DEVELOPMENTS ON THE INDOCHINESE REFUGEE Refugee exodus and resettlement BOAT PEOPLE FROM VIETNAM AT WESTERN QUARANTINE ANCHORAGE, HONG KONG. JUNE 1, 1979. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT.) CHAPTER 1 DEVELOPMENTS ON THE INDOCHINESE REFUGEE PROBLEM The flow of refugees from Vietnam, Kampuchea (formerly Cambodia), and Laos into other Asian countries is continuing although in substantially lesser numbers than in early 1979. Although the flow has lessened, there are still thousands of refugees in countries of first asylum awaiting resettlement. In addition, the United States and the international community continue to share the burdens associated with refugee protection, care, and resettlement. In our April 1979 report,1/ we described the nature and growth of the Indochinese refugee problem. Our report outlined how the problem was addressed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by first-asylum countries, by the United States, and by other resettlement nations. The U.S. program of refugee selection and resettlement was also described in our 1979 report. This report is an update, describing some current problems in the resolution of refugee resettlement and asylum. The massive influx of Kampucheans into Thailand in October 1979 is not, however, discussed in this document. REFUGEE EXODUS AND RESETTLEMENT Since the Communist governments were established in Indochina in 1975, more than 1.2 million refugees have fled their homelands in Indochina due to political persecution, human rights abuses, warfare, and famine in their countries. After 1977, the number of refugees increased substantially because of increased restrictions on civil and personal liberties in all of the countries, accelerated arms conflict in Vietnam and Kampuchea, and economic and political measures in Vietnam aimed at forcing the departure of unwanted citizens. Because of these conditions, refugee populations in firstasylum countries increased from about 200,000 to about 385,000 from January to July 1979. The exodus of large numbers of refugees from Indochina reached a peak of 58,000 a month in June 1979. By December 1979, however, the number of refugees from Indochina greatly declined 1/"The Indochinese Exodus: A Humanitarian Dilemma," (ID-79-20, Apr. 24, 1979). |