him wear a sign on his chest and go from hut to hut for everyone to see The sign said in Vietnamese: "a dog pisses anywhere" (rough translation.)
These examples of the humiliation felt by all Vietnamese in the camp form part of a pattern of degrading maltreatment which the Police apparently think necessary to discipline "offenders". Verbal and other abuses are. so common that asylum seekers just keep silent.
Another constant reminder of the prisoner-like existence of asylum seekers is the daily routine of roll calling. During roll call, they are locked in their huts for about 2 hours. Over the past few months, the roll calling time has been shortened somewhat and the schedule made more consistent. Activities like social services and school have been interrupted in the past. Head count still takes place everyday however. There is also a loud public announcement system which bears great resemblance to the Communist system in Vietnam. All day long, along with regular announcements, the reading of camp rules and regulations drum in everyone's ear repeatedly at regular intervals. This writer even once heard the PA announce the time during which flying a kite was permitted (there was a period before this when it was prohibited.)
The health situation at High Island resembles other centres. Problems center around lack of water, poor diet, the many stagnant and mossy puddles left from the rain as mosquitoe breeding grounds, badly designed toilets that cannot flush adequately and that are also too far away from the huts for children at night and are full of maggots.
As of September 1990, screening has yet to begin at High Island and everyone is anxious. The population that moved here from Erskine has been in Hong Kong detention centres since 1988. Every month, the asylum seekers were told screening would start in a few weeks or on a given date. Then during the next few weeks, they are told again it would start in the next few weeks or on another date. Rumors circulate around the camp and as screening continues to be delayed, detainees become more tense, anticipating the worst. Reliable and definite information regarding screening would lessen anxiety for these asylum seekers. The withholding and/or changing of the timetable already become a form of mental torture for the detainees. The uncertainty of it all is the worst stress in the detention centre.
Hei Ling Chau Detention Centre
Hei Ling Chau Detention Centre in the past has been presented as a model camp by the Hong Kong authorities. However, while this may be so in terms of day-to-day activities, the asylum seekers see their share of problems.
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The health situation resembles other centres heat, water shortage, and communicable diseases are common. Some women have complained, as at Whitehead Detention Centre, that the Family
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