INTRODUCTION
The thirteen years since the end of the civil war in Vietnam have been marked by a steady flow of people seeking refuge from persecution by the communist regime. Many spent years in re-education camps, and were denied the right to work or to have their children educated.
Geographic location and a humanitarian government combined to make Hong Kong a target for Vietnamese seeking a life which guaranteed them basic rights. Under the 1979 Geneva convention, Hong Kong agreed to provide refugees with a place of first asylum, while third countries would provide places of final settlement. The Hong Kong government has never refused asylum to any refugee arriving from Vietnam.
But the overcrowded British colony, already besieged by illegal immigrants from neighbouring China, has had difficulty coping with the constant influx. As refugees from North Vietnam increased in the early '80s, traditional rivalries with South Vietnamese were renewed, and fighting broke out on the streets of Hong Kong.
In order to contain the problem, and in an effort to curtail the flow of Vietnamese arriving in the colony, the government introduced a closed camp policy in July 1982. Any refugee arriving since that time has been confined to one of four carefully guarded camps.
As arrivals in Hong Kong continue to outnumber departures to third countries, the camps become more crowded, waiting time grows longer, and frustration among the refugee community rises.
The situation now appears to be nearing crisis point.
This report brings together facts, figures, and the views of government agencies, voluntary and aid workers, and the refugees themselves. It seeks to give a balanced and informative overview of the position of the men, women and children in closed camps in Hong Kong