Statement

on

SMALL BOAT
o

REFUGEES IN

SOUTHEAST ASIA

ADMINISTRATIVE

COMMITTEE

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

February 16, 1978



We urge the President and Congress to

respond in a more forceful and humane man-

ner to the anguished cries of the men, wom-

en, and children who, seeking a new life of

freedom, are fleeing Southeast Asia by land

and in small boats.

The number of these refugees, 60% of

them children, has grown in recent months

due to oppressive actions by new Communist

regimes in some nations in Southeast Asia

which are forcing families to undertake an

almost suicidal endeavor in search of asylum.

As is generally the case in large-scale refu-

gee movements in hostile circumstances,

some do not reach their goal and there is a

corresponding loss of life.

In the Southeast Asian turmoil there are

firsthand reports of the terrors of the over-

land march from Laos and Cambodia and of

the loss of life of an estimated 50% in the

almost suicidal small boat movement from

Vietnam. For every two persons who start out,

only one survives.

In Thailand there are approximately

100,000 refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and

Cambodia. They have found a highly tempo-

rary asylum in 13 separate refugee com-

pounds controlled by the government of

Thailand. Approximately 5,000 new refugees

are entering Thailand each month, around

1,500 by small boat from Vietnam and more

than 3,000 overland from Cambodia and

Laos. Despite traditional kindness founded in

national history and religion, the Thai gov-

ernment is in a most precarious position

from internal and diplomatic points of view,

since the country is surrounded by well-

armed Communist nations.

There is no way of knowing how many

refugees have been turned back at the bor-

ders by local Thai officials. The United States

press reported some months ago that a

group of 29 had been returned to Cambodia

and immediately executed.

D68bkiifl6d



Among the tragic aspects of this refugee

movement is the reluctance of larger vessels

plying the South China Sea to pick up those

in distress in small boats. Past experience

has taught the masters of these vessels that

to do so can involve them and their shipping

companies in many complications. Some

countries, learning that refugees are aboard

a vessel, will not permit even the crew to dis-

embark. No landing rights are given to refu-

gees, and the ship must keep them on board

while hoping to reach a port that will grant

temporary asylum. In some Instances ships

have sailed nearly around the world, drop-

ping off refugees in South Africa, Kuwait,

Italy, and other places.

It is an appalling fact that, after braving

the terrors of the sea, refugees find that what

awaits them is not really asylum. A prolifera-

tion of reports indicate that their boats are

often driven off shore or towed back to the

open sea. These refugees have no alternative

but to seek haven in other countries border-

ing the South China Sea (the Philippines,

Korea, Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) or,

in desperation, to set sail In their small, un-

seaworthy craft for Australia, over 3,000

miles away.

On August 11, 1977, the U.S. government

authorized the admission of 7,000 boat cases

and 8,000 land-based refugees. On January

25 of this year, the Attorney General autho-

rized the admission of 7,000 additional boat

refugees. These admissions are stopgap

measures. Some type of established admis-

sion procedure is needed to avoid unimagin-

able disaster.

The government of France has instituted a

humane procedure and is accepting approxi-

mately 1,000 refugees each month as it has

done for some time. The governments of

Australia, Canada, and some nations of

Europe have made more limited commit-

ments.



In appealing to the President and Congress

to respond in a more humane and forceful

manner to the tragic situation of the small

boat refugees in Southeast Asia, we are not

unmindful of the responsibility of the busi-

ness world and of the Church itself in this

matter. The business world, particularly the

shipping interests of the United States, must

not abandon these men, women and children

to the perils of the sea. The ancient tradition

of rendering aid to the occupants of boats

and ships in distress on the high seas must

be continued by American ship masters and

crews, and indeed by the masters and crews

of the ships of all nations.

As for the Church, we renew our commit-

ment to aid the refugees of any nation, re-

gardless of religion and political ideology.

We call on the dioceses, parishes, and indi-

vidual Catholics of the U.S. to expand their

works of mercy through sponsoring and re-

settling those refugees who will come to our

shores. We are mindful of the words of Pope

Paul VI: “The pastoral care of migrants has

always attracted the motherly attention and

the solicitude of the Church. In fact, it has

never ceased throughout the centuries to

help in every way those who, like Christ in

exile in Egypt with the family of Nazareth,

were compelled to emigrate to lands far

away from their country." (Pastoralis Migra-

torum Cura)

UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

1312 Massachusetts Avenue N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005