Singapore's Shameful Past..Operation Thunderstorm.. the pushing of Refugees back into the sea
In 1975, North Vietnam invaded the south and captured Saigon, reuniting the country under communist rule. It spelt the end of the Vietnam War, but it also meant hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese fled their homeland as refugees, many of them ventured desperately southwards by sea...
When the refugess reached Singapore, they were intercepted, given food and fuel and told to leave, even if the boats were not sea-worthy. How many died at the hands of the RSN will never be known....
only those picked up by commercial vessels were given refuge at Sembawang’s Hawkins Road Vietnamese Refugee Camp....
An eyewitness wrote:
"I was in the spore navy at that time and those refugees that were intercepted before they reached our coast were provided with food and water and towed out and left to the mercy of the sea. looking back i think it was a shameful thing to do, the boats were definately not seaworthly and most of them perished at sea, the lucky ones made it to australia. how many died after we pushed them back into the ocean, nobody will ever know. it was like a death sentence with a very slim chance of clemency. could we have been more humane and given these people shelter until a third country decides to take them? how would you have felt if you were one of them being treated as if your life is almost worthless? And by the way, some of the boats which were in better condition were seized by the navy and painted in the navy colours and became part of the fleet. what a joke. Anyway this sad part of our history, of how we were so cruel to our fellow human beings will never be taught in schools or mentioned in public." (by "Jo" 6 july 2011)
4 of the 5000 lucky ones who landed at Hawkins Road..... How many perished in the sea after being stopped by the RSN?
In 1975, North Vietnam invaded the south and captured Saigon, reuniting the country under communist rule. It spelt the end of the Vietnam War, but it also meant hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese fled their homeland as refugees, many of them ventured desperately southwards by sea...
When the refugess reached Singapore, they were intercepted, given food and fuel and told to leave, even if the boats were not sea-worthy. How many died at the hands of the RSN will never be known....
only those picked up by commercial vessels were given refuge at Sembawang’s Hawkins Road Vietnamese Refugee Camp....
An eyewitness wrote:
"I was in the spore navy at that time and those refugees that were intercepted before they reached our coast were provided with food and water and towed out and left to the mercy of the sea. looking back i think it was a shameful thing to do, the boats were definately not seaworthly and most of them perished at sea, the lucky ones made it to australia. how many died after we pushed them back into the ocean, nobody will ever know. it was like a death sentence with a very slim chance of clemency. could we have been more humane and given these people shelter until a third country decides to take them? how would you have felt if you were one of them being treated as if your life is almost worthless? And by the way, some of the boats which were in better condition were seized by the navy and painted in the navy colours and became part of the fleet. what a joke. Anyway this sad part of our history, of how we were so cruel to our fellow human beings will never be taught in schools or mentioned in public." (by "Jo" 6 july 2011)
4 of the 5000 lucky ones who landed at Hawkins Road..... How many perished in the sea after being stopped by the RSN?
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