TNAG-0971-FCO40-1190-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-the-UK-1980 — Page 198

E.R.

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the Conference at Geneva last July to co-ordinate the response of the

was in response to this

ships "Sibonga" and "Roachbank".

international community./that the Government took the major decision to accept

an additional 10,000 refugees to be taken from Hong Kong over a period to

be agreed with the Governor of the colony. This decision to accept a further 10,000 refugees. These refugees were, of course, to be in addition to the large numbers

over a thousand rescued a few weeks earlier by the British

These decisions called for immediate

practical action by the Government and the voluntary refugee agencies. To

accommodate the "Sibonga" and "Roachbank" refugees the Government arranged

for the opening of the former RAF station at Sopley and the use of the Home

Office property at Morton Hall. The voluntary agencies for their part also

responded immediately by agreeing to staff and run these reception centres,

with their costs being met from Government funds.

In

I pay full tribute to the part played by BCAR in this developing situation. Successive Governments have been accustomed to look to BOAR not only for

help in looking after the refugees themselves but also for assistance in

co-ordinating the approach of the voluntary agencies to refugee situations

generally. On BCAR therefore fell the initial burden of carrying these two

roles during the early stages of the Vietnamese refugee programme.

addition to its co-ordinating task, ECAR began to specialise in operating large

reception centres for the boat people'. It opened the first of the large

reception centres at Kensington Barracks. It later took responsibility for

other large centres at Sopley and Thorney Island. As the numbers grew, Save the

Children Fund and the Ockenden Venture also became involved in the reception

and resettlement arrangements. BCAR, under the leadership of Kenneth Lee, took

the initiative in setting up an ad hoc committee to co-ordinate these arrangements.

In this way, foundations were laid on which, later in the summer,

it was

possible for the Home Office, with the agreement of the voluntary agencies, to

build an even stronger structure for co-ordinating the expanded Vietnamese

programme. This was provided in the shape of the Joint Committee for Refugees from Vietnam and its associated Advisory Council. I was very glad indeed that

Sir Arthur Peterson was able to accept the Home Secretary's invitation to become Chairman of the Committee. We were also very pleased to be able to make available Home Office staff to service the Joint Committee and to provide

the necessary practical facilities to enable it to function. In this new

machinery, the voluntary agencies can each preserve their own identity and

personality but at the same time contribute to and benefit from a common

fund of experience.

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