Bidong Island
Native name: Pulau Bidong ڤولاو بيدوڠ Pula Bidong | |
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Geography | |
Location | South China Sea |
Coordinates | 5°37′N 103°4′E / 5.617°N 103.067°E |
Administration | |
Malaysia | |
State | Terengganu |
Bidong Island (
Vietnamese refugees
On 30 April 1975, the
The passage from Vietnam was hazardous and the refugee boats were small, overloaded, and often attacked by pirates. Thousands of refugees died at sea; rape and abduction of refugee women was common. In addition, the governments of Malaysia and other
Conditions on Bidong were difficult. One visitor, Leo Cherne, called Bidong "Hell Isle." Refugees crowded onto the island "lived in makeshift huts two and three stories high made of salvaged timbers from wrecked boats, plastic sheets, tin cans, and corrugated iron sheets." Latrines and wells were inadequate; tropical rainstorms sent rivers of filthy water through the camp; all food and clean water had to be imported from the mainland. Water was rationed at one gallon per day per person. Doctors were abundant, but medicine was in short supply. Sanitation was nearly non-existent and hepatitis was rampant."[2] But the refugee population was well organised and many small businesses and an efficient food and water distribution system was set up. Aid organisations such as the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and many non-governmental organisations assisted the refugees. An international volunteer staff of medical personnel tended to the refugee's health problems. Immigration officials from many countries visited the island to interview refugees for resettlement abroad.
The arrival of new refugees to Bidong and other locations in Southeast Asia decreased after June 1979. A Geneva Convention held in July 1979 resulted in Vietnam agreeing to restrain the flow of refugees and the Southeast Asian countries agreeing to take all those who came to their shores provided that the Western countries guaranteed resettlement for the majority of them. President Jimmy Carter raised the quota for permitting Indochinese into the United States from 7,000 to 14,000 per month and other countries followed suit, especially Canada, Australia, and France. The population of Bidong began to decline as refugees departed for resettlement abroad.[3]
By the time Bidong was closed as a refugee camp on 30 October 1991, about 250,000 Vietnamese had passed through or resided in the camp. With the closing of the camp, the remaining refugees in Malaysia were repatriated back to Vietnam. The refugees strongly protested their forced repatriation. A total of 9,000 Vietnamese were repatriated between 1991 and 28 August 2005 when the last refugees departed for Vietnam. In 1999, the island was opened to tourism. It has regained its former pristine beauty and many former refugees have revisited their old home.[4]
After the departure of the refugees, the Marine Research Station of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu's was established on the island. The station has living quarters and laboratories for students and researchers to study marine ecosystems.[5]
Landscapes
See also
References
- ^ Thompson, Larry Clinton. Refugee Workers in the Indochina Exodus, 1975-1982. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010, 156-160
- ^ Thompson, 156-160
- ^ Thompson, 163-165
- ^ http://www.terengganutourism.com/pulau_bidong.htm, accessed, 7 July 2010
- ^ "Archived copy". UMT. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Media related to Pulau Bidong at Wikimedia Commons
- Pulau Bidong
- Guide to the Binh Danh photographs from the Pulau Bidong Series. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.