There are today in Vietnam thousands and thousands of people who long to leave their own country. because they cannot accept the restrictions on their freedom which have been imposed on them by the Communist regime in Hanoi. Shortly after the attention of the world focused on Vietnam following the mass exodus of the boat people in 1978 and 1979. an Orderly Departure Program was established under the direction of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in cooperation with the Vietnamese authorities. Vietnamese who were legitimately entitled to emigrate to other countries were permitted to leave the country under the auspices of the UNHCR. Since the establishment of that program. over 110.000 Vietnamese have been permitted to legally leave their own land. Thousands of others unable to obtain exit visas and desperate to escape have continued to flee by sea. risking their lives and their safety for freedom in other countries. But insofar as the Orderly Departure Program has been in existence. it has given not only a legal and legitimate avenue of departure to those Vietnamese who seek to leave. but a safe one as well. We clearly have an overriding humanitarian interest in the continuation of this very desirable program. The administration has proposed admitting 8.500 Vietnamese refugees under this program in 1986 and in 1987. Unfortunately. last January Vietnamese authorities. for reasons that remain somewhat obscure. ceased interviewing those of their own citizens who were applying for departure under the ODP program. And while more Vietnamese have continued to depart from Vietnam within the framework of this program. the backlog of processed applications. particularly for Amerasians.
Keywords matched
Refugees emigrate visas refugees