are made
Force.
aware
- 2
of our policy upon their first interception in Hong Kong by the Royal Hong Kong Police The basic elements of our policy, including the availability of repatriation under UNHCR auspices, are frequently reiterated and explained in all the centres in which Vietnamese are accommodated, both by the relevant Government authorities and by staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The burden that the Vietnamese migrant problem has imposed on Hong Kong is often underestimated, particularly in western countries like the United States Of America. Currently, we are playing host to some 8,000 refugees and some 44,000 migrants from Vietnam. This is about half the total Vietnamese migrant population in the region. Hong Kong's population density is one of the highest in the world at some 5,400 people per sq.km. (against for instance 26 per sq.km. in the USA). Into these crowded conditions have come some 180,000 Vietnamese migrants since 1975. None have ever been turned away. We accept responsibility for the well-being of all those who have come here and approach the task of housing, feeding and caring for them to the best of our abilities.
All have been provided with refuge, food, clothing, medical care and, wherever possible, education and training.
All this has been done under very trying circumstances and severe resource constraints. The total cost to Hong Kong of looking after the Vietnamese migrants in our centres has amounted to over US$450 million over the last 16 years (in addition, UNHCR owes us some US$30 million as its share of the cost of looking after people in
camps); land badly needed for Hong Kong's own use has been taken over to provide space for Vietnamese; and Government staff who could otherwise be looking after Hong Kong people have had to be redeployed large numbers for over a decade : in all, over 2,000 government employees are involved in work with the Vietnamese on a daily basis.
in
The dedication of camp staff in the face of severe difficulties has been remarkable
I would commend to you the comments in the visitors' books at the Vietnamese centres, which testify not SO much to the deficiencies and shortcomings as
the hard work, ingenuity and humanity of those involved in this
to
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