t
The
the group was provided with empty bags on 11 December and told to pack. At 3am on 12 December, a large number of police with steel helmets, truncheons and shields arrived, although nobody was hit. The group was told to be ready in ten minutes. They went to the airport in police lorries. At that time they asked to meet UNHCR and Vietnamese officials at the airport. But nobody was there. On the aircraft steps they asked about their futures in Vietnam. head of the household said that British and Hong Kong officials explained that their lives would be much better there. He also said that a British member of the Hong Kong authorities told them that each adult would receive US$50 and each child US$30. In the event they received, respectively, only US$30 and US$15 on arrival in Hanoi. There was no explanation of who was entitled to each amount. They were never invited to return to Vietnam as volunteers.
10. On arrival at Hanoi Airport, they were received by Vietnamese officials responsible for their resettlement. The head of household said that although they received no specific assurances of good treatment, they were told there would be no persecution. But they knew they had left Vietnam illegally and were aware that the Vietnamese authorities were being lenient. Since then, he said, the Vietnamese Government and local authorities had shown great pity and there had been no criticism from neighbours, who had shown great understanding. At the moment the group are awaiting their registration papers and hope to receive money in the coming months. But there has been nothing so far and no information. On arrival in Hong Kong, the police had taken their boat and they did not know what had become of it, although they believed it was now destroyed. As a result they have returned to Vietnam with nothing and are living temporarily and rent-free with a friend until other accommodation becomes available. The most urgent long term requirement is for a new boat to provide both a home and a means of working. This would cost US$7000-8000 and, if a partial loan were available, the head of household believes it could be repaid over a number of years.
terview 2
This group comprised two related families totalling ten people and six other relatives. Poverty and poor economic prospects persuaded them to leave Vietnam. They had not been badly treated by the Vietnamese authorities and they had had no fear of them. The group left Vietnam in the head of household's boat on 11 June 1988 In addition to the immediate and arrived in Hong Kong on 20 June. family, the boat carried 29 other relatives, none of whom paid for their passages. On arrival in Hong Kong the police intercepted them, took away their boat and took them to Hang Chau for two days. Following this they went to He Ling Chau until 17 August 1988 and then to Chi Ma Wa. The head of household recollected there were about 4,000 people in He Ling Chau and, at the beginning, 900 in Chi Ma Wa, although this later rose to 1400. good and the children attended school there. became a hairdresser in the camp, earning HK$100 per month, but on
4
Life in Chi Ma Wa was The head of household