Speech #980054191

Of the children who made it to the Thai camps. hundreds were sent abroad over the years to begin new lives with foster families. Now. according to the Bangkok office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. there are fewer than 700 unaccompanied minors in two camps. including 270 in this sprawling refugee holding center about 18 miles north of the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet. Under a new policy. the U.S. government is about to expand its processing of unaccompanied minors from Indochina for emigration to the United States. according to American officials in Bangkok. In addition to Cambodian children. minors in Thai camps from Vietnam and Laos also will be given special consideration under the new guidelines. officials said. Despite periods of depression or anxiety. refugee workers say. the Cambodian children generally show what one called "remarkable resilience." By and large. they do not seem to harbor feelings of revenge as it is understood in the west. Rather. many are imbued with a burning desire to succeed. to make good their lives. An example is a 15yearold boy from Siem Reap whom refugee workers called Than. He is determined to be a doctor and wants to go to a western country to study. He has told social workers he wants to go back to Cambodia eventually when he has gained the knowledge to help his people. Currently the unaccompanied minors get a "degree of priority" in processing for resettlement in the United States. an American refugee official said. But once they