Vietnamese Refugee Returns to Hong Kong Island Where She Was Detained as a Child

Katie Aung stood on Tai A Chau, a small uninhabited island south of Lantau, and pointed to a spot on the ground. “This is where my bed was,” she said, recalling the years she spent confined in a detention camp there in the 1990s. Aung, now an entrepreneur, returned to the island with former marine police officer Les Bird, who oversaw search-and-rescue operations for tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong across three decades.

The island, once a bustling camp, is now almost entirely reclaimed by nature. But remnants remain: the concrete spine of a former camp, foundations of village houses, and an ornate fish pond built by other refugees. Aung recognized the pond immediately, remembering how she and other children would gather around its edge, watching colourful fish dart through the water.

Bird, who accompanied her, said the visit was a chance to reflect on a chapter of Hong Kong’s history that is often overlooked. For Aung, it was a personal journey to confront the place that shaped her childhood. “I lived right here for many years of my childhood,” she said, gesturing to the overgrown site.

The story highlights the enduring impact of refugee policies and the resilience of those who lived through them.

Article and image source: scmp.com