-3-
We were moved to Helingchau camp after staying in Thanh-Chau camp 7 days. The life here in this camp was not better than the old camp. Roofs af houses were covered by corrugated steel sheets with the feelings like the half of the milk-empty tin. Beds, nets blankets were not available, you had to sleep on a piece of cloth or linen sheets. Going out of the camp was prohibited. It was really a prison-camp.
Fighting and killing each other for existence:
There were about 10 camps for refugees escaped from Vietnam to keep Vietnamese refugees. There were some camps called "free camps" for Vietnamese refugees escaped from 1980 to before 16-6-88 ( on 16/6/88, the Hongkong Authority declared officially about their attitude toward Vietnamese escapees to Honghong that there were two ways for Vietnamese escapees to choose either to be put into prison or to repatriate to Vietnam). So all Vietnamese escapees after 16-6-88 were put into prison.
The "free camp" seemed to be more free. From 6.a.m to 10.p.m. refugees were permited to be out of the camp. Few refugees who had money or gold might find odd job such as road-sweepers, cleaners of drainage systems...But only quite few of them. And after 16/6/88, such "free camp" gradually became prison camps.. Mr, Nguyen Dinh Tu, born 1924, residing at Xam Bo village, An Hai district (Hai-Phong), who left Vietnam on 4/6/88, arrived Hongkong on 13/6/88 gave some more details about living conditions of those camps: Thanh Chau camp is (was) the first prison camp escapees must pass through (as the reception camp for interrogation purpose), after that refugess would be passed to other camps such as Akai 4, Sai Kung, Holingchau... for example there were 3000 peoples living in the Helingchau camp in the jostling and chaotic conditions. There was steel nets surrounding the camp end bc guarded all the day and night long. Young peoples in the camps applied "frce law", killing and fighting each others, robbing each other's properties. Hai-phong peoples fighting with Quang Ninh people. Near the last snake Tet, after the fighting, there were 7 seriously wounded, blood belching from victim's breasts which made policemen to interfere..
Or on 9/88, a seventeen years old girl from Quang Ninh was raped by some men in the camp. Hongkong police forced all men in the camp to queue in line for the girl to identify. It was quite ashame and repulsivo.
.../4.