More VN News (Apr. 19, 1997)

[Vu Thanh Ca <vuca@envi.env.civil.saitama-u.ac.jp>]

April 19: Vietnam 'keeping its word on boat people'


Vietnam 'keeping its word on boat people'

HAIPHONG (Vietnam) -- The Vietnamese government has said that it is
keeping its promise not to punish the boat people who have been
returning to their homeland since the 90s.

"There is no discrimination between them and the other people," said
Mr Hoang Van Dinh, Director of Foreign Affairs at the Haiphong
People's Committee.

"We help them to have the economic conditions to earn their living,"
he added.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which has eight expatriate
monitors nationwide, has said it is satisfied the boat people are not
being abused or persecuted.

Mr Nguyen Xuan Dung, 38, designated officially as the 50,000th migrant
to return voluntarily from detention camps in Hongkong when he arrived
in Hanoi last year, is one of many returnees adapting to life back in
his homeland.

He has settled into everyday life, making a simple living in Haiphong
as a motorcycle taxi driver. -- Reuter.