For "Home"

First Of The Viets Leave

After negotiations and many false alarms over many years, the first shipload of Vietnamese left Noumea in late December in the Eastern Queen headed for home Communist North Vietnam.

SOME 560 of them, all ages from babes in arms but with a big proportion of healthy young teenagers who were born in New Caledonia, embarked for the great

adventure, cheered on by a crowd of their fellows totalling more than 2,000.

This shipload of Viets was some of about 8,000 or so in New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, the originals of whom were brought from French Indo-China (now Vietnam) under five-year contracts before the war as coolie labour. But when the re patriation scheme broke down be cause of the war they were allowed to remain as free citizens. In a check made by the French last year about 85 per cent, of the Viets asked to be repatriated to North Vietnam, about 5 per cent, to South Vietnam and the remaining 10 per cent, wished to remain.

The Eastern Queen berthed at Noumea on the morning of De cember 27, and within minutes trucks, laden with parcels and cases, and decorated with outlandish slogans, pulled up on the wharf, and bags were loaded aboard ship with no Customs inspection.

When the families finally filed aboard, there was more joy than sorrow. New Caledonians had not realised before that the Vietnamese could be so demonstrative. They were overjoyed at leaving. The elders were glad to go, for were not they

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This young fellow, just about to climb aboard with his parents, was wearing a collar ring of solid gold—but is it an ornament, or a method of taking riches from New Caledonia?

Photo: Fred Dunn

This family group, waiting on the wharf at Noumea to board the "Eastern Queen", is typical of the type of Vietnamese in the first repatriation ship to Communist-dominated North Vietnam.

Photo: Fred Dunn

going home to the land of their youth? Whatever political regime might be there, it was still home.

Youngsters Happy

The youngsters were glad to go, for they were following their parents, and parental control is strong amongst this race. Besides, the new land—which they had never seen—was supposed to "offer a chal lenge”.

They had not been brainwashed by members of the Communist delegation which arrived from Hanoi to oversee the repatriation.

Apparently they were confident in their youth that they would man age the new and harder life ahead of them.

Most families seemed to have as many as seven or eight children, and many of the young people were in the 16 to 19 age bracket— dynamic and in growing health, a great improvement on their parents’ physique.

Most of the young men are good footballers and certainly many will be missed in sporting circles there.

Amongst those sailing was the family of a prominent young Viet footballer who was murdered there a year or two ago for a small sum of money.

One cannot help thinking that it is the Communists who will get the advantage from these healthy young people.

The results of recent school ex aminations in New Caledonia placed Vietnamese among the best scholars, and it is many of these bright young people who are leaving for “home”.

There were also young married couples with children who are sail ing simply because their parents ordered it.

And not only is New Caledonia losing brains to Communist Vietnam it is also losing beauty (although that is not a scarce com modity there). Most of the young Viet women are very lovely, a curi ous contrast to their mothers, with their betel-stained mou t hs and black lacquered teeth.

However, the young girls have not known the weary slavery that their mothers knew both in Indo-China and in their early years in New Caledonia as indentured labour.

Don't Like Banks The departing Viets had been in vited to transfer their money to their new country through the bank, but it is understood that few of them did. The Viets also have had little trust in banking institutions.

But many repatriates are very rich, and it can only be conjectured as to how they have transferred their money. No doubt it is by means of

gold and jewellery, and perhaps dollars.

Also, as soon as the first departure date was announced in Noumea, Viets made a raid of local stores buying great quantities of dress materials, and other goods easily transportable.

Already preparations are in hand for the second voyage in February and the buying spree has begun again.

The new repatriates have seen the conditions aboard the Eastern Queen and are quite satisfied with them.