the department had to be able to clear not 3,500 but perhaps
3,500 35,000 squatters in four months. It might have been possible to set up an organization for clearance and resettlement opera- tions that was distinct from the main part of the department handling policy and administration: but this would have required much duplication of staff and, since the flow of resettle- ment accommodation could not be an even one, would have resulted in the clearance and resettlement organization working under great pressure for short periods followed by spells of relative inactivity. The answer seemed to lie in keeping the whole department so flexible that any officer could play either an operational or an administrative role as the need arose.
61. These were some of the considerations that were thrashed out during the Kwun Yam Hill clearance and in June, 1954, the Mobile Resettlement Unit was formed. This unit operated from temporary offices established in the various squatter areas being cleared. It had and still has a permanent nucleus of only two officers, being brought up to the required strength by the secondment of picked officers from the adminis- trative staff of Resettlement Areas. The principle underlying this arrangement was that officers with experience of administering settlers were those best suited to the delicate task of executing the clearance of squatters.
62. The Mobile Resettlement Unit first went into operation in July, 1954, at Tsun Wan, where it was responsible for resettling the 1,000 victims of the waterfront fire which had taken place in March. In the next eight months the unit carried out 20 more operations. Altogether a total of 18,000 squatters were involved in these orthodox clearance and resettlement operations during the first years of the department's existence. But although the Mobile Resettlement Unit was destined to assume almost entire responsibility for clearance operations before the year was out, the majority of the squatters cleared or resettled during the year passed through others hands. Most of them were those victims of the fires in Shamshuipo who were living in temporary shelters on the streets. The inter- departmental organization which had been set up to handle these
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