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incapable of resettlement and who, with every wasted year spent in closed camps, will become increasingly frustrated and desperate. It is surprising that the Government, and the UNHCR have not responded more quickly and energetically to this frightening fact. Only recently have we learned that the Government and the UNHCR are considering ways of improving education for children in the closed camps; suggestions made
our Legislative Council some months ago by the Legce Ad Hoc group that job opportunities should be brought into the closed camps have not even been replied to. There is nothing more calculated to aggravate listlessness, frustration and despair than enforced To idleness: is it any wonder that there is violence and
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irritability in the camps when there is nothing to do; or that children do not have respect for parental authority when the parents have no work? Jobs paid for at something near the market rate, combined with vocational training, would produce candidates for resettlement with more self respect, greater skills, and a greater capacity for adapting to industrial life; and money earned from it could also be put partly towards the cost of running the camps.
Sir, I understand from the Administration that the responsibility for work and education for refugees lies principally with the UNHCR. The UNHCR has condemned the closed camp policy and has called for an end to be put to it. We should all like to see it put to an end, Sir, but this can only happen when we have a lasting solution that will guarantee that our refugee population will not increase. In the absence of such a solution the British government is duty bound to fulfil its moral obligation to Hong Kong by setting an example in arranging overseas resettlement of our refugees. Meanwhile the only temporary solutions are closed camps and speedier resettlement. The UNHCR has a role to play in ensuring that the time refugees have to spend in closed camps is as short as
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