II  The Tragic Journey - Arriving Boat People

 

'Có lẽ trời muốn trao cho gánh nặng,
Bắt trải qua bách-chiết thiên-ma.'
  ‘God perhaps wants to train us for an important responsibility,
thus makes us endure tragic challenges.’
Famous Vietnamese Statesman Nguyễn Trãi  (A.D. 1418)  



The reality of the Vietnamese boat people’s journey is full of tragic experiences, endless natural calamities and brutal man-made obstacles. (Photo: B. McDougall)

Arriving Boat People  Source: UNHCR

First Asylum

 

 

 

 

Country

1975-76

1977

1978

1979

Hong Kong

516

2,736

7,906

68,748

Indonesia

244

679

2,582

47,651

Japan

373

833

712

1,155

Korea

0

161

98

150

Macau

0

25

945

3,363

Malaysia

1,160

5,820

63,125

53,998

Philippines

713

1,153

2,582

7,851

Singapore

131

318

1,848

5,561

Thailand

2,699

4,636

6,401

11,987

Others

111

765

965

725

First Asylum

 

 

 

 

Country

1980

1981

1982

1983

Hong Kong

6,788

8,470

7,836

3,651

Indonesia

6,721

9,021

7,535

5,600

Japan

1,270

1,026

1,037

799

Korea

20

168

65

20

Macau

2,270

448

59

0

Malaysia

18,265

23,113

14,857

10,935

Philippines

4,932

8,352

3,288

1,759

Singapore

9,285

5,367

2,745

1,575

Thailand

21,649

18,402

6,076

3,534

Others

172

71

7

46

First Asylum

 

 

 

 

Country

1984

1985

1986

1987

Hong Kong

2,230

1,112

2,059

3,395

Indonesia

7,331

6,139

2,596

1,758

Japan

503

435

330

144

Korea

45

186

131

21

Macau

0

0

8

3

Malaysia

9,035

7,398

7,402

8,030

Philippines

1,870

2,602

2,046

2,677

Singapore

896

891

739

858

Thailand

2,807

3,310

3,886

11,195

Others

44

42

254

25

First Asylum

 

 

 

 

Country

1988

1989

1990

1991

Hong Kong

18,449

34,503

6,595

20,206

Indonesia

1,876

6,701

13,835

1,397

Japan

219

706

336

366

Korea

90

193

0

0

Macau

6

0

0

0

Malaysia

13,312

16,718

1,326

0

Philippines

3,826

6,678

1,108

252

Singapore

698

1,392

147

6

Thailand

7,086

4,373

9,054

202

Others

0

0

0

0

First Asylum

 

 

 

 

Country

1992

1993

1994

1995-99

Hong Kong

9

101

359

164

Indonesia

18

23

1

0

Japan

17

638

109

63

Korea

0

0

0

0

Macau

0

0

1

0

Malaysia

1

0

0

0

Philippines

0

1

32

0

Singapore

0

0

0

0

Thailand

10

14

0

0

Others

0

0

0

0

Note:  The statistics exclude those boat people who perished in search of liberty (e.g. On November 14, 1979, the People's Journal in the Philippines reported that local hunters found skeletons and personal items of 60 dead bodies and a wooden boat believed to be a Vietnamese refugee craft in an isolated forest 75 miles south of Manila) or were rescued by commercial ships and subsequently offered direct resettlement without having passed through refugee camps, and a small number of asylum-seekers who escaped since 1996 (e.g. On June 21, 1999, eleven young Vietnamese reached the Philippines after a two-week voyage on a 17-meter-long boat).  

 

Ocean of Sorrows

How long have we been drifting at sea

for strong waves rocked the little boat violently.

It had been days without a bite

the exhausted bodies were awaiting death.

Calamities at night seemed endless

laments cutting through water to whose ears.

Begging God to reach the other shore quickly

for even at death one still has a dried grave.

Thus seeing the island, happiness is mixed in tears

the freedom longed for is finally here.

Mai Thơm

A senior boat person residing in Massachusetts, USA

Bể Khổ
Trôi nổi bao lâu trên mặt biển
bảo táp dập dần chiếc ghe non
Bao ngày đói lả không một miếng
rả rời thân xác đợi tử thần
Kinh hoàng trong đêm tối vô tận
ta thán xé nước mong thấu ai
Khẩn cầu cho mau đến bến bờ
dẫu chết cũng còn nấm mồ khô
Thoáng nhìn thấy đảo mừng ngấn lệ
đã đến tự do mãi mong chờ

Mai Thơm
 

Back to Table of Contents