3-
Social Consequences
9.
Approximately 90% of the refugees are in open camps and about 60% of the adults have found temporary employment in Hong Kong with which to support themselves and their families. This is acceptable at present but a downturn in the economy would easily make refugees the object of considerable resentment if they had jobs at a time when local people were losing their's. In the meantime, refugees swell the numbers using hospitals, public transport, recreational facilities and other services. There have been some instances of friction between refugees and Hong Kong residents mainly as a result of over-crowded conditions.
Regional Arrivals and Departures
10.
Hong Kong bore a particularly heavy burden in 1979 since more boat refugees (70,000) arrived than anywhere else in the region and the number resettled was only 32% of the combined total of 1979 arrivals and those here at the end of 1978. The resettlement rate for all other places of first asylum has been almost twice as high 56% over the same period. The extremely slow rate of resettlement means that 44,000 of the refugees in Hong Kong have already spent more than 6 months here.
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Regional arrivals and resettlement of boat refugees in 1979
UNHCR figures)
A
Refugee
population
B
at end 1978
As %
C
Refugee
As o
+ arrivals
of
Resettlement
As%
population
of
1979
total
1979
of A
1 Jan 1980
total
Hong Kong
76,600
28.5
24,500
32%
52,100
38.6
Malaysia
102,900
38.3
68,600
67%
34,300
25.4
Indonesia
50,700
18.8
18,600
37%
32,200
23.9
Thailand
16,100
6.0
9,300
58%
6,800
3.6
Philippines
9,800
3.6
4,400
45%
5,300
3.9
Singapore
6,200
2.3
5,300
85%
900
0.6
Others
7,200
2.7
2,100
29%
5,100
3.8
Total
269,000
100%
133,000
49%
135,000
100%
NB
The UNHCR's procedures for compiling statistics give numbers in the above table which differ slightly (but not significantly) from those recorded by the Hong Kong Government. These figures do not take into account the large number of land refugees (from Laos and Cambodia) in Thailand.
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