Vietnamese just ahead of police
Item
Title
Vietnamese just ahead of police
datePublished
17/05/1977
pageStart
9
identifier
110846132
Description
A newspaper article about the arrival of Vietnamese refugees by boat into Broome.
content
BROOME: A party of 25 Viet-namese refugees who landed at
Broome early yesterday fled from
Vietnam just ahead of security po-
lice who had learnt of their escape
plans.
The party had been planning the.
escape since last October but their
plans were discovered by security police
early last month.
Mr Ng Ba Nghiep, 38 a former
warrant officer in the defeated army of
South Vietnam, planned the escape but
was forced to abandon his family in Ho
Chi Ming city, formerly Saigon.
His wife and three children — the
youngest a three-month-old girl —
could not join the escape party.
The refugees are using false names
to hide their identity and protect fami-
lies still in Vietnam.
The Darwin regional director for the
Department of Immigration, Mr Les
Liveris, has flown from Darwin to proc-
ess their entry to Australia.
The first person to greet the refugees
was Mr Lam Binh, 25, a Vietnamese
interpreter working with the Depart-
ment of Immigration at Darwin. Mr
Lam fled Vietnam in a fishing boat a
year ago, and he was among the first
group of Vietnamese refugees to land
in Darwin.
The 25 people left on April 9 under
the pretence that they were making a
normal fishing trip on their two 13-
metre wooden boats
After their arrival in Broome the
refugees underwent medical and Cus-
toms checks before leaving the boats.
They were taken to the Nulungu
School where they were given food
during interviews, and they spent the
night at the Christian Brothers College.
They will fly to Perth today.
In a statement issued in Canberra yes-
terday, the Minister for Immigration
and Ethnic Affairs, Mr MacKellar,
said the refugees would be accom-
modated at a migrant hostel in the
Perth suburb of Graylands.
He said the question of permanent
residence for those who wanted to stay
in Australia would be considered as
soon as all relevant details were known.
Broome early yesterday fled from
Vietnam just ahead of security po-
lice who had learnt of their escape
plans.
The party had been planning the.
escape since last October but their
plans were discovered by security police
early last month.
Mr Ng Ba Nghiep, 38 a former
warrant officer in the defeated army of
South Vietnam, planned the escape but
was forced to abandon his family in Ho
Chi Ming city, formerly Saigon.
His wife and three children — the
youngest a three-month-old girl —
could not join the escape party.
The refugees are using false names
to hide their identity and protect fami-
lies still in Vietnam.
The Darwin regional director for the
Department of Immigration, Mr Les
Liveris, has flown from Darwin to proc-
ess their entry to Australia.
The first person to greet the refugees
was Mr Lam Binh, 25, a Vietnamese
interpreter working with the Depart-
ment of Immigration at Darwin. Mr
Lam fled Vietnam in a fishing boat a
year ago, and he was among the first
group of Vietnamese refugees to land
in Darwin.
The 25 people left on April 9 under
the pretence that they were making a
normal fishing trip on their two 13-
metre wooden boats
After their arrival in Broome the
refugees underwent medical and Cus-
toms checks before leaving the boats.
They were taken to the Nulungu
School where they were given food
during interviews, and they spent the
night at the Christian Brothers College.
They will fly to Perth today.
In a statement issued in Canberra yes-
terday, the Minister for Immigration
and Ethnic Affairs, Mr MacKellar,
said the refugees would be accom-
modated at a migrant hostel in the
Perth suburb of Graylands.
He said the question of permanent
residence for those who wanted to stay
in Australia would be considered as
soon as all relevant details were known.
Type
Newspaper Article