Who were the people on the boat?

boat people, refugees fleeing by boat. The term originally referred to the thousands of Vietnamese who fled their country by sea following the collapse of the South Vietnamese government in 1975.

Why did the Vietnam boat people flee?

Political oppression, poverty, and continued war were the main reasons Vietnamese fled their country. The desire to leave was especially great for Vietnamese who had fought for the South, worked with the United States, or held positions in the South Vietnamese government.

Where do most boat people come from?

Boat people are mostly citizens of Afghanistan (1,612), Iran (1,549), Iraq (542) and Sri Lanka (362) or they are stateless (895).

What is the definition of boat people?

plural noun. refugees who have fled a country by boat, usually without sufficient provisions, navigational aids, or a set destination, especially those who left Indochina by sea as a result of the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.

Who coined the term boat people?

In late 2013, not long after the Coalition won power, Federal Immigration Minister Scott Morrison changed the policy of calling people who arrived in Australia by boat from Irregular Maritime Arrivals – the preferred terminology of the Labor government – to Illegal Maritime Arrivals.

What obstacles did the Vietnamese boat people face?

After the fall of Saigon, many South Vietnamese fled fearing reprisal from the new Communist government. While some people traveled overland to Thailand, most refugees escaped by boat. The journey at sea was perilous; people faced dehydration, starvation, pirate attacks, bad weather and rough seas.

What nationality are boat people?

The first was boat people. First used of refugees who fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975, this was a transferred use of the much older sense of boat people, ‘a community of people who live solely or mainly on boats’.

Are boat people still arriving?

While the number of boat arrivals has risen substantially in recent years, it is worth noting that even in high arrival years they still comprise just over half of onshore asylum seekers in Australia and a greater proportion of those arriving by boat are recognised as refugees.

What is a displaced person definition?

Definition of displaced person : a person expelled, deported, or impelled to flee from his or her country of nationality or habitual residence by the forces or consequences of war or oppression —abbreviation DP.

What is the meaning of immigration policy?

An immigration policy is any policy of a state that deals with the transit of persons across its borders into the country, but especially those that intend to work and stay in the country. Immigration policies can range from allowing no migration at all to allowing most types of migration, such as free immigration.

When did Vietnamese boat people come to UK?

Around 19,000 Vietnamese refugees were resettled in Britain between 1975 and the 1990s. The arrival of Vietnamese refugees in Britain took place in the context of unemployment, housing shortages and increasingly restrictive immigration policy.