be permitted to leave detention during the time you remain in Hong Kong. It is extremely unlikely that any opportunity for resettlement will be forthcoming.
You are free to leave Hong Kong now, and if you choose to continue your journey you will be given assistance to do so."
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