Here at CILISOS, we believe that the only way to consume information is with a serious dose of flavour. The last remaining Vietnamese refugee in Malaysia, out of more than 250,000 "boat people" who began landing there 30 years ago, has returned home, marking a significant milestone in the history. Out in the sea, our main fears were the pirates - who will not hesitate to rob, rape, beat and murder - on top of the natural hardships of starvation, thirst and sea sickness. BOX 27372 They indiscreetly scrutinized us as we treaded gingerly, looking out for relatives and friends, on the white sandy beach. The conflicts brought economic hardships and instability to the people of Vietnam, particularly those associated with the losing side. This little Saigon has been turned to several villages, each with a number of long houses and its own chief. Picked up by local police at 1:30am and by the UNHCR at noon on the following day (by bus to the Marang Transit Camp). It takes 30 minutes to reach the island by speed boat. In 13 years it provided accomodatation to a number of nearly 250,000 Vietnamese boat people, with the topmost crowded period of time in 1980 it housed over 40,000 boat people at one time in a small area of one . The Chinese who did stay, were persecuted by the locals along with their siblings [they] acquired a boat through a friend, a compass, and a map for their journey. This is perhaps why the Terengganu MB, Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, had recently said that the state government is committed to develop Pulau Bidong as a historical tourism site. The photographer was Lachlan Kennedy, who was a member of the Australian Department of Immigration Indo-Chinese Refugee Taskforce, from January-September 1981 during the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For details on the Bidong Island Guided Tour Package, call Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd at 09-6262020. These refugees were creatively named the Vietnamese Boat People by the media. Img from Humanosphere. Then the island was borrowed as a refugee camp from the state government of Terengganu. Waiting for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to process our application for asylum in Australia took nearly two years. Ottawa: The Canadian Asian Studies Association. John Thanh Hung Ho, his brothers Vinh and Duc, and room mates at the refugee camp on Pulau Bidong Island, Trengganu, Malaysia. We took about a week while some other boats spent one or two months being tossed and turned by the waves. 2012 Pulau Bidong 1991 Bidong Camp Closing 1978-1991 Pulau Bidong camp. Other refugee camps were also set up in other regions of Malaysia such as Pulau Tengah, Pulau Besar, Kota Bharu, Kuantan, Sarawak, Sabah, and Kuala Lumpur. Covered all the pantai. Southeast Asian Exodus: From Tradition to Resettlement. Well. See:A beauty of Tioman Island Malaysia never forgets this place! This is not a UNHCR publication. The kids, on the other hand, were kept busy by school, church, temple, and Boy Scouts activities. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the famous Pulau Bidong, while participating in a foster family program in Terengganu. They are not the current views of Museums Victoria, do not reflect current understanding and are not appropriate today. By January 1979, there were 40,000 Vietnamese on the island and by June 1979 it was said to be the most densely populated place on earth with about 40,000 refugees crowded into a flat area hardly larger than a football field.[1]. Mr Kennedy said it was a transitional moment in Australia's history. "We have heard stories of similarly desperate boat people escaping out of the communist Vietnam. No incident encountered (pirates, oil rigs, foreign ships, etc.). It was a risky thing to do, but they were desperate, as recounted by former refugees and their children. Bidong had so many fishes around the island. Bidong Island was officially opened as a refugee camp on 8 August 1978 with 121 Vietnamese refugees. But it wasnt all bad. Geneva: Public Information Section of the UNHCR, January 1985. He was thrown out into the open sea on a dark night. Besides, the visitors also can enjoy snorkeling, Bidong Island diving, and picnic on the beautiful islands beach. In recent times, weve covered quite a bit on refugees: heres a piece on Syrian refugees entering Malaysia, and heres one on Rohingyan refugees. Visitors are encouraged to join a guided tour for safety reasons because there are many "booby traps" in the form of abandoned wells about 20-metre deep dug by the Vietnamese for freshwater. Pulau Bidong's unusual past as a refugee camp has become a quiet tourist draw for many former Vietnamese boat people, a development that was noted by Culture, Youth and Tourism Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir in Parliament on Wednesday. They were also a main source of food to the refugees. In the end, it was decided that my brother, eldest sister and myself was to go, giving the opportunity to the younger generation to make a better life in the outside world. Post-Vietnam War Refugees After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, people started fleeing from Vietnam in boats, arriving in Malaysia, Thailandand Indonesia after crossing the dangerous and pirated Gulf of Thailand. An international volunteer staff of medical personnel tended to the refugee's health problems. Img from Newsweek. Another 600 refugees arrived in August and thereafter the arrival of boats from Vietnam was a near daily occurrence. Certain records contain language or include depictions that are insensitive, disrespectful, offensive or racist. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bidong_Island&oldid=1105891529, This page was last edited on 22 August 2022, at 07:36. 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. They were called boat people. However, the number of boat people fleeing Vietnam was relatively small until 1978. was officially opened as a refugee camp on August 8th, 1978 with 121 Vietnamese refugees. The Vietnamese boat people may have faded from national consciousness, thankfully because the causes which led to such a disruptive human exodus have been dealt with. Voices of refugees. With the closing of the camp, the remaining refugees were repatriated back to Vietnam. While no other major development is planned for the island at the moment, its nice to know for now that the historical value of the island did not go unnoticed by the authorities. Refugee boats were often pushed offshore or towed to Bidong and other designated camps. Bidong Island is accessible from the coastal town of Merang. Doctors were abundant, but medicine was in short supply. I studied at a school in the camp which prepared the refugees for resettlement. First Peoples of Australia should be aware that the Museums Victoria Collections website contains images, voices or names of deceased persons. The station has living quarters and laboratories for students and researchers to study marine ecosystems. Bidong Island is accessible from the coastal town of Merang. In their free time, the adults occupied themselves with vocational training, volunteering, hanging out at coffee shops (which sometimes played Indian and Chinese movies), soccer, and sepak raga (which they learned from the police), and there were mentions of chambers dug underground for when the adults need some privacy. It was a gift from Duong . Imagine a seven year old child with a twelve year old sister, wondering about the safety of our family members back in Vietnam! I was going through the list of boat numbers and noticed that my parent's boat number was not recorded on the list. Water was rationed at one gallon per day per person. 1980 -1981 Pulau Bidong Refugee camp sketches - La Toan Vinh About Us The Vietnamese Heritage Museum (VHM) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of our Vietnamese refugees' heritage. The island has a spectacular backdrop ranging from various species of plants, trees and animals to clear waters surrounding it with a great view of the corals. Boredom and uncertainty are the biggest. CC 2023 Vietnamese Heritage Museum. Because of that, merchant ships who found them floating would often refuse to rescue them, as they feared that they wont be able to unload them when they land. Pulau Bidong was eventually shut down as a refugee camp in October 1991, and the remaining refugees were moved to the Sungai Besi Refugee Center in Kuala Lumpur, where they were either eventually resettled or repatriated back to Vietnam. Museums Victoria does not own the copyright in all the material on this website. You may be required to obtain permission from the copyright owner. On 30 April 1975, the Vietnam War ended with the evacuation of the American Embassy and the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army. Photos. The island is also known as Vietnam Island, as it was once used to keep the Vietnamese refugees during 1976 - 1991. Closing ceremony Bidong was officially closed with a farewell ceremony on October 30th, 1991. The Vietnamese Heritage Museum(VHM)is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation andexhibitionof our Vietnamese refugees heritage. Luck was with our group. Bidong Island was officially handed back to the Terengganu state government, but remains restricted to the public until 1999. Wewishto preserve this heritage for present and future generations to reflect upon. Only emptiness and a strange affectionate air lingers. Today, the recovery is evident as the trees which were once cut down for firewood and building material have regenerated, although some scars - a reminder to visitors of the boat people - are still evident. * * * * * Migration & Cultural Diversity, Transport, Images & Image Making, Donation from Mr Lachlan Kennedy, 16 Mar 2015, Mr Lachlan Kennedy, Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Malaysia, Apr 1981, Migration, Processing - immigration selection, Refugee camps, Vietnamese Immigration, Refugees, Water Transport, Water Vessel, Boats, Immigration, Immigrant Voyages, Immigration Selection, Vietnam War Refugees, Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/2103284Accessed 05 March 2023, We support the open release of data and information about our collections. In 1979, Tun Mahathir, who was the deputy Prime Minister back then, made a controversial statement saying that Malaysia would remove some 70,000 refugees from the camp and put them out to sea again, as well as shooting on sight any refugee boats attempting to land. With the only navigation tools they had of a compass and a map, they sailed to the closest country with hopes that they will accept the refugees. Another 600 refugees arrived in August and thereafter the arrival of boats from Vietnam was a near daily occurrence. Finally the theme of refugee, internee and detainee craft recurs across time and place and provides a tangible connection between very different human experiences, the trauma, economy and the tedium of which has been consistently alleviated through artistic practice. This collection enables the telling of both stories, with primacy given in this instance to the employee as custodian of the objects. Plan a visit to the island when you traveling to Malaysia and get a unique experience there. Since we did not have any adults to protect us, we were often bullied. Life on Hell Island Huynh's boat arrived on Pulau Bidong in 1978, just weeks after the island was opened to refugees. VHM collects and sharesthetestimonies and artifacts that tell the stories of the Vietnamese refugees. The journey continued for 6 days in the calm sea. Pulau Bidong was closed on Oct 30, 1991. The refugees strongly protested their forced repatriation. All Rights Reserved. Pulau Bidong Refugee Camp 1978 - 1991, Malaysia: Current News Home Thailand Koh Kra: Hell on Earth Songkhla Laem Sing; Malaysia Pulau Bidong Pulau Tengah; Indonesia . Well be looking at the issue shortly, but first things first. Vietnamese American Experiences at Westminster High School, Les Bird Book Signing: Along the Southern Boundary, Author Hour: Les Bird at Santa Ana Library, K c thuyn nhn ti trin lm ca Vin Bo Tng Di Sn Ngi Vit Little Saigon TV, PHOTOS: VHM Annual Gala A Reflection of Our Past. The vocational school still has leftovers like television tubes, circuit boards, carpentry work-tables and tailoring guides - obviously displaying the training that UNHCR had given to refugees before sending them on to a permanent host country. Vietnamese Heritage Museum To ensure the refugees got humanitarian aid and better living conditions, the UNHCR through the International Red Cross supervised the activities on the island.