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ONG KONG 120345Z SEP 79 (CORRECTED COPY)
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TELEGRAM NUMBER 1275 OF 12 SEPTEMBER. INFO HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, UKMIS GENEVA,
UKMIS NEW YORK, WASHINGTON.
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UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 21: POSSIBLE USE OF UN VOLUNTEERS IN REFUGEE CAMPS.
1. MS. MARY KING, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ACTION (THE ORGANISATION BRINGING TOGETHER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENTAL GROUPS WHICH GIVE
SUPPORT TO VOLUNTARY ACTIVITIES, AND ALSO THE PEACE CORPS) CALLED ON POLITICAL ADVISER'S OFFICE ON 6 SEPTEMBER TO DISCUSS
THIS. HIKMAT NABULSI CALLED ON 10 SEPTEMBER AND COVERED
SIMILAR GROUND.
2. MS KING SAID, UNPROMPTED, THAT PUTTING VOLUNTEERS INTO CAMPS SHOULD IN NO WAY BE A STEP TOWARDS ACCEPTING SUCH CAMPS AS A LONG-TERM FACT OF LIFE, RATHER THAN A FIRST ASYLUM EXPEDIENT. WE WELCOMED THIS, AND SAID THAT WHILE IN PRINCIPLE APPROPRIATE VOLUNTARY HELP MIGHT BE USEFUL HERE, HONG KONG'S NEEDS WERE MORE SPECIALISED THAN THOSE OF OTHER FIRST ASYLUM COUNTRIES. FOR ALL THE DIFFICULTIES IT BROUGHT US, HONG KONG'S DENSITY AND COMPACTNESS MEANTH THAT THE REFUGEES, WHETHER WORKING OR NOT, LED A MORE NORMAL LIFE THAN THEY WOULD IN CAMPS ELSEWHERE, AND HONG KONG'S URBAN POPULATION ALREADY GAVE US A POOL OF VOLUNTARY
EXPERTISE TO DRAW ON. ANY OUTSIDE VOLUNTEERS HERE WOULD NOT, THEREFORE, BE RELIEF WORKERS, BUT COULD BEST HELP BY GIVING REFUGEES AN 'ORIENTATION'' (MS KING'S OWN WORD) TOWARDS THEIR LIFE
AND PROSPECTS IN A COUNTRY OF RESETTLEMENT. OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL, THEREFORE, ANY VOLUNTEERS FOR HONG KONG MIGHT BEST BE EUROPEAN RATHER THAN NORTH AMERICAN, SINCE IT WAS THE SMALLER RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES WHICH WERE ALMOST TOTALLY UNKNOWN TO REFUGEES. THE ESSENTIAL NEED, HOWEVER, WOULD BE FOR VOLUNTEERS TO
BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE PROPERLY WITH THE REFUGEES, EITHER IN CANTONESE OR VIETNAMESE. NUMBERS WOULD NECESSARILY BE LIMITED.
MS KING SAID THAT IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO REASSIGN VOLUNTEERS WITH
APPROPRIATE EXPERIENCE AND LANGUAGE FOR A SPECIALISED JOB OF THIS
NATURE.
:
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