While visiting a friend in Hong Kong in 1979, I was invited to tour the refugee camps that were occupied by the Vietnamese “boat people.” After the fall of Saigon in 1975, over 200,000 immigrants barely arrived in Hong Kong from Viet Nam on mostly insanely overcrowded, rickety vessels, having upended their lives and livelihoods from their homelands. Initially, this created a logistical nightmare for the local government officials: Upon approving that Hong Kong would be a safe harbor for the refugees, the local authorities (Hong Kong and British) had to figure out where all of these new arrivals – who had no resources of their own – were going to go, and what were they going to do once they got there.
Warehouses and giant tents were rapidly converted into camps. For each new resident there would be room for a cot and a few square feet for their meager belongings. These were never intended to be comfy accommodations, but the camps provided a temporary place for the new arrivals to rest and regain their strength after their arduous journey. By the time I visited, the camps were reasonably efficient operations.
For a little perspective, Hong Kong territory is approximately 430 square miles, the principal island, Victoria (at that time still called Hong Kong Island) is about 49 square miles, similar in size to Manhattan or San Francisco. HK includes several islands, and an adjacent peninsula that juts from the mainland of China. Geographically, Hong Kong is not that big, and not all of it habitable due to lots of ragged coastline and steep, rocky hills. In 1979 there were still a lot of small farms on the islands and on the peninsula, though many of them are probably gone now. There was also a lot of fishing on the coasts and local waters. Now, as then, Hong Kong remains a vital commercial hub.
In 1979, Hong Kong was still operated as a British colony on land leased to them by the Chinese. Having the organizational prowess of the Monarchy enabled the Hong Kong authorities to set up the refugee camps, feeding programs, interviews and background checks. The mangers of the camps offered leadership roles for select new arrivals to help operate the camps. With fellow immigrants helping run the place, there was calm and acceptance among the refugees because they saw their own people were involved and looking out for them. Those who had been bank managers and business owners back home were now able to supervise food distribution or cleaning crews, knowing that eventually they would be able to use their new and old skills to pursue work and possibly resume their previous careers, all while building up some credibility with the HK managers.
Though the immigrants weren’t allowed to leave the camps at all for their first few weeks in Hong Kong (until new ID’s and passports were issued), eventually they were allowed to go shopping, visit with relatives, etc. A month or two after that, those who wanted to could begin to search for gainful employment. But even if they did find work, they were still required to return to their camp. As restrictions eased, the sooner one could find work and prove they could maintain a job, the sooner they were allowed to find their own places to live, in Hong Kong or elsewhere, provided their paperwork was in order.
Meeting with, and interviewing, a number of refugees, I was taken by the resiliency of their spirit. Everything they previously owned or knew was gone, yet they all embraced the opportunity to start fresh somewhere new. A daunting task when your life is reduced to what you can carry. Whether in an arrival camp or a secondary placement, space was cramped and there was not much room for many belongings beyond the most basic of clothing, a small pot, and eventually a rice cooker.
The Hong Kong government knew that not all the refugees would stay under their auspices, and had full expectations of the majority leaving HK as soon as they could. Many headed to the U.S. and Canada, some to Australia and the Philippines, and others to Europe. As the boat people relocated and the strain on HK administrators eased, camps and resettlement programs were closed.
Fine for them. While the HK leaders wiped their hands thinking the ordeal was over, for the immigrants it would be just the beginning. Most had to relocate multiple times before they could settle down and create new homes for themselves and their families. Each municipality – regardless of country – had their own way of managing the influx of a large number of immigrants. Some locations were more welcoming than others.
The idea of mass exodus from one’s homeland due to oppression, political and/or ideological factors is nothing new. Human history has too many examples of people fleeing their homelands, either by force or fear, to protect their ideals and beliefs. Over the years people have flocked to the United States from all over the world believing it to be the land of opportunity, that their fears for their lives in their homelands will be assuaged and life will be better in the U.S.A.
If only!
There are far too many places in this world, right now, where people are expected to resettle to other parts of the planet. To sacrifice everything they’ve known before to live in, not just unfamiliar, but often unwelcoming environments. They arrive and are then ostracized, taken advantage of, abused, turned down for jobs because of their differences. Generations later, their children and their grandchildren are still feeling that same oppression.
Some questions for your consideration:
When will the day come when the people of the world will be free from all the petty, bureaucratic nonsense that separate us as people; where there is acceptance and openness, as opposed to fear and trepidation?
When will we recognize the limitations of our natural resources, respect the land from which they come, and move to renewable energy sources to protect those valuable assets?
When will we be open to the free exchange of ideas without dread, where science is heralded and respected, where the arts are encouraged and flourish?
Will we ever see the day when borders are meaningless and people are free to move, travel and explore openly?
Isn’t it long overdue that we allow people to live where, how and with whom they choose?
Why can’t our inadequacies, idiosyncrasies and individuality be cherished and celebrated?
When will our society be inclusive enough to help those with more extreme challenges so they are supported, encouraged and productive?
Lofty, indeed!
While this may not come to pass in our lifetimes – though it can’t happen soon enough – these goals are neither unrealistic nor unobtainable. Sure, it will take a lot of time and a lot of hard work with everyone working cooperatively toward common goals. To survive, we must be resilient. It really is the only way forward for all of us to reach those distant but obtainable goals.
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© Hank London