Huge spike in Vietnamese boat arrivals
Updated
Refugee advocates say they’ve been taken aback by a huge spike in Vietnamese asylum seekers arriving in Australia. The Immigration Department confirmed that there’s been a 30-fold increase in Vietnamese boat arrivals in the last year. But the local Vietnamese community say it’s no surprise, given the recent crackdown by the Communist government in Vietnam on dissidents and religious minorities.
Source: The World Today | Duration: 3min 45sec
ELEANOR HALL: Some refugee advocates say they’ve been taken aback by a huge spike in Vietnamese asylum seekers arriving in Australia.
The Immigration Department confirmed that there’s been a 30-fold increase in Vietnamese boat arrivals in the last year.
But the local Vietnamese community say it’s no surprise at all, given the recent harsh crackdown by the Communist government in Vietnam on dissidents and religious minorities.
Jane Norman has our report.
JANE NORMAN: A boat carrying 84 asylum seekers was intercepted just 50 kilometres off the resort town of Broome on Sunday.
It was the 216th boat this year, but this one was unusual for two reasons – the vessel made it far closer to shore than most asylum seeker boats, and the passengers were from Vietnam.
Tri Vo is the president of the Vietnamese Community in Sydney and says he has no doubts about why they’re fleeing.
TRI VO: It’s most probably due to the increase in oppression and suppression of the people in Vietnam and the recent crackdown of human rights activists, bloggers, media people, and young people who are not afraid of speaking up, who demand democracy.
JANE NORMAN: The vast majority of asylum seekers arriving in Australia are from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
But recently, there’s been a surge in arrivals from Vietnam.
Figures from the Immigration Department show that last year, fewer than 50 Vietnamese people arrived by boat. So far this year, there’ve been nearly 760.
One refugee advocate who doesn’t want to be named has met some of the recent arrivals.
REFUGEE ADVOCATE: All the ones that I know are Roman Catholic, and I know that Vietnam is a communist country and it is quite repressive towards any group that forms and that often targets religious groups. So some people have told me that they’ve been involved in some demonstration to protect church property when the government’s moved to close it down.
JANE NORMAN: According to Human Rights Watch, at least 33 activists were imprisoned in 2012 – two of them were musicians who’d written songs critical of the regime.
Tri Vo says the oppression is nothing new for Vietnam but, through the use of modern technology, the Vietnamese are more aware of it now than ever before.
What is the reality of life in Vietnam today?
TRI VO: There’s no separation of power and there’s no free media, so therefore, when it’s all under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party, then there’s always corruption. No one’s overseeing them; no one’s presenting another view; no one’s opposing what they do, so there’s corruption all across the country and whoever is brave enough to speak out about the realities, then they themselves will be imprisoned, and that’s the reality of Vietnam today.
JANE NORMAN: Tri Vo is a refugee himself.
He and his family fled Vietnam by boat in 1982.
TRI VO: No one would risk their lives on a very small flimsy boat – pretty much the chances of surviving is very small, and if they have a chance, they would rather stay with their country and their family and in a safe place but the reason why they escape and we survived is because they couldn’t bear living with the communist regime; there’s no future living there.
JANE NORMAN: And until the human rights situation in Vietnam improves, Tri Vo predicts there’ll be many more boat arrivals to come.
ELEANOR HALL: Jane Norman reporting.
The Immigration Department confirmed that there’s been a 30-fold increase in Vietnamese boat arrivals in the last year.
But the local Vietnamese community say it’s no surprise at all, given the recent harsh crackdown by the Communist government in Vietnam on dissidents and religious minorities.
Jane Norman has our report.
JANE NORMAN: A boat carrying 84 asylum seekers was intercepted just 50 kilometres off the resort town of Broome on Sunday.
It was the 216th boat this year, but this one was unusual for two reasons – the vessel made it far closer to shore than most asylum seeker boats, and the passengers were from Vietnam.
Tri Vo is the president of the Vietnamese Community in Sydney and says he has no doubts about why they’re fleeing.
TRI VO: It’s most probably due to the increase in oppression and suppression of the people in Vietnam and the recent crackdown of human rights activists, bloggers, media people, and young people who are not afraid of speaking up, who demand democracy.
JANE NORMAN: The vast majority of asylum seekers arriving in Australia are from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
But recently, there’s been a surge in arrivals from Vietnam.
Figures from the Immigration Department show that last year, fewer than 50 Vietnamese people arrived by boat. So far this year, there’ve been nearly 760.
One refugee advocate who doesn’t want to be named has met some of the recent arrivals.
REFUGEE ADVOCATE: All the ones that I know are Roman Catholic, and I know that Vietnam is a communist country and it is quite repressive towards any group that forms and that often targets religious groups. So some people have told me that they’ve been involved in some demonstration to protect church property when the government’s moved to close it down.
JANE NORMAN: According to Human Rights Watch, at least 33 activists were imprisoned in 2012 – two of them were musicians who’d written songs critical of the regime.
Tri Vo says the oppression is nothing new for Vietnam but, through the use of modern technology, the Vietnamese are more aware of it now than ever before.
What is the reality of life in Vietnam today?
TRI VO: There’s no separation of power and there’s no free media, so therefore, when it’s all under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party, then there’s always corruption. No one’s overseeing them; no one’s presenting another view; no one’s opposing what they do, so there’s corruption all across the country and whoever is brave enough to speak out about the realities, then they themselves will be imprisoned, and that’s the reality of Vietnam today.
JANE NORMAN: Tri Vo is a refugee himself.
He and his family fled Vietnam by boat in 1982.
TRI VO: No one would risk their lives on a very small flimsy boat – pretty much the chances of surviving is very small, and if they have a chance, they would rather stay with their country and their family and in a safe place but the reason why they escape and we survived is because they couldn’t bear living with the communist regime; there’s no future living there.
JANE NORMAN: And until the human rights situation in Vietnam improves, Tri Vo predicts there’ll be many more boat arrivals to come.
ELEANOR HALL: Jane Norman reporting.
Vietnam Evolution 