越南知多少-50

以下就是叙述了他『乘搭新安号由越南经海南岛到香港35天』的英文版，希望大家能介绍给各自的子弟了解一下：

This article aims to capture and preserve a very tragic period of time and not let the journey and challenges faced by many be forgotten.

The Sen On traveled from Vietnam to Hong Kong via Hainan Island in 35 days

It All Starts in Vũng Tàu City

It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, April 22, 1979. Around noon two buses packed with passengers and luggage were driven out of a state-owned fishmeal factory in Bến Đá Fishing Village, Vũng Tàu, 37.3 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Saigon in South Vietnam to a place called Quán Chim. There they met with other people from various locations.

About 70 of this group came from the 394 Chinese in Vũng Tàu; they were from the #999 wooden boat and had special permission to leave the country semi-officially.

Taking a step back a bit, after the fall of South Vietnam to the North Vietnamese Communists in 1975, Vũng Tàu city became part of Đồng Nai Province. Soon, within a few years, it became just as lifeless and desolate as all the other cities in South Vietnam. But in the autumn of 1978, it suddenly seemed to spring to life. Many people flocked to this coastal city looking for opportunities to go abroad, bringing life back to this previously forgotten part of the country.

However, in early 1979, Vũng Tàu slipped back into being a suffocated city as characterized in many socialist countries. Although there were still many wooden fishing boats along the coast of Bến Đá fishing village, their owners could not afford the amount of gold payments required by the Vietnamese police security authorities.

From all the seaside cities such as Đà Nẵng, Quy Nhơn, Nha Trang, Phan Thiết in the middle of the country, to the south like Vũng Tàu, Biên hòa, Mỹ Tho, Rạch Giá, Hà Tiên, Cà Mau… the local governments were all accepting under the table gold payments to allow people to leave the country. The Vietnamese authorities have never admitted that there was this type of semi-official policy. If anyone dared to talk about it in public, without a doubt they would have been arrested immediately.

The wooden refugee boats from Vũng Tàu were previously moored in the port of the Alaska Barge Transport Company, which was a former supply transportation depot for the U.S. in the Vietnamese Third Military Region.

In early 1979, the local authority ordered the wooden boats to pick up their passengers from Quán Chim. This was a desolate place, and like all coastal areas of Vietnam, it was classified as a restricted area. Anyone who entered without permission would be charged with attempt of fleeing out of the country.

After eight months and costing the local Chinese citizens significant amounts of money and energy, construction of the #999 wooden boat in Vũng Tàu was finally completed. The boat was 73.8 feet (22.5 meters) long and 14.8 feet (4.5 meters) wide. The government agencies who had authorized the building of this boat were the Vũng Tàu City Police Department and the Vietnam Motherland Front (Mặt trận Tổ Quốc). These agencies authorized the Chinese to build at the Chấn Phát shipyard. The cost of the equipment, materials, and wages amounted to hundreds of gold taels (about 37.5 grams each - một lượng vàng). Additional boarding fees charged to the passengers were equivalent to the cost of the ship building. The organizers also had to meet the various requirements of the Municipal Police.

Finally, the passengers were approved to leave Vietnam, but had to give up all their property, including the #999 wooden boat. In the light of sunset, there were two thatched cottages full of people in Quán Chim. They were all lying on the ground, each with a shoulder bag - the only remaining property they had.

The situation of #999 wooden boat was not unique. There were many other wooden boat organizers that went through the same political, bureaucratic, and economic pain and were still waiting to leave the country. Quán Chim was near to an estuary. There was a freighter anchored in the middle of the river. It was both large and old and was clearly not a Vietnamese-style sea-going vessel. This old freighter, which should have been scrapped long ago, was the Sen On freighter that later became famous in Hong Kong on the outlying island of Lantau.

There were two patrol boats moored at a makeshift pier. This was a command post that controlled the area and was the last checkpoint for the refugees leaving the country. The military personnel in uniforms had guns on their shoulders and patrolled around, pushing back villagers and street hawkers who came to watch and to sell food and drinks.

This was our last evening in Vietnam, April 22, 1979. There were a few kerosene lamps illuminating the inside of the dim cottages. Although people were hungry and ravaged by mosquitoes, they did not say a word. They were gathering here waiting to leave the country and were tired of the ruthless treatment and persecution of the Vietnamese regime.

The Conspiracy of the Vietnamese Authority

It feels that as of April 30, 1975, when North Vietnam finally realized its occupation of the South, the Vietnamese Communist Authority was unable to wait for its revenge. Years of hatred that had accumulated during the Vietnam War began to show itself in acts of revenge on the poor people of the South. South Vietnamese citizens understood this and were living in justifiable fear.

In the past, the Vietnamese Communists fought against France, then against the United States, and finally unified the country. They were proud of their heroic sacrifice. But after the victory, they turned to purge the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the ties with Russia drew closer. However, relations with China, who had helped them massively during the war, were beginning to deteriorate.

The new regime confiscated all former government military and civilian properties and annulled the former regime’s currency; previously wealthy people became poor overnight.

Many labor camps and so-called new economic zones were established for the isolation and re-education of the former military and political personnel and to drive urban people away from the cities. Food and daily necessities were strictly rationed. The economy soon devolved into a state of chaos. Raw materials became scarce. There were many people unemployed and commercial activities were prohibited. News outlets were closed. The entire affluent class in the South disappeared. The new policies were particularly harsh to the ethnic Chinese.

Political persecution caused close relatives and friends to not dare to speak casually to each other. The slightest slip-up or flaring of temporary anger could be disastrous. The community security forces were secret police officers. Their mission was to spy on people's privacy by following and checking identity accounts and backgrounds and find ways to arrest them. One never knew whom to trust. Like all police states, the Vietnamese Authority also had many spies who served as their eyes and ears to monitor the ordinary people.

Life was hard, and the law and order of the society had quickly broken down. Many people committed crimes. They stole and robbed money from others to survive themselves. Personal morality became a liability. Those who managed to make use of the opportunity thrived, but most simply descended into hopelessness. Those who could afford it or those who had successfully hidden assets from the authorities contemplated leaving.

On the morning of April 23, 1979, the local authorities asked us would-be passengers of the Sen On Freighter to hand over their identity cards and their remaining local currency, and then lined them up along the river bank. They carefully checked everyone against the name list provided by the Vũng Tàu Police Department. It would have been impossible for anyone to sneak onboard the Sen On freighter waiting on the dock.

Group by group we were transferred from a small wooden boat to the freighter. The word "Panama" was painted on her stern and "Sen On" was painted on the bow. Sheng Cheong was the real name of the ship. It was a Panama registered ship belonging to a shipping company based in Macau. The vessel was about forty-fifty meters in length and was about six meters wide, weighing in at maybe 800 tons. It was very shabby and listed slightly to one side. The freighter’s crew had smuggled rice to Vietnam and colluded with the Vietnamese Authorities on the return trip to illegally assist in the transportation of refugees.

There were two Hong Kong crew members on board the ship counting the number of passengers as they boarded, with Vietnamese armed guards at the main entrances. By afternoon, the ship was full of people. The Vietnamese Authorities continued to send people from the shore to the ship, despite being pushed beyond the capacity limit. The Vietnamese Authorities were willing to pay 2 gold taels for each passenger. 55-year-old Captain Lee Naihao agreed to carry up to 800 people. However, there were now more than 1,400 refugees aboard but had only received ~1,200 gold tael in payment. The captain tried to negotiate with the Vietnamese Authorities but got nowhere under the barrel of a gun. The Vietnamese Authority told him that the crew should search the luggage of the refugees and to take any additional gold they could find.

Preparing to Leave

The Hong Kong sailors had already had a taste from the Vietnamese Authority. When the ship arrived, the Vietnamese asked the captain to report all they had on board and the amount of fuel needed for the return journey. The captain replied that it would take seven days to return and would consume a ton of fuel per day. Since the Vietnamese Authority knew that the ship had 22 tons of fuel, they brought in a tanker to syphon off the surplus fuel! The captain did not expect this. If the ship did not have enough fuel, the consequences would be disastrous. To prevent this, the captain quickly transferred some fuel to a water tank at the stern leaving another filled with water. Both tanks had no cover and tank with fuel was so full that it spilled over to the clean water tank contaminating the drinking water. There was also a supply of western medicine, instant noodles and gasoline on board. The Vietnamese Authority took most of it, even a radio cassette recorder belonging to a sailor was also taken away.

Prior to Sen On, there were also other freighters that carried Vietnamese refugees to various parts of Southeast Asia. Some of the more famous names were the Qunyuan No. 2 in Taiwan; Huey Fong, Skyluck, and Xialong in Hongkong; Tung An in Philippines, Hai Long off Malaysia and of course many more wooden boats of different sizes. These facts clearly revealed the shameless policy of the central government in Hanoi. They were the most despicable, cruel, sinister, shameless people - exporting a large number of refugees for gold.

From 1978-1979 alone, there were about 290,000 refugees flooding into neighboring Asian countries. The scale of the refugee flood was the largest of that time. The number of people who lost their lives, of those who were raped or robbed by pirates, is still unknown. The Chinese people for generations lived in Vietnam and worked hard but in the end, they were deprived of their homes were uprooted and forced to flee so tragically. Since that time, the Chinese who left wanted nothing more to do with this country Việt nam.

The Sen On ship set sail at 3 pm following a Vietnamese patrol boat, sailing off the coast from Vũng Tàu. There were more than 1400 refugees on board of the ship, a mix of ethnic Chinese and native Vietnamese. When the ship passed Front Beach, the sky was already dark and the waves were getting higher than usual. The patrol boat stopped and let Sen On sail on. Street lights and pedestrians were clearly visible when the freighter passed Front Beach (Bãi Trước) and some refugees and Vietnamese waved to each other. Soon we passed Rear Beach (Bãi Sau), then Long Hải, and finally Phứơc Hải gradually disappeared from sight.

The freighter originally had only an upper deck and a lower deck. However, there was a pseudo-deck in the middle with ladders connecting up and down which could fit additional. There was no ventilation apart from the openings to the upper deck. Now the entire ship, even the bridge was crowded with people. The upper deck had hanging canvases that were hindering ventilation but were good at providing some shelter for the people from hot sun. The lower deck was suffocating and was both greasy and dirty; it was almost like a stove, crowded with the “elite” members the wooden boat #999 (the leading and previously wealthier members and their families in the Chinese community in Vũng Tàu).

Some of the elites from the wooden boat #999 include Đặng Cận, Siêu-Tài-Oai, Ngô-Lai, Kha-Tử-Tham, Trình-Quốc, Thái-Long, Lý-Thiệu-Lân, Trần-Quảng, La-Kim-Tường, Đường Ngô Kiết Anh, Phùng-Chiêu, Ông Vĩnh-Ký, Trần-Văn-Đạo, etc.

Of the 1435 people on board the Sen On ship, passengers from the wooden boat #999 from Vũng Tàu comprised the largest percentage, with 394 people. Other passengers came from wooden boats from other cities. These were #1189 with 300 passengers, #603 with 170, #414 with 151, #919 with 60, and #1149 with 50. Additionally, there were 160 people from the Saigon group and 150 from the Biên-Hòa group.

80% of the refugees were ethnic Chinese. The refugees from wooden boats #1189 and #919 were native Vietnamese. Most of the refugees came from the South but some families were among those who relocated from North Vietnam back in 1954.

The captain of the ship was Mr. Lee, roughly 50 years old, and he spoke slowly and calmly but guarded. From time to time, he threw out some paper money from the bridge to bribe the sea gods for safe passage. The ship's owner, Mr. Xu, was about the same age as Captain Lee and rarely showed his face. “Mr. Xu” was a pseudonym; his real name was later found out to be Li QuiZhen. He was also the navigator but had no formal authority. Other sailors, who also went by other names, included a guy named Tak; Li Sheng who was a mechanic and wore overalls all day long; and Zhou, who was a cook and a part-time nurse. He gave out medicine and medicated oil to everyone. He was the sailor most in contact with the refugees. He also executed Captain Lee’s orders to control water and food. There were a few others who were referred to as “the tall one,” “the fat one,” and “the noisy one.” There were nine crew members in total.

In order to facilitate communication between the sailors and the passengers and organize distribution of food in the journey, a committee was formed to assume some form of leadership aboard the freighter. There were a total of 10 people in the committee, which included Captain Lee and Mr. Xu. Other members included representatives from each of the wooden boats, almost like individual communities. Of those that could be recalled, Mr. Trình Quốc represented #999, Mr. Wang represented #414, and Mr. Phùng on behalf of the Saigon Group.

The following is a list of the nine crew members and their real names, which was certified by the Hong Kong courts. Only three were official crew members. There was also a shareholder, a broker, and four ship repairers. Five were Hong Kong residents and four were from Macao. A motley group such as this, bringing 1,433 Vietnamese refugees to Lantau Island ended up causing much concern to the Hong Kong government.

The Voyage with Precarious Toilets

On the first night after leaving Vũng Tàu, everyone was extremely dehydrated. There was already a lack of water supply while the people waiting to board the ship. Many people were ill-prepared and did not have much food and drink with them. Refugees had intended to bring their own rice but were told that there would be food on board. To exasperate the situation, Captain Lee had ordered the sailors to not provide drinking water.

By the second day aboard, Tuesday, April 24, the refugees had not eaten or had anything to drink for two and a half days. Everyone was extremely thirsty and hungry, and the odor and stench from the ship were overwhelming, which made matters worse. The sailors took this as an opportunity to exact gold from the refugees in exchange for food and water. Their excuse was that the gold paid by the Vietnamese Authority did not meet the original contract and was not enough to cover the cost of hiring wooden boats from Macau to ferry the refugees to the land. Therefore, to exchange for instant noodles, boiled water, porridge and other food, adults needed to pay 3/10 of a bar of gold (0.3 x 37.5 = 11.25 grams, ba chỉ vàng) each, and children paid half. The rich, such as the elites from #999 who still had gold with them, were quickly compromised and paid up. Those who could not afford ate what little dried food they had luckily hidden and brought with them.

On the third day, the freighter continued heading north along the coast of Vietnam. There were no other vessels in sight along the way. The sea was a dark blue. This was the calmest season in the South China Sea. Throughout the day, Captain Lee and his sailors were busy collecting gold and money; it was obviously a big gain for them.

On the fourth day, Captain Lee allowed the kitchen to be open for use of the stoves to cook porridge using rice and water. Each group of wooden boats would send people to take turns cooking porridge. Distressingly, the water contaminated with fuel was what was available for use. Everyone ate and drank from this unclean water until they landed on Hainan Island.

There were four toilets on the ship. The best one was next to the kitchen, above the water tank. This toilet was for the sailors and some refugees who somehow were able to live in the sailor cabins. For an unknown reason the ship could not draw any sea water to flush the toilets. In order to save water, the toilets were only flushed when it had accumulated enough waste to make it necessary. The water used in flushing the toilet was drawn from the water tank. Sometimes the water splashed into the clean water tank where everyone takes drinking water from.

The second toilet was at the stern. It was extended out and welded onto the railing, with the only covering being some sackcloth wrapped around. While in use, passengers could feel dizzy staring to the sea below and became uncomfortable with the cool breeze of the open are on their bare bottoms.

The other two toilets were located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. They were made simply of wooden planks wrapped with sackcloth. However, there were ropes and buckets that could be used to draw sea water to flush away the waste. Because there were so many people queuing for the toilet, users had to wait a long time. It was a big headache whichever toilet they chose to use.

The upper deck was full of people. The only passage to go from one side to the other was to climb along the railing, which was a bit like walking on a cliff. It was possible to fall off into the sea at any time.

Being in an overcrowded and sweaty environment for days, some people took the lead to bathe in the sea. Soon, large multitudes of people gathered to one side of the ship waiting for their turn for a bath. The old ship was in danger of overturning. A sailor came out with a loudspeaker to persuade people distributed evenly to both sides for balance. From then on, every day, men and women bathed in the sea. The salt water dried out their hair and skin, and in such an unhygienic environment, head lice developed and soon spread to everyone.

On the fifth night, an elderly woman at the stern died of frailty and exposure to the bad environment. She was Tô-Phước (黃花 1910-1979), aged 69, and mother of Quang Châu. She was buried at sea, and according to custom, the captain circled the ship three times while sea scattering paper money to send her off.

The freighter kept sailing day and night between the international and the Vietnamese waters so that it would not be discovered by other ships. Captain Lee’s plan was to take the ship to a location near Macau, and then, he would arrange for the refugees to be picked up by smaller wooden boats so as to make them appear to be coming directly from Vietnam. That way, both Sen On and its crew will avoid trouble with the Hong Kong authorities.

By this point, the freighter was expected to arrive to its destination within a day or two, and the sailors advised the refugees to toss excess baggage as it would help with the transfer onto smaller wooden boats. The refugees trusted their word and threw much of their luggage away into the sea. However, as a result, they did not have many clothes to change into when they unexpectedly arrived at Hainan Island later.

The Chinese Navy Arrives

On the sixth day, it was closer to the transfer date and everyone was outwardly smiling. During the day, the freighter sailed past many islands. The trees and beaches on the shore were clearly visible. A Chinese Navy patrol boat appeared at noon and we speculated that we may be close to Hainan Island. At night, the sailors drank a lot as they celebrated their soon return home to Hong Kong and Macau.

At about 10:30 pm, there were some intermittent grinding sounds coming from the bottom of the ship. Later, the sound got more frequent and louder. Everyone woke up at these sounds. Then there was a much louder and frightening rumbling sound. The ship shuddered and the lights went out. Then, it was quiet. No one dared to make a noise. At some point, the lights came back on, but the ship was not moving. The captain and crew tried get the ship moving but after struggling for two hours, the ship was still not able to move. It became apparent that the ship was grounded by something, possibly a reed. We could see that we were just off the southernmost tip of Hainan Island and not far from the coast.

Throughout the night, the sailors and the refugee representatives were seeking countermeasures. Flares were fired and people were sent to the shore to request help, but all calls for help were declined by the Chinese Authorities. Finally, after persistent requests, the Chinese Authorities consented to bring in assistance. In hindsight, were lucky as the Chinese Authorities had been informed by Coast Guards of a passing refugee ship; had they not known they would have fired on the ship.

Two Chinese Navy naval vessels arrived early in the morning the next day. The larger of the vessels anchored away from the reef. A smaller one, which was a flat-bottomed landing craft, was able to get close to Sen On to attach towing cables. The crews were mostly young men with short hair. They were strong and fast, and the vessels were very new. There were also villagers standing on the shore watching all the excitement.

At about 10 am, when the tide was at its highest, the larger naval ship towed the freighter hard. Sen On was quickly dragged off the coral reef and everyone cheered. However, the rudder did not operate and could not turn the ship round. Suddenly, a big wave came and pushed the freighter to higher reefs. The tides had receded and at this point the ship could not break free. Both naval vessels pulled hard until their cables snapped. The force of the tow caused a big tear at the bottom of the ship and started taking on water. The sea became rougher and for the time being the Chinese Navy felt they could do nothing more and left.

Playing the Blame Game

On April 29th, it was the seventh day after leaving Vietnam. If Sen On hadn’t accidentally run onto the reef, the ship would have arrived in Macau that day. At noon, a group of Chinese Navy/South China Sea Fleet officers went on board Sen On to investigate the cause of the accident and to inspect the damage to the bilge. One officer asked the helmsman what the bearing of the ship was on the night it initially ran aground. The helmsman said that it was sixty degrees. The officer said that it should have been 30 degrees. Mr. Xu, who was the navigator, said the compass was old and the ship had a slight list. Needless to say, it could have been due to the sailors on duty who had been drinking excessively. The navy officer saw that they put the blame on one another and that Sen On’s crew members were refugee smugglers. The owner of the ship, Mr. Xu, who shared his bedroom with a female Vietnamese, blamed the accident on Captain Lee. He said Captain Lee leased the ship from him and he was not responsible apart from navigating the ship. He also said Captain Lee had been doing very well getting money from the passengers on this trip but did not share the profits with him. There was a lot of drama, infighting, and conflict of interest among the sailors. The navy officer ignored them but took down information about the ship, its purpose, as well as details of the accident. The Chinese Authority did not want to get involved in the problem of refugees and the internal dispute among the crew members, and as such decided to ignore the plight of Sen On and her cargo.

Some of the Vietnamese men made use of the chaotic situation to cause trouble. They ganged together to form large mobs to rob the sailors. They took away their food, including vegetables, frozen meat, canned meat, dried vegetables, sweet potatoes, and even chopsticks, toilet paper, and detergent. They even commandeered the rice, noodles, and salt for the whole ship. Then they occupied the kitchen to eat and drink there.

Another day passed and it was April 30th, which was a sad day. It was the anniversary South Vietnam being defeated by the North. Four years later, a disaster struck Sen On. Refugees on the ship were generally in a dark mood that day and the next. May 1st was International Labor Day, and while the whole world celebrated with joy, Sen On was in a remote corner of the South China Sea, lying bleak and helpless, lacking both food and water.

Through the hole in the hull caused by damage from the reef, seawater entered the ship and the bottom deck became flooded and submerged. We were forced to go ashore, despite the approval to disembark onto Hainan Island from Haikou City having not yet arrived. Those of us that made it to shore had nowhere to go but to stay and sleep on the sandy beach. Later, we were allowed to find refuge in the pine forest. Without food, we collected some wild vegetables as food and were given some sweet potatoes by compassionate villagers.

By May 2nd, there was little hope left on the freighter. Many passengers helped each other get to land. Luggage, children, and women were placed on inflatable rubber boats and dinghies, while the men swam and pushed them to the land. Although the distance to shore was nice far, the water was still deep, requiring much exertion from already malnourished and tired men. During this time, the local militia neither stopped nor helped them. They just watched with the villagers.

During this time, another elderly woman died. She was allowed to be buried at the beach. She was Lê Kim Hảo 黎金好, aged 66, and the aunt of Lê Thế Vinh. Additionally, there was poor mother who had been holding her dead baby for a few days, which likely died due to starvation. The local villagers brought food to help and comfort this mourning mother. However, it was not all bad. One woman from wooden boat #999 was able to give birth to a baby girl.

On May 3rd, there were about three to four hundred people still on the freighter. The sky turned dark and stormy and the sea surged so roughly that they could come to land. Night fell and it rained all night. Everyone was soaked, cold, and hungry.

On May 4th, local government officials met with the committee of wooden boat representatives to warn the refugees to abide by local laws and regulations. We had no food and limited shelter but were forbidden from contacting villagers or leaving the camp.

Life on Hainan Island Exposes Human Weaknesses

The local government had been exerting tremendous pressure on Captain Lee to pay for the towing service and for the meals needed to feed the refugees. Officials were insistent to the point where Lee was unable to refuse.

On May 5th, each wooden boat representative sent several refugees to help with cooking a kilometer or so away from the campsite. The cooking took place in thatched-roof houses. Next to them was a brick storage house used as a pantry. The refugees brought cooked meals back to the camp to distribute to everyone. Each person received two meals a day, each consisting of a bowl of porridge and a sweet potato. It was monotonous, but it was nourishing.

Three days later, the weather calmed down enough for all the remaining refugees aboard the freighter to come to shore. Tools and cables for towing were brought in by two large vessels under the orders of the local Chinese, which were piled up on the beach.

Living on the beach was much better than being crowded on the ship. The refugees enjoyed the fresh air, openness, and beauty of Hainan Island. Chinese food cooperatives brought in their goods to sell in the camp. There were canned foods, tobacco, alcohol, tea, milk, sugar, fish, meat, vegetables, melons, beans, paper fans, toilet paper, soap, plastic buckets, plastic sheets, cooking pots, and more. At the time, 100 USD exchanged for 154 RMB; gold exchanged much lower - one bar (37.5 grams) of gold exchanged as low as 95 RMB. Passengers could also sell their personal valuables, such as foreign luxury watches, for money. The villagers were very eager to buy automatic watches, so they solicited the refugees to sell them their watches. Refugees generally preferred to sell their valuables privately to the villagers because the official purchase prices were too low.

Almost every refugee family looked for firewood in the pine forest to cook the sweet potatoes that they got from the villagers. The richer families could afford better and more food to eat. The whole place quickly became very smoky from the cooking activities from different families.

The short stay on Hainan Island exposed the human weaknesses of the refugees. It was a hard time for everyone, and no one knew how long they would be forced to stay. In this time of trial, instead of helping one another to get through the ordeal, or showing love to each other, the refugees turned towards selfishness, intolerance, and lack of sympathy. The tragic reality was that friendships and family relationships could sometimes be worth less than a bowl of porridge or a sweet potato.

Another human weakness was the disregard for the environment. The beach was originally very clean. However, with the arrival of the refugees, the beach and pine forests became littered with garbage and no one thought to clean up the messes made. Additionally, the periphery of the refugee camp became littered with refugee-made “stool mines.” The refugees left diarrhea and feces everywhere, which then attracted and bred many mosquitoes and flies. At night, there is no light hard to see clearly and these “stool mines” were easy to step on.

Fresh water was always in short supply. Although the villagers carried water to the camp from a long distance every day, refugees in the middle of the camps were still unreached. The situation was made worse by daily unruly confrontation and fighting for water, often resulting in half of the water being gone. Near the place where porridge was cooked, there was a well and the water quality was excellent - clean and cold. But this well water was not allowed to be used. There were many wells near the campsite, but refugees were not allowed to venture out, so they still had no access to the water. The only place where we could get water was from a hole at the edge of the camp, but it was only about one and a half meters deep. The water amount was just a few inches from the bottom, so people had to jump down into the hole to get it. Even so, many people gathered at this water hole every day, scooping out water little by little. To have a bath we had to go out to the sea and use seawater, but seawater contained a lot of salt and it was very uncomfortable afterwards.

Hainan Island was full of coconut trees and pine trees. The trees had been planted on the beach and sea front as windbreakers. Houses were built under the tree shade. It was said this was the way people lived in China. The villagers lived a simple lifestyle and were kind. Most had bicycles, wore clean clothes, and had sufficient food, but not many had sewing machines. All of them spoke Mandarin but used Hainan dialect among their own people. The villagers said that the Cultural Revolution under the Gang of Four was the bleakest time they have ever had, but then Deng Xiaoping improved their life quality. All adult young men and women were required to serve in the militia. However, only people with a good and clean personal record could join the People’s Liberation Army.

Finally Leaving Hainan Island

On May 11th, with assistance of two naval vessels, Sen On was finally pulled off the reef into deep water when the tide was at its peak. The rudder and the bottom of the ship had been seriously damaged, so it was no longer able to sail, and was anchored away from the coral reef to await repairs.

The towing fees were 88,000 RMB. Captain Lee could not afford it. After several days of bargaining, the bill was offset by 800 gold bars. As for the repair, he did not dare to bother the Chinese. Several sailors, with help from some of the refugees, stayed on board to do the repair. But they had difficulty working on the steel plate that had bent upward at the bottom of the ship, as well as lifting the rudder.

Then one day gale force winds blew the ship off its anchor to a long distance away. The ship appeared to be a tiny black dot on the horizon. The crew on board fired a flare to call for help. The refugees on the land were in a heavy mood as they saw the ship being battered in strong wind and high sea.

On May 15th, the Chinese village cadres came to collect money for the meals provided. Each person was asked to pay 1 RMB per day. From May 5th to 15th, the cost was 10 RMB. This was a mandatory payment. Those who said they had no money to pay had their luggage searched. This was due in part to the wealthy refugees who had spent a bit of money to buy up the goods from the food cooperatives and the fish and vegetables from the villagers. Their big spending had caused the Chinese to think all refugees were rich. In the end, they took only 5 RMB per person.

China had no intention in retaining us refugees, and no one wanted to stay. We preferred to settle elsewhere, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France. However, we all understood that without the help of China, Sen On couldn't be repaired, and the ship and its passengers would not be able to continue their journey.

The Chinese had been interrogating and monitoring Captain Lee and his sailors and had taken their photos. Indeed, this crew was not having a good time. On May 20th, the Chinese agreed with Captain Lee to repair the ship for 400 gold bars. That was all Captain Lee could pay. Adding together the towing cost of 800 gold bars, all the gold Captain Lee was paid by the Vietnamese government was now in the hands of the Chinese.

There was no more money left for the Chinese to take. Sen On was finally allowed to end her suffering. The ship was eventually towed to Sanya port for final repairs. The refugees, who had little money left, were told to get ready and could buy dry food in cash. If the weather was good, they could leave in three days’ time.

On May 22nd, the Chinese informed the refugees that they were ready to leave. We were told not to take any Chinese currency and to take off labels of goods we had purchased. Our camps had to be dismantled at 3am the next morning and we would head to Sanya at 5am. That night, the refugees lit a bonfire. One of the families played a goodbye song on their cassette recorder to bid farewell to Hainan Island.

On the morning of the May 23rd, we all headed out according to plan. The elderly and the weak got a ride on the trucks. Everyone else walked with their own luggage. It was hard. The baggage was mostly canned meat, condensed milk, sugar, pots, and other heavy objects. The villagers, the militia, and even the police came to lend helping hands, and some small dinghies also came to ferry. We finally arrived at Sanya Port around noon.

Sanya was a beautiful place with many coconut trees. It had a simple pier. There were many villagers who came to watch. There were village chiefs, cadres, and militia around just like the time we left Vietnam. They checked the name of each refugee carefully. Sen On was repaired and cleaned up at this time, and the spots allocated for each wooden boat were clearly marked out by paint. At about 3 pm, Sen On was towed by a Chinese tugboat out to the sea, just like a month ago when it was sent off by a Vietnamese patrol boat.

Despite the repairs, Sen On's hull was not very strong. When it appeared about to be torn away by the pulling force the towing rope, the rope was cut and Sen On was able to sail away on its own. However, after the serious damage the ship could only sail at slower speed. The refugees waved goodbye to the Chinese navy, steamed away, and the land gradually disappeared from sight.

Thankfully, the weather was very good and the sea was calm. Everyone was tired and soon fell asleep. Captain Lee chose a few refugees who knew seafaring to assist in sailing.

Captain and Sailors Abandon Ship

On May 24th, Captain Lee said all the gold he received from the Vietnamese Authority had all been paid to the Chinese and that he did not make any money on this trip. He had no money left to hire wooden boats to transfer the refugees to Macau. He asked the refugees to take out their gold again, but no one took notice of him. The refugees had already spent all their money on Hainan Island. This time, Captain Lee did not dare to withhold the provisions of rice and water. In fact, the refugees had already stocked up plenty of dry food.

There was some sympathy for Captain Lee and the sailors as they would no doubt be arrested once we arrived at our destination. However, Captain Lee had already decided to abandon the ship. He asked some refugee seafarers to take over the control and showed them the route to Macau. In the evening, an airplane appeared in the sky flying over Sen On, which at that point was crowded with people and full of tents, blankets, and hammocks. No one knew if the ship was spotted.

On May 25th, a yellow motorboat arrived and took away Captain Lee, who was neatly dressed and carried with him briefcase. At the same time, some cigarettes, wine, and oranges were given to the new sailors who would take over the freighter. Captain Lee had now left but the remaining eight crew members were still there. The crew said that we would arrive at a sandbank by night, which would be about two hours away from Macau and four hours to Hong Kong. There would be a wooden boat that people could board if they had gold which would allow them to leave Sen On earlier, but no one paid attention.

The evening came and the freighter sailed very slowly. It was obvious the sailors were anxious and getting ready to leave. They bathed in the precious fresh water and put on dress clothes as if they were going to a banquet. There was a flashing light in the distance, which was a signal from a small motorboat. The sailors told everyone not to turn on their flashlights. Then the logbook was taken away and the communication equipment was destroyed. The small motorboat arrived and the sailors got on it. Before they left, they called out to the refugee sailors to continue sailing ahead, aiming for the light in the distance, which they said was Macau. We were instructed to have the ship run aground so that the Macau Authorities would be forced to accept the refugees.

After all the sailors had left, the freighter suddenly slowed down. Those responsible at the helm, and the person in charge of the machine room, had left their positions and rushed to the cabins to fight for any valuable items left behind by the sailors. During this time, the representatives of the wooden boats debated in the control room if they should follow the instruction of the sailors. Some radicals advocated to go ahead but the others wanted to be cautious. There was suspicion that something was not quite right - although there were some lights in the distant destination it appeared to be a desolate place. Even though no one had ever been to Macau, its night sky did not match the expectation of a modern city.

Just when everyone thought that the small motorboat had already gone, it surprisingly returned to ask why we had not moved! It was clear that the sailors had been watching in the dark. We did not answer and eventually the small motorboat left. In the end, we all agreed to wait until dawn before making the next move.

Home Stretch

In the early morning of May 26th, someone swam onto land to see if they could get information. There were some Chinese militia on the shore and we discovered we were in the Pearl River Estuary. The militia had heard of our refugee ship so they did not ask questions and pointed us in the direction to Hong Kong. With their help, were saved from a suicidal beaching on the sandbank. Although Sen On had been repaired, it was really a botched job. The bottom of the upturned steel was held down by trunks of pine trees with cement poured on top to cover the leak. The ship would not have been able to withstand another collision. If the freighter beached in China the ship would be destroyed and all the refugees would not be able to arrive in Hong Kong. The Captain and sailors would also never be caught.

At 8am, we continued away with the freighter steering to the east aiming towards Hong Kong. There was very little water and food left on board, so the priority was given to the refugee sailors at the helm and in the engine room. One of the two refugee helmsmen tried to extract money by blackmailing his fellow refugees. He wanted gold but he was severely rebuked by the other helmsman.

A group of people cleared all the luggage and tents to restore the deck to the appearance of a general cargo ship. The sailing continued until noon. All along the way were uninhabited islands and there no other ships. The freighter continued to sail onwards.

At 2 pm, we listened to the Hong Kong news over radio and there was no mention any suspicious vessels entering Hong Kong waters. People were very happy because we were very close to Hong Kong we had not been discovered. We could see a giant plane descending on the left, meaning there was airport. It was clear Hong Kong was really close. At this time, a very beautiful hydrofoil sped passed in the front, and the freighter immediately turned to follow in that direction. Not far from the front, there were several fishing boats and a mooring Royal Hong Kong Marine Police boat. This seemingly ordinary dilapidated cargo ship did not attract the attention of the police. However, this did not last.

Throughout the morning, most of the refugees were packed into the lower deck, where the air was terribly hot and humid. Hearing Hong Kong mentioned, people climbed up from below to look around. This was spotted by marine police. They immediately turned on warning lights and shouted loudly over speaker: "Stop! This is Hong Kong’s territorial waters." However, the marine police were connected to several fishing boats and needed to release themselves. They had to cut off the towing ropes quickly before being able to give chase at full speed.

Of course, we did not want to be intercepted and Sen On accelerated at full power. Viewed through binoculars, there was a white line of sandy beach directly ahead which was target. We could hear the sirens from behind, but the Sen On freighter kept forging ahead and the Hong Kong marine police could catch up.

Crash Landing

On May 26, 1979, at 2:30 pm, with no captain, no sailors, no compass, no navigator or communications system, refugees manning the dilapidated and disabled Sen On cargo ship, carrying 1,433 refugees, successfully broke through the blockade of the Lantau Hong Kong Maritime Patrol and headed straight to the beach. To the rear of the ship, the Hong Kong Marine Police patrol boat was still chasing it, trying to intercept the ship.

Inside the ship's helm, there were representatives of various wooden boats, responsible for steering ship with remnants of the former South Vietnamese Navy, as well as former Chinese soldiers of South Vietnam. In this situation of internal and external tension, the room was full of loud voices, both nervous and excited.

Amidst the loud cheering of the refugees, the ship crashed aground on the sandy beach and remained fixed there, with the police watching quite helplessly as one by one the refugees descended onto the beach from hanging ropes.

In this unforgettable moment, every refugee was very happy. The hardships onboard Sen On had ended and the dream of reaching a free and safe area had been achieved. The pain and fear of being persecuted in Vietnam also drifted far away.

That evening the Hong Kong news radio reported to the world that a dilapidated freighter named Sen On had landed on the south side of Lantau Island with its full load of refugees fleeing Vietnam.

Refugee Camps and Resettlement

This article was originally written a year after the freighter arrived in Hong Kong. Most of the people on board had left and settled in various western countries, able to start new lives in the free world. Some refugees remained stranded in Hong Kong and some were transferred to the Philippines.

The old freighter that once carried more than a thousand refugees from Vietnam was damaged again when it ran aground on Lantau Island. It rested on the beach and was later taken by the Hong Kong Maritime Division and towed to a dock somewhere. No one claimed it.

The night we arrived at Lantau Island, the Hong Kong government used a Royal Navy landing craft and a three-tiered luxury ferry to transport the refugees to the Canton Road Government Dock in Yau Ma Tei, and onto the Refugee Detention Center. It was known as the Black Warehouse. It was hard to imagine that we were now in the “Pearl of the Orient.” Looking across the water, we could see the brightly lit neon lights of the shops and buildings. But despite the bright lights and glamor of the city, we were temporarily housed in crowded warehouses under terrible conditions.

A few days after arriving at the Black Warehouse, the Sen On refugees were transferred to the North Kai-Tak camp near the airport, where the living conditions were better. In fact, Hong Kong refugee camps were much better than other refugee camps in Southeast Asia. The food was very good. Unexpectedly, however, many fights and bullying occurred in the refugee camps. Conflicts often arose from different ideologies between some refugees from North Vietnam and from the South. Although there were arguments, they still have to live alongside each other in a different country.

A few decades ago, the behaviors of some of the refugees from Vietnam led to tensions with the local Hong Kong population. Their bad behaviors left a bad impression and a poor reputation that still lingers, even until today.

Sen On's traumatic final voyage at sea left a deep impression in the minds of the long-suffering refugees on board - an experience that they will never forget. The refugees were infinitely grateful to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Hong Kong government, the Hong Kong Red Cross, the Prison Department, the Marine Police and the Civil Security Team. As to Vietnam, refugees wanted nothing to do with it. It was a place of darkness and ruthless despair. All that were missed were the relatives and friends who remained trapped over there.

Wooden boat #414 representative Mr. Wang and Saigon group representative Mr. Phùng went to Canada; the respected wooden boat #999 representative Trịnh Quốc immigrated to Australia; Lê Thoại Phương, Lê Chánh Vinh and his wife Nguyễn Thị Hồng Yến, Lê Thế Vinh (Steve Le), Phùng Bội Phân and others settled in the UK.

The 1,433 refugees from Sen On settled around the world. Over 35 days at sea, the people on board formed incredibly strong bonds through such a shared and intense experience. Sadly, many never saw each other again, having gone their own separate ways.

Authors: Cang Dang & Yen Dang

Original Chinese Publication: May 18, 1980, Los Angeles, California, USA

English Translation: May 2020. Some text has been altered from the original Chinese version to correct for flow and readability, as well as provide additional context as the event described transpired many years ago and likely unfamiliar to readers now.

Epilogue

In October of 2019, we received news regarding the wooden boat #999. During a trip to Northern California, we had the chance to see fellow Sen On passengers who had settled in Australia. They said that they heard that the wooden boat #999 sank many years ago in Vũng Tàu, but the exact timing of the accident was unknown.

The Vũng Tàu City Public Security Bureau had confiscated wooden boat #999 in April 1979 and stripped the boat from bow to stern. They wanted to find any gold left on the boat. The boat was eventually abandoned and left to rust. A few years later, between 1980 and 1990, the wooden boat #999 was refurbished and sold at a profitable price. It was sold to people who wanted to go abroad. The boat's refurbishment may not have had high enough safety standards, as the boat sank shortly after going out to sea. The number of casualties is unknown. What is disheartening about this is that there was never an official investigation into the accident. Such is a reflection of the attitude of the Vietnamese authorities at that time.

Fortunately, the Vietnam today is different from Vietnam decades ago, and the harsh policies of that era have since disappeared. Forty years ago, the Sen On Freighter brought 1433 refugees out of Vietnam, forever changing their fate. Those refugees are now old or have since passed away. This article is just a small snapshot of that period of profound tragedy and will hopefully serve as a remembrance of that experience.

US Congressman Visits Kai-Tak Refugee Camp

Below is an old newspaper clipping from June 1979 about a US Congressman who went to Hong Kong’s North Kai-Tak refugee camp to speak to the Sen On refugees

Hong Kong Police Inspector Les Bird

In recent years, some 40 years after we grounded the Sen On on that beach, I have made contact with Les Bird, who was a young police inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police on that day back in 1979. As the Sen On hit the beach, Inspector Bird just happened to be driving his police jeep along a road on the other side of a steep hill to the rear of the beach. Les Bird agreed to tell me what he saw and did at that time:

By Royal Hong Kong Police Inspector Les Bird:

‘I was driving along the South Lantau Road towards the village of Tai O on the western tip of Lantau Island when I received a message that the Marine Police were in pursuit of a freighter in the seas to the south of the island. The message went on to tell me that it appeared as though this freighter was heading towards a beach called Lo Kei Wan, which just happened to be on the other side of the hill to my left. I therefore radioed in my position and told the command post that I was going to investigate what was going on. Having no more information than this, I drove my jeep along a dirt road towards the base of the hill. Here, where the road ended, I climbed out and looked up. There was no obvious pathway to the top of the hill. The steep gradient leading to the top was covered in thick bush. With no alternative I began to climb, hacking through the dense scrub as I went. In the lee of a vertical slope, there was not a breath of wind. The heat was incessant. After about 30 minutes of this I eventually reached the top of the hill where I was hit by the sea breeze and a panoramic view of the beach below. The narrow stretch of sand was just a few hundred yards in length, surrounded on three sides by cliffs and thick jungle. Immediately below me, and rammed bows first into the sand, was a large ship - a freighter of about 3,000 tons. The bows of the ship were almost touching the undergrowth below me. The ship was well and truly high and dry and appeared to have plunged into the island at full speed. From where I was standing, I could see directly down into the open cargo hold of the ship, which was packed full of people. I remember thinking, “Refugees, Vietnamese.” As I looked down, I could see that some of the refugees were already climbing up the inside of the bulkhead walls. Some, towards the stern section, had succeeded in reaching the top and were jumping into the sea and swimming ashore. I began to scramble down the hill towards the beach. I slipped and tumbled a few times in my haste to get down, eventually gambling out of the bush at the bottom of the hill. I then did the only thing that I could think of. I marched down the beach towards the large group that had gathered on the sand, raised my arms and shouted, in English, “I am the Royal Hong Kong Police, and you are all under arrest.” For a second there was total silence while the ever-growing group stared back at me, until a gaunt, elderly man wearing only a sarong pushed his way to the front. He held out his hands, palms up, pleading. “You are police?” he asked in English. “Oh, thank you, they took our gold, they ran away, they robbed us.” he went on. I began walking amongst the refugees, motioning them to sit down. I smiled in the hope of offering reassurance. More men and women clambered along the beach, many of the women were carrying their young. All looked exhausted, dirty and close to starvation. At this point I was still unsure where the crew of the ship were, so it was very important that I kept everyone on the beach until reinforcements arrived. Two Marine Police launches had, by this time, entered the bay and I could see them lowering small boats to convey officers ashore. Within the hour we had the whole thing under control and a party of Marines were now climbing up the stern section of the ship, so I joined them. On the deck of the ship, we found a further five hundred refugees, while in the bowels of the hold, we found five hundred more, the ones too sick or too weak to climb out on their own. Many were women, and most had small children and babies clinging to them. The smell was overpowering. With no sanitation it was obvious that these people had been through hell. We began helping them out of the hold and onto the Marine launches. It was a long afternoon’s work. Just before nightfall the last of the refugees had been transferred to other craft and were on their way into town. I stood on the beach alone and watched them go. I looked up at the bows of the ship. The words ‘Sen On’ were crudely painted in white. It was obvious that the name had been hand painted, as the letter S was facing the wrong way.’

Les has since written a book, released in the US in March 2020, which contains details around the situation in Vietnam in the 1970s and about the refugee exodus out of Vietnam and the influx into Hong Kong. There are several chapters about the people-smuggling onboard other, now well known, ships such as the Skyluck and Huey Fong. The book also includes his experience with the arrival of Sen On arriving in Hong Kong in 1979.

I am very grateful to have been able to make the acquaintance of Les Bird so many years later. Not only was it good to hear the perspective of someone on the receiving end, but Les has been very helpful in his support and encouragement in the getting the story of the Sen On refugees told.

The Black Warehouse

Black Warehouse was a nickname given to a row of warehouses in Canton Road, Kowloon, all painted in black. They were used to house new arrival of refugees in the 1970s and maybe early 1980s.

Black Warehouse photos shown bellowed were extracted from the “78 - 79年 (黑倉)廣東道政府船塢，啟德，馬頭圍香港難民營” video on YouTube. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LTQ9yGtxVw

Inside the Black Warehouse：

Outside the Black Warehouse：

North Kai-Tak Camp：

North Kai-Tak Camp：

By FOX BUTTERFIELD MAY 27, 1979

HONG KONG, May 26 — About 1,400 refugees from Vietnam aboard a small, Panamanian‐registered freighter forced their way into Hong Kong waters today by beaching their ship on an outlying island after the crew had disappeared.

A Government spokesperson said，256 of the refugees jumped ashore but were rounded up by police. The captain and crew of the 800‐ton Sen On were believed to have transferred to a junk before the vessel entered Hong Kong.

Today's arrivals bring the number of refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong to over 35,000, most of them crammed into an old Government dockyard and army barracks. More than 5,000 have come in the last week, nearly 30,000 since January.

Government officials fear that many thousands more are on their way and that this tiny British colony, already overcrowded with a population of nearly million, will not be able to handle the flow.

The officials were particularly disturbed by today's episode. It appeared to be part of an organized attempt to evade the Hong Kong Government's efforts to, limit the arrival of refugees.

Still Waiting to Land

The Government, for safety and health reasons, has allowed refugees, aboard small fishing junks to land, but has tried to refuse entry to larger vessels carrying Vietnamese who appeared to have paid to be brought in. One ship, the Sky Luck, which arrived with 1,000 refugees last December, is still waiting for permission to land.

Today, the Sen On was spotted by marine police and ordered to stop. But the ship suddenly changed course and rammed into Lan Tao Island. It was not clear who was at the helm.

Since the Sen On is old and rusting, shipping executive here suggested that the owners might not have minded its loss, particularly if it was heavily insured. Refugees have reported paying $2,000 or more in gold to Vietnamese officials to get out.

The Sen On's entry came two days after the arrival of a British‐owned freighter, the Sibonga, which picked up 982 refugees from two sinking boats 100 miles off Vietnam. The Sibonga's captain, Healey Martin, said he had decided to take the refugees aboard after watching them throw dead baby into the sea.

Visiting Hainan after s ettlement at third country：