Vietnamese visitors take to Australia
Australia's bid to stem the flow of illegal immigrants
from Asia suffered another setback in October. After
attending an agricultural and livestock exhibition in
Brisbane in mid-August, some Vietnamese delegates
apparently concluded that Australia offered greener
pastures than home. Four of them overstayed their visas
and have gone missing, while one has emerged to apply
for a "protection visa," which requires proof of a
well-founded fear of persecution at home, according to
Australian immigration officials.
The five hail from the
central Vietnam provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh,
where they work on agricultural projects. Officials in
Hanoi and the provinces expressed surprise and
confusion over the disappearances. But some officials
maintained that the overstaying delegates had no
previous record of friction with local authorities, and
asserted that they were merely overstaying to spend
more time with relatives or collect loans from other
Vietnamese migrants. Australia ranks Vietnam fifth
among countries with the most egregious record of
overstaying visitors--at a rate of 3.6%--but won't
release data on the number of people seeking asylum.
Meanwhile, the other four among the nine-member
delegation have returned home.
The Far Eastern Economic Review - October 17, 2002.
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