BY SARAH STEPHEN
Villawood detention centre in south-western Sydney is currently the prison of 417 asylum seekers, who are locked behind tall fences and coils of razor wire. Next to the centre are dozens of unused small brick houses, which were once part of Westbridge migrant hostel. Melbourne's Maribyrnong detention centre stands alongside a similarly disused migrant hostel.
Until 15-20 years ago, these and other hostels throughout Australia provided a transitional and supportive environment for newly arrived migrants and refugees, including those who travelled here without documents.
Tan Le was four when her family arrived at the Pulau Bidong refugee camp in Malaysia in 1982. They spent three months there before departing for Melbourne. She described the experience: "We were taken from the airport to a special hostel for newly arrived migrants. We were given our own apartment to live in, and we were taken care of until we found a place to live. The apartment was clean. All the people were friendly. We had all the food we needed. We were given lessons in English. We were taken out on trips and introduced to our new country. The adults were given help to find work... it was friendly and accepting and hospitable."
Another young woman, Lan, explained her memories of arriving in Australia as a six-year-old: "We arrived in Melbourne in 1978 with almost nothing. We lived in a migrant hostel in Nunawading, which was quite nice. I particularly remember the food. We used to have our lunch packed for us and I still remember picking up my lunch in a paper bag before school."
On April 26, 1976, a small fishing boat arrived in Darwin harbour carrying five young men who had travelled the 2600km from Vietnam. They had first tried to land in Thailand, then Malaysia, the Borneo, but had been pushed on by authorities at every stop. They arrived in Darwin after two months at sea.
Two of the five men, Nguyen Le Han and Tran Quoc Tai, still lived in Darwin in 1980 when they were interviewed by My-Van Tran for her report The long journey — Australia's first boat people. They were granted one-month residential permits, which did not give them access to social security, while the government worked out what to do with them. They were given accommodation by the Society of St Vincent de Paul. They eventually found labouring work and were granted permanent residence in July 1976.
In his 1990 book, Australia's Immigrants, Geoffrey Sherington explains that Australia responded slowly to the plight of the Vietnamese refugees: "By the end of 1975, about 1000 Vietnamese and small numbers of Laotian and Cambodian people had been admitted. Others were allowed to come in on a case-by-case basis over 1975-77. By then some had taken matters into their own hands. By 1979, 200,000 were in settlement camps in south-east Asia." Between 1976 and 1981, 2100 Vietnamese "boat people" arrived on Australia's shores.
Unlike the current federal coalition government, the coalition government led by Malcolm Fraser actually increased the number of Vietnamese refugees Australia took from Third World refugee camps, in an attempt to decrease the number of Vietnamese arriving directly in Australia.
As Corazon Gatbonton explained in her 1980 study, A statistical survey of the Vietnamese population in Australia and Brisbane: "The Australian government developed agreements with Malaysia, and later Indonesia, to hold boats planning to depart to Australia in return for taking more refugees from the camps. As a result, 73% of arrivals in 1978 were from Malaysian camps." From 1979 to 1982, Australia took 12,500 asylum seekers from south-east Asian refugee camps. Boat arrivals peaked in 1978. Just 300 refugees arrived this way in 1979 and 30 in 1981.
In her 2001 paper, The detention of boat people, Adrienne Millbank wrote: "There were few concerns within the government or the department of immigration about the 'bona fides' of these boat people (they were fleeing a regime that Australia had fought against), and they were 'processed' for permanent residence immediately on arrival. These mainly Vietnamese boat people were held in 'loose detention' in an open part of Westbridge (now Villawood) migrant centre in Sydney, together with migrants who had been granted visas under the humanitarian and refugee programs. They were not allowed to leave the centre during processing and had to report for roll-call daily."
Refugees from camps in Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong were flown at government expense to Australia.
The majority of Vietnamese refugees were housed in migrant centres, run by the Commonwealth Accommodation and Catering Services (CACS). There were four centres in Sydney, four in Melbourne, and one each in Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Perth and in Wollongong.
Families were entitled to stay for 12 months, childless couples for six months and singles for three months, although extensions were available in special circumstances. Accommodation for the first seven days was paid by the government. The refugees were eligible for special social security benefits, and the cost of accommodation was jointly met by deduction from the benefit and government subsidy.
"House parents" were employed by CACS to be responsible for unaccompanied children, and childcare was available. All meals were provided, except in Hobart and Darwin where cooking was done by the residents. There were numerous complaints in other centres because residents were not allowed to cook their own food. There were especially complaints about how rice was cooked. Over time, the menus were changed to incorporate more south-east Asian food.
Free English tuition was available to everyone. Course lengths were varied to meet the needs of participants, varying from five to 10 weeks full-time or a combination of full-time and part-time.
Orientation sessions were run on topics such as unemployment, housing, law, health, finances, social security and interpreting services.
Nurses were available at all centres and doctors visited regularly. Refugees received comprehensive medical screening during their first weeks in residence. Dental care was also provided.
Welfare officers helped the refugees with their documentation, discussed family allowances and schooling and provided advice on available welfare services.
Commonwealth Employment Services workers helped residents to find work. Housing officers kept a comprehensive list of accommodation available for purchase or letting, and acted as intermediaries between residents, real estate agencies and state housing commissions.
A special loan fund was established for refugees resident at a migrant centre. The maximum amount available was $600 for families, $300 for married couples and $100 for singles. The fund was run by voluntary agencies, and was interest-free. The repayment period was usually two years. In the first five months of 1981, an average of 207 loans were issued each month.
A refugee-sponsorship program, the Community Refugee Resettlement Scheme, was also established and by October 1981 had helped 2995 Indochinese. Refugees involved in the scheme were placed in private accommodation arranged by sponsors, friends or family, who agreed to support them for six months. They were eligible for the same government assistance as those refugees in migrant hostels, but it was the responsibility of the sponsor to assist them to access it. Periodic follow-up visits were made by bilingual departmental staff.
In total, 150,000 Vietnamese refugees have settled in Australia. Fifty-five thousand came as refugees between 1975 and 1982, while a further 95,000 came through family reunion.
Why can't Iraqi and Afghan "boat people" arriving today receive similar treatment?
From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.
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