Galang Refugee Camp

Galang Refugee Camp accommodated Indochinese refugees from 1979 to 1996 on Galang Island in the Riau Islands of Indonesia. It is estimated that around 250,000 refugees passed through Galang during this period.

Galang camp had two sections.

Policing was provided by the Indonesian police, while caseworkers and legal officers from participating countries and the United Nations came in on a less regular basis as needed. Relations between the internees and Indonesian police supervisors were not always easy. From time to time there were reports of considerable friction over social and administrative conditions in the camp.

The largest refugee movements were to the United States and Canada. Australia took a significant number, and was sometimes preferred by refugees with American family because Australia had shorter waiting periods and less red tape. Australia also took professionals with special skills, while the United States focused on family reunification, in keeping with its overall immigration and national vision. Denmark and Switzerland occasionally took refugees with special health needs for which their governments had infrastructure. Japan and Germany provided money and material.

An independent German charitable organization ran a boat, the 'Cap Anamur', which rescued refugees floundering at sea; Germany (then the Federal Republic of, or West, Germany) accepted these individuals for resettlement, but with strict limitations on family reunification. This put some Galang refugees in the difficult emotional situation of rejoicing to learn that a loved one had been saved at sea—even while being informed that the family member would not be able to live in the same country for many years.

Many individuals and families lived long periods of time in one or both of the camps at Galang. Babies were born, and some people died, although there was a basic but adequate hospital. Of special note were the many young single men, mostly Vietnamese, who had emigrated to establish a better life for their families. Not only were they trapped with nothing to do but women were in short supply and usually enjoyed family protection. The protection of young women in the camps, particularly, was a difficult issue for the UNHCR staff whose job included monitoring social conditions in the camp. There were many reports of ill-treatment of young women in the camp.

Nevertheless, many refugees established such amenities as gardens and coffee houses. Informal social networks provided some degree of support, especially for women. The more fortunate in the camp were able to trade items sent to them by family or friends from outside. Despite such apparent comforts, the boredom and uncertainty, as well as normal rivalries and tensions common to any small town, put an undertone of unhappiness into camp life. Disturbances occurred within the camp from time to time, and in 1994 there was prolonged rioting amongst discontented detainees.

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