The Missing Apple

As a fresh graduate, the first humanitarian aid work I did was helping the Vietnamese settle in England in the 1980's, so the plight of refugees has been close to my heart for a long time. Ten year- old Dai Le, who left Viet Nam with her family in the 70's and came to Hong Kong on an old fishing boat, expected to be greeted with an apple and a coke. Instead, the sight she saw when they arrived almost four decades ago was not of fresh apples and cold cokes, but of thousands of rickety boats like theirs crowded into Hong Kong harbor. It was a disappointment she would remember the rest of her life. Recently, Dai Le finally received that apple!

Dai Le captivated her audience when she spoke at a dinner Christian Action co-ordinated on December 4, which we called Refugees in Hong Kong – Past, Present and Future. The dinner included members of the Vietnamese Boat People (VBP) Oral History Project; The Vine Community Services Limited; Refugee Ministry and all their friends and supporters.

Because there's been so much media attention about displaced people lately, some of us felt that Christian Action needed to remind the people of Hong Kong that many Vietnamese, who came to Hong Kong in the 1970’s went on to live productive and successful lives, despite tremendous obstacles, and despite enduring great losses. Using this example of great courage in the face of adversity, we wanted to show Hong Kong-ers how important it is to support the refugees seeking asylum in Hong Kong today.

Carina Hoang, a former Vietnamese refugee who now resides in Australia, launched the website Vietnamesediaspora.com during the dinner. The website contains stories told by Vietnamese fleeing persecution, and those that helped them, including my own story, and a few pictures of me working in the refugee camps!

Dai Le and her family spent several years confined to a refugee camp in Hong Kong before being resettled in Australia. This was Dai’s first trip back to Hong Kong, and it was during this trip that Talbot Bashall, former controller of the Refugee Control Centre in Hong Kong, presented Dai with the coke and apple she had never received. It was a heartwarming moment.

There were 90 guests in attendance at the dinner, including Carrie Yau, Peter Lai, Eddie Chan, Hans Lutz, Philip Karani, and Tony Read. There were members of the Civil Aid Service, Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong Correctional Services, Security Bureau, and UNHCR, as well as CA board members Tony Turner, William Chan and Dr. To Yue. Our guests hail from all walks of life, and care for refugees during their long waiting periods. Their roles are all equally important.

Christian Action is now raising money to convert the original Nissen hut at Kai Tak Refugee Camp (now called New Horizon’s Building, and our headquarters), into a small museum commemorating the Vietnamese in Hong Kong. It will be a reminder that asylum seekers should not be ignored.   Thank you for your support over all these years!

Carina Hoang’s story "Escape from Saigon"