BITTER HARBOUR OR SAFE HAVEN? UNDERSTANDING SINGAPORE'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

Abstract

From 1975 to the end of the century, the world found itself dealing with a major humanitarian crisis, that of the Vietnamese Refugees. This thesis will focus on the role of Singapore in its dealings with these refugees, specifically the “boat people”. Literature has revealed a dual identity that Singapore has attained as a result of its approach towards the refugees – a bitter harbour and safe haven. In looking at the “bitter harbour” reputation, some scholars have even described Singapore as the most acrimonious first-asylum state to have housed these refugees. Yet at the same, Singapore’s camps have been described as the most civilised of all first-asylum nations and have even been dubbed as a safe haven. Chapter 1 will lay the context of the entire exodus – looking at why it occurred, provide a brief overview of the main players involved in resolving the crisis and an outline of Singapore’s approach to the exodus. Chapter 2 will analyse the internal policies and actions that have shaped Singapore to be a bitter harbour and to highlight the state motivations behind these acts. Lastly, Chapter 3 looks into Singapore as a safe haven. This chapter will look at realities on the ground, mainly refugee experiences when they were here in Singapore. In addition, this chapter will draw comparisons between refugee experiences in Singapore and in the other first-asylum ASEAN nations at the time, to analyse whether Singapore’s title as being the most acrimonious first-asylum state can be justified. This thesis hopes to determine whether Singapore was a bitter harbour or safe haven for the Vietnamese Boat People.