My Memories of the Vietnamese Refugee Camp in 1981

 THANH NGUYEN

I left Vietnam along with 56 political asylum seekers on a small boat and crossed the West Philippine Sea on February 14,1981. We sailed for three days, and luckily on the third night we were rescued by a German ship called CAP ANAMUR. Along the way, CAP ANAMUR rescued six other refugee boats. A total of 354 boat people combined were rescued.

CAP ANAMUR brought us to Singapore but for some reason, the Singaporean government refused to allow us into the country. Thanks for the generosity and humanitarian hearts of the Filipino people. We were then transported to Palawan. We arrived in VRC Palawan on March 13, 1981.

I remember the VRC Palawan gate with Filipino soldiers manning the camp and making sure that the refugees were secure. On the left side after the camp’s entrance was the Vietnamese Coffee Shop which served Vietnamese food and drinks for local and International volunteers and some refugees who could afford to pay. Next was the Buddhist Temple and the Caodaist Temple. Next to these temples was the Evangelical Church. Then the ICM (or IOM) Office and Clinic. Across from the ICM Office is the Roman Catholic Church, then the basketball court with the gigantic tamarind tree in front of the UNHCR Palawan field office.

I remember that during that time, in 1981, all the refugees were required to attend the flag raising ceremony every Monday morning at 8:00. The Philippine National Anthem was played first and then the Republic of South Vietnam National Anthem. Those who were walking around the camp while the anthems were playing were supposed to stop until the two national anthems had been played.

Then at 10:00 AM refugees would line up at the food section to receive rice, bread, meat and fish for lunch and dinner.

I remember that the Refugee Camp had Vietnamese security people who helped implement the rules and regulations of the camp. Refugees who broke the rules (and were eighteen years old and over) were locked inside the Monkey House for hours and some of them for three days as a punishment.

At that time in the VRC, there were very few unaccompanied minor refugees and so there was no need for a Minor’s House to separate them from the general population. As months went by, more and more unaccompanied minors arrived in the camp. The UNHCR in partnership with CADP and Sister Pascale Le Thi Triu established a Minor’s House to accommodate those who didn’t have parents or adult family members with them in the camp. When the accompanied minor’s population increased, CADP decided to build a second Minor’s House for teenagers ages 15 and 16.

Every weekend in the camp, the camp showed one and sometimes two movies on the stage in front of the OIC Office. Fourteen years old and above were served coffee by Vietnamese volunteers tasked by the UNHCR and OIC Office.

I remember that every day many refugees had to wait for announcement from the Mailing Section whether we had mail. The mail normally had money enclosed and to claim it, refugees needed to identify the full name of the sender from abroad.

My brother and I left the Vietnamese Refugee Camp on October 20, 1981 and resettled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Thanh Nguyen 

 

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