always to insist and to repeat to authority that despite what they
feel initially they give a much better chance to people to live and to benefit one of these three solutions I have mentioned if they can
this refugee can do a little bit of work and be to some degree self-
supporting.
QUESTION:
Sorry, I didn't mention my name before.
Lindy Shaw from RTHK. You talked about it being important the refugees should not lose their dignity. Do you see that this is happening in
the camps in Hong Kong, the closed camps in Hong Kong?
MR HOCKE:
As a matter of policy adopted by the
authority in Hong Kong, certainly not. Yet, as I said, all this has definitely to be viewed against the length of time someone has to stay be it in a closed camp, be it in an open camp, and to be viewed precisely against the possibility to be trained to work, to earn a little bit of money which, from what I have seen this morning and what I am told, happens in quite a few instances. But the danger is always here and this is the reason why we have not only to have dialogue but to be very frank and straight forward in pointing towards difficulty. I confirmed UNHCR position before when it comes to the closed camp policy. One can also view it from another angle which is to say that if people have to stay for years in a closed camp precisely they become the kind of, or they are in danger of becoming the kind of total destitute which will find it or make it difficult for these 26 people easily to reintegrate in normal environment, be it through
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local integration or be it through resettlement and here it is up to each authority and government precisely to find out the point beyond which any policy, be it closed camp or open camp, would lead into additional difficulty and not increasing the chances for these people
to find a proper solution.
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