Boat People

The Vietnamese Boat people are refugees who have fled their country in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Refugees from Laos, Cambodia, and especially Vietnam are referred to as “boat people” because they fled their respective countries. Refugees from these countries were fleeing shortly after the Vietnam War had ended. The Vietnam War was a cold war which took place from November 1st, 1955 until April 30th, 1975. On April 30th, 1975 was the day that the fall of Saigon took place, essentially this means that communists took power of the government. The Communist government set up “re-education camps” for people who still believed in the old government, in these camps 165,000 people died, 1 to 2 million people was imprisoned for no apparent reason when the communist government took over, no formal charges or trials were given. Furthermore, at least 200,000 southern Vietnamese were executed, and tens of thousands of Vietnamese people committed suicide when the communist government took over. Essentially, these countries became so poor they were unable to feed themselves and this resulted in famine which led to many deaths in the 1980’s. With all these occurrences it ultimately led to the destruction of Vietnam and caused many people to become refugees “Boat People”.

First of all, Vietnamese boat people came from many areas they range from several countries such as; Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. People from these countries attempted to escape by boat many of which were unsuccessful, but for the people that did succeed are now referred to as “boat people”. “The first wave in 1975 included 140,000 South Vietnamese, mostly political leaders, army officers, and skilled professionals escaping the communist takeover. Fewer than a thousand Vietnamese successfully fled the nation.” For the people that were able to flee, they fled safely to refugee camps in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and Hong Kong. Many of these boat people that