THE FATES OF BOAT-PEOPLES
ESCAPED TO HONGKONG
People's Army on 20-3-89
Those people who escaped to Hongkong by sea, which the West called " the boat-people", by many different reasons : by compulsion, by seduction or by going out to find the bait of eminence or a richer life they hoped. But the truth was quite
truculent. All dreams about a luxurious lives were broken into
pieces bybitterness, shame and despair happening on the way or
in the refugee-camps in Hongkong.
Correspondents of Feople's Army Newspaper have met and interviewed some of the miserable repatriates. Followings are
few lines about the truth of their fates...
Died right on the out-going way:
Tran Quang Tang, torn 6-8-61, residing at 66D Thinh Quang subquarter, Dong Da district (Hanoi), who escaped from Doson beach on 3-6-88 and who has quite thin face, told us with hesi- tation: I escaped from the country with two reasons: hope to have a better and richer life, secondly as I committed crime and was under police's track down. I, my wife and my 8 years-old daughte went to Hai-Phong to find out way to escape.
Dong Van Nguyen is my acquaintance, a businessman on Hanoi-Hai duong- Hai Phong road. He discussed with me how to borrow gold for business and in finding out contacts to escape to Hongkong. I borrowed from my brother one tael of gold and I had to contribute myself 9/10 tael to Mr. An from Hai Phong, thus together with Nguyen and 27 others to go to Cai Hai from Ɖo son, from Cat Hai, we changed into to bigger sailled boat. From then, we have been drifting about in the sea with fear clinged closedly to us the fear to meet border guards, pirates, storm, sinking, and the future?...Then the fear became the truth when passing through the Hainan straight, we met a foreign fishing boat, we paid them some gold and they promised to pull our boat to Hongkong. But 30 minutes after, due to big wind and waves, the string connecting our boat to theirs was broken, our boat sank, and that vile fishing boat ran away and left behind it all people swiming desparately in the sea. Being quite wretched and
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