Bidong Island

Bidong Island is a small island in Terengganu, Malaysia. It is situated off the coast of Terengganu in the South China Sea. Bidong Island is accessible from the coastal town of Merang.

In 1978, a refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people was set up on this island by the Malaysian Government and UNHCR. By the time it was closed in 1991, about 250,000 refugees went through the camp before being accepted mostly by United States, Canada, Australia and France. After the camp was closed, many refugees were deported back to Vietnam. The forced repatriation met strong protests from the remaining refugees.

April 30, 1975: Vietnam War ended. Millions of people tried to flee the new Communists.

May 1975: First boat with 47 people arrived in Malaysia from Vietnam.

Over 250,000 Vietnamese refugees landed on Malaysia.

Over 240,000 Vietnamese refugees resettled in third countries.

Pulau Bidong was officially open on August 8th, 1978

On Octorber 30th, 1991, Pulau Bidong was closed (Mohamad).

1996: Sungei Besi was closed.

Over 9,000 Vietnamese refugees were repatriated back to Vietnam.

August 28, 2005: Last Vietnamese refugees were repatriated back to Vietnam.

33% of Boat People lost their life during the journeys.

Notes and references

http://www.pulaubidong.org