Pacific Islands Monthly
The news magazine of the South Pacific · since 1930
Pacific Islands Monthly, 1 February 1961Vol. XXXI, No. 7

The Background To The Repatriation

p. 25 · Read in the full issue

Page 2525

The Vietnamese at present being repatriated from New Caledonia and the New Hebrides originated in French Indo-China before the war.

They came to the two territories under an indentured labour scheme, but their repatriation was held up because of the war and they were allowed to remain as free citizens. .

Last year the French administration took a survey of their numbers in the two Territories and gave the Viets the choice of being repatriated to North (Communist) or South Vietnam or to remaining in New Caledonia or New Hebrides. The repatriation scheme followed several in April, 1960, revealed that there were 4,300 Viets in New Caledonia and 2,320 in the New Hebrides.

In New Caledonia about 3,550 of the total asked to be repatriated to North Vietnam, about 270 to South Vietnam and 480 wished to re main in New Caledonia. In the New Hebrides 2,030 wanted to be repatriated in North Vietnam, about 30 to South Vietnam, and about 260 Most ed of° the™ Vietnamese available for repatriation are young people. Of the total of Viets in New Caledonia, about 2,390 were found to be under the age of 21.

Digitised by the National Library of Australia · OCR text via GLAM Workbench · uncorrected OCR, expect errors
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