He
22. He quickly decided that he wanted to return to Vietnam. heard from letters sent to others in the camps that the Vietnamese treated returnees well. He also heard from friends that UN help and some financial assistance was available, although he was never told officially that he would receive US$50. He returned to Vietnam on 17 August 1989. Since then he has experienced no discrimination or persecution from the Vietnamese authorities and has received 351,000 dong (about US$80) from the Welfare Services in Hanoi. He has not yet found a job and is currently living in a room belonging to others in which three families totalling 30 people live. His first priority is to find better accommodation and then a job. But his father-in-law has just died and he and his family should, therefore, move into his wife's family's home and look after the family shop. He says he is satisfied with his decision to return to Vietnam because he can be with his wife, family and friends again.
1
Official Discussions
23. We gained greatly from the opportunity of both formal and informal discussions in Hanoi and Haiphong. Before we went to Haiphong on 8 January, we met Mr Le Tho, Head of the Consular Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for talks at the Foreign Ministry. He welcomed our mission and saw it as an expression of the goodwill and cooperation between the UK and Vietnam. We explained what we hoped to achieve during our visit and sought his cooperation and that of his colleagues and officials in other ministries in ensuring that we met as many of those as possible who returned on 12 December, as well as some volunteer returnees; and in meeting our particular expectations, for example -on the presence of officials during the interviews. Mr Le Tho
assured us that Vietnam's policy was open, but suggested we make detailed arrangements with the authorities in Haiphong.
24. Turning to policy matters, Mr Le Tho explained that the Vietnamese Government aimed to put severe curbs on illegal departures. He thought one of the best ways of doing this was to expand the legal departure process (the Orderly Departure Programme) which, up to 12 December 1989, had permitted 40,507 people to leave Vietnam in 1989 alone, double 1988's figure. Clandestine departure was a destabilising factor, both for Vietnam and the receiving state or territory. Mr Le Tho described the repatriation of 12 December 1989 as a test operation from which both the British and Vietnamese sides had lessons to learn. They would be discussing these further with each other. But Vietnamese policy was based on respect for voluntary repatriation and resolute opposition towards forced repatriation in any form. Mr Le Tho confirmed, however, that Vietnam would continue to accept returnees who, while not volunteers, did not actively oppose repatriation. As far as financial aid was concerned, Mr Le Tho said that Vietnam was not depending on this to solve the problem of the boat people. He believed that it was the dignity of the individual which was at stake. But, if the UK were to provide aid, this would be good, although that provided so far was not a large amount to enable the returnees to settle. He thought the best form of help was economic
8
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.